Field Judging an Elk

[Doc Holliday]

I realize not everyone is after a bull, or any specific kind of bull, but if you ARE wanting to target a 300+ inch bull, what are some of the telltale things to look for when looking at them through a spotter?

(For example, on dall sheep rams you want to look for the horns dropping below the jaw or as close to that as possible, etc. For whitetails, I want to see the main beam coming out to the tip of the nose, etc.)

 

[Wrench]

3rds and 6ths tell a bunch. Measure the brows against the face. When you get longer brows, good 3rds and well defined 6ths.....you're in the neighborhood.

 

[Loco4dux]

I stumbled across this last night. if you look around there’s quite a few articles.

 

[Dos Perros]

I field judge elk like this. Obviously, I look at them. If after a few seconds I say "that's a good bull," he's 260 minimum. Next I look at the backs, the 5th and 6th, see how much horn of each. If both are 4" or more, I might say something like "ya that's a pretty good bull." Now, he's 280, P&Y minimum. Now I'm looking at 3rd's and 4th's. If the 3rd's aren't diminutive (and a lot of times they are) he's 300 if the 4th's look right. From there, I just go off emotion. I equate the adjectives I use to describe the bull into scored. 300 to 310 is a "solid bull." If I say "holy f*** s***" he's 370. And of course there are lots of emotions inbetween.

 

[nphunter]

Mass makes a huge difference and can be deceiving. I passed up on this bull opening weekend a couple years ago. Looking at all these pictures I would guess he’s about a 275-280 bull. He’s actually around 305” really makes me wonder what a lot of the other bulls in that area are.







Once a bull hits 5-6 there body starts getting big as well and keeps getting big as they age, big bulls don’t look all that big for a few years until they become super big bulls.

Here’s another pic, the Big bulls sheds would have made him around 320 that year, a friend picked up that shed. See how much bigger his body is than the rag horn.


Here are a couple good bulls and then a big bull at the same location.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Yeah I noticed on your thread, NP Hunter, that the older bulls really have that saggy belly, like I look for to identify a mature whitetail.

 

[Laramie]

Jay Scott has a series of YouTube videos that I like. They are like a guess the score game- pretty fun. Here is video #1 -

 

[nphunter]

Here are the sheds off of that first bull. They look a lot bigger off of that bull.

 

[WPFY543]

I field judge elk like this. Obviously, I look at them. If after a few seconds I say "that's a good bull," he's 260 minimum. Next I look at the backs, the 5th and 6th, see how much horn of each. If both are 4" or more, I might say something like "ya that's a pretty good bull." Now, he's 280, P&Y minimum. Now I'm looking at 3rd's and 4th's. If the 3rd's aren't diminutive (and a lot of times they are) he's 300 if the 4th's look right. From there, I just go off emotion. I equate the adjectives I use to describe the bull into scored. 300 to 310 is a "solid bull." If I say "holy f*** s***" he's 370. And of course there are lots of emotions inbetween.

I like this approach. When you see a really big bull you know it.

I also think looking at the relative body size is a good indication for a bull above/below 300.

 

[Forest]

A lot of it depends on the genetics in the area. Here in the breaks the 3rds are typically the weakest point. If they are good its generally a very nice bull. Other than that YouTube is helpful, really like Jay Scott's videos.

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[Ross]

Front and Daggers tell me what I need to know so often in the brush country glimpses are all you get I know this guy is big and these guys are big for otc units big bodies can make some solid hefty bulls look smaller than they are.

 

[PowellSixO]

When it comes down to seconds to shoot or not shoot, I look at the 5ths. If they're over 10", 9 times out of 10, that bull is gonna go 300" or better. Maybe not by much, but usually they'll make the 300 mark.

 

[nphunter]

When it comes down to seconds to shoot or not shoot, I look at the 5ths. If they're over 10", 9 times out of 10, that bull is gonna go 300" or better. Maybe not by much, but usually they'll make the 300 mark.

I tried that technique last fall and it didn’t work out well. Watching this bull rake a bush I got a good look at his tops!! I told myself he must be a mature bull. 5ths were 9 6/8” and 10”, 40” inside spread. I was convinced when I let the arrow fly he was a much bigger bull. He taped out at 283”. He had 40” beams and only 22” of mass per side. Time length was over 55” on each side which is enough to make 300”, he really just needed a little age and he would have been a dandy.

