Judging moose tips

[boliver29]

Going to be hunting 4 brow or 50” are what are some tips on judging moose. I’ve read that the main beam gets a sag in it when bulls are mature. I’ve also bought a eye piece with a moa reticle for my spotting scope.


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[diamond10x]

An ear length past each ear will give you 50” and it’s pretty dang accurate. I wouldn’t be shooting unless absolutely positive over 50”, more so closer to 55 than 50. You’ve got to be looking head on to accurately judge, a 48” bull viewed from behind will look about 54”. The nice thing about moose is they are slow and you have time to get a good solid look and judgement on them.

This past season I killed a 49” bull, if it didn’t have 5 brows on one side I wasn’t shooting. All 3 of us guessed 48-49 by judging ear lengths. One beam was about 4-5 inches shorter than the other from a pedicle or velvet injury, mature to post mature bull. No sag in beams that’s just a wives tale, similar to dewlap with long skinny piece vs dewlap without the long skinny piece.

 

[Hunter26]

The State of Alaska has a pretty good video on it and I put the link below. Basically, when looking at a moose straight on, the outside edge of one eye to the outside edge of the other is roughly 9 to 10 inches wide. At that point you need that same distance on each side twice to hit your 50 inch requirement. I hunted Alaskan moose a couple years back and got the chance to judge a handful of moose. It is a little tricky but the more you do it the more confident you feel. Practice as much as you can prior to going using youtube as your friend. Hope that helps.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

I always tell clients to knock 5" off their first impression and then count foreheads. If we're not seeing six foreheads, then we're not shooting.

 

[VernAK]

Think 60!

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I spent all last year asking people posting moose pictures what the spread was. I watched every film and read every story I could get my hands on. When I shot my moose I guessed him at 55", but knew he was good to go when I counted brow tines.

I read somewhere that the paddles going straight back, parallel to one another, was an indicator of a younger or smaller bull.

I also read that if the ears are laid out flat they are about 30" tip to tip. Not a hard and fast rule, but something to aid in judging. Just like the 10" eye to eye rule.

I'll post a pic of my bull and come back later to tell you the width after you have a chance to judge him.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

with my very untrained eye, i would guess 58"

we shot a fork this year so it required no guessing

 

[boliver29]

I was think 57-60


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[Aeast]

From my one and only experience judging moose it's a very difficult task, especially if they aren't still, broadside and looking at you long enough to get an "accurate measurement". I took a Leupold 1300i rangefinder that has the trophy judging reticle in it, I set the parameters to 60" and it worked well. Outside of that I would just count brow tines, wich can be somewhat tricky as well at any distance.

This is 56"
Inside is 31"
In-between pedicle's is 7"
Eye to eye is around 10"

No way would I have shot him without that range finder confirming he was big enough.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I was think 57-60


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He barely beat 51" wide. I was pretty surprised when I measured, but am really glad he had the brow tines to be legal either way. We passed on a couple of smaller bulls in the trip, and I'm super glad we did! I don't think I would have shot this guy without the brow tines.

If you notice in the second picture, his tines come forward instead of laying out to the side.

 

[cnelk]

Take your guesses

 

[boliver29]

53


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[AKDoc]

In antler restricted GMU's I have ALWAYS been a brow tine counter, and doing only that has not always been easy...sometimes, mostly yes. Lots of different glassing vantages that have made even counting brow tines complicated sometimes.

I have NEVER been good enough at consistently judging 50" to use that as my only personal metric to shoot or pass, so I haven't ever done so (I truly suck at it!). I was estimating gunners bull at 58 or 59!! I'll estimate cnelks at 59"

I'll confess that I am overly/excessively careful to be certain that an animal is legal before pulling the trigger...it's the reason I have yet to take a ram and have likely passed on several full-curls over the years...but it sure beats the alternative of taking an animal that measures just a little short.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

In antler restricted GMU's I have ALWAYS been a brow tine counter, and doing only that has not always been easy...sometimes, mostly yes. Lots of different glassing vantages that have made even counting brow tines complicated sometimes.

I have NEVER been good enough at consistently judging 50" to use that as my only personal metric to shoot or pass, so I haven't ever done so (I truly suck at it!). I was estimating gunners bull at 58 or 59!! I'll estimate cnelks at 59"

I'll confess that I am overly/excessively careful to be certain that an animal is legal before pulling the trigger...it's the reason I have yet to take a ram and have likely passed on several full-curls over the years...but it sure beats the alternative of taking an animal that measures just a little short.

I have a hunch you are really close on Cnelks

 

[cnelk]

I have a hunch you are really close on Cnelks

Yepper - He measured 60 1/2"

 

[Voyageur]

I always appreciate the pictures posted that allow judging of moose racks. Thanks.

 

[william schmaltz]

The ADFG Hide and Horn auction has online bidding available for this first time this year. Here is where your moose antlers go when you have a bad field judging day. So you can always buy them back after they get taken away if you want About 130 sublegal bulls up for grabs. That's a ton and doesn't even account for a pile that go unreported and probably a few that stay in the office. Amazing how many DLP brown bears they have this year - nearly 100.

2022 State Hide & Horn Auction

Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals is pleased to present the 2022 State of Alaska Horn & Hide Auction! Bid Online Now At: https://bid.alaskapremierauctions.com/ui/auctions/76974 ***SPECIAL NOTICES, PLEASE READ*** Please DO NOT register with us if you plan on bidding in person, only register if...

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[kwackkillncrew]

i thought some of those DLP bear hides went to the fur rondy auction, i guess not

 

[william schmaltz]

i thought some of those DLP bear hides went to the fur rondy auction, i guess not

This is the Fur Rondy auction. They're doing an option to bid online this year. So people can bid online or at the live on auction on Sunday. At least that's my understanding

 

[Panhandler80]

I spent all last year asking people posting moose pictures what the spread was. I watched every film and read every story I could get my hands on. When I shot my moose I guessed him at 55", but knew he was good to go when I counted brow tines.

I read somewhere that the paddles going straight back, parallel to one another, was an indicator of a younger or smaller bull.

I also read that if the ears are laid out flat they are about 30" tip to tip. Not a hard and fast rule, but something to aid in judging. Just like the 10" eye to eye rule.

I'll post a pic of my bull and come back later to tell you the width after you have a chance to judge him.

Hard to believe that’s 51. I do, just difficult. I thought 58. Of course that pic also has them in forefront with you in back, and bare skull. I’m sure that makes Em look a little wider. Still, I was off by a lot!