Guess I shot that 1 of 10 bull it didn’t work on I still think it’s a good indication or a decent bull. It’s so tough to judge bulls when your amped up waiting for a clear shot, a lot of times it’s a 2 second decision. I actually watched that bull for about 20 minutes at under 100 yards last fall. Those tops looked even bigger with the 10 powers at that range, I misjudged him big time!! Still very happy with the bull, just wasn’t what i thought he was.

 

[Laramie]

I tried that technique last fall and it didn’t work out well. Watching this bull rake a bush I got a good look at his tops!! I told myself he must be a mature bull. 5ths were 9 6/8” and 10”, 40” inside spread. I was convinced when I let the arrow fly he was a much bigger bull. He taped out at 283”. He had 40” beams and only 22” of mass. Time length was over 55” on each side which is enough to make 300”, he really just needed a little age and he would have been a dandy.

Guess I shot that 1 of 10 bull it didn’t work on I still think it’s a good indication or a decent bull. It’s so tough to judge bulls when your amped up waiting for a clear shot, a lot of times it’s a 2 second decision. I actually watched that bull for about 20 minutes at under 100 yards last fall. Those tops looked even bigger with the 10 powers at that range, I misjudged him big time!! Still very happy with the bull, just wasn’t what i thought he was.

View attachment 210237

That bull has way over 22" in mass... You mean per side?

 

[nphunter]

That bull has way over 22" in mass... You mean per side?

Yes, 22” per side.

 

[sneaky]

I tried that technique last fall and it didn’t work out well. Watching this bull rake a bush I got a good look at his tops!! I told myself he must be a mature bull. 5ths were 9 6/8” and 10”, 40” inside spread. I was convinced when I let the arrow fly he was a much bigger bull. He taped out at 283”. He had 40” beams and only 22” of mass per side. Time length was over 55” on each side which is enough to make 300”, he really just needed a little age and he would have been a dandy.

Guess I shot that 1 of 10 bull it didn’t work on I still think it’s a good indication or a decent bull. It’s so tough to judge bulls when your amped up waiting for a clear shot, a lot of times it’s a 2 second decision. I actually watched that bull for about 20 minutes at under 100 yards last fall. Those tops looked even bigger with the 10 powers at that range, I misjudged him big time!! Still very happy with the bull, just wasn’t what i thought he was.

View attachment 210237

Those relatively short 4ths didn't do you many favors. Still a good bull that many first time elk hunters would call a 320 bull lol.

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[Laramie]

Yes, 22” per side.

Iv'e hunted elk a long time - I'll admit I would have put that bull at 300"+ as well. Unique that he developed tops like that with such short mains. Maybe great genetics on a younger bull? In any event, still a nice bull and a shooter to me with a bow in my hand.

 

[PowellSixO]

I tried that technique last fall and it didn’t work out well. Watching this bull rake a bush I got a good look at his tops!! I told myself he must be a mature bull. 5ths were 9 6/8” and 10”, 40” inside spread. I was convinced when I let the arrow fly he was a much bigger bull. He taped out at 283”. He had 40” beams and only 22” of mass per side. Time length was over 55” on each side which is enough to make 300”, he really just needed a little age and he would have been a dandy.

Guess I shot that 1 of 10 bull it didn’t work on I still think it’s a good indication or a decent bull. It’s so tough to judge bulls when your amped up waiting for a clear shot, a lot of times it’s a 2 second decision. I actually watched that bull for about 20 minutes at under 100 yards last fall. Those tops looked even bigger with the 10 powers at that range, I misjudged him big time!! Still very happy with the bull, just wasn’t what i thought he was.

View attachment 210237

Wow. Those are SHORT main beams. 10" on each side would have got you to the 300 mark (typical mature bull, main beam length). But like I said, 9 out of 10 would have made it. Haha. Still a great bull, and I would be proud of him. Probably a young bull with good genes.

 

[WeiserBucks]

If you see a bull that's definitely an internet 370"er, hurry up and shoot! You'll have a nice 312" bull to pack out.