Big Game Profiles, Scoring and Field Judging

Since 1953, 39,018 rifle hunters harvested 30,963 antelope in Nebraska for an average hunter success of 81 percent.

I am hoping to go on my first African Plains Game Safari soon, and I wanted to acquaint myself with some of the animals I may be hunting while there. I’ll start with Judging Blue Wildebeest, they’re pretty cool in their unique ugliness. I guess I have a fondness for the “weird looking” animals. Another [...]

by Mike White When my hunters arrive in Northern Alberta for the first time, we always have the discussion about the very large bodies our whitetails have, which makes the racks appear smaller than they really are. My conversation with David Byrd was no different, however I suppose I should listen to my own advice, [...]

Cape Buffalo – Cyncerus Caffer The Cape buffalo is a large African bovine whose aggressive, unpredictable nature makes it highly dangerous to hunt. For that reason, the Cape buffalo is one of the most highly regarded big game animals and a member of the “big five”. Known as “Black Death” in Africa, it kills over [...]

Even though there are technically two subspecies of brown bear in North America (the grizzly bear and the Kodiak Brown Bear), all brown bears in Alaska are genetically identical.

Caribou have unique and complex antlers, so field judging caribou can be very tricky. They are the most difficult of North America’s big game animals to score. When field judging caribou, the bottom of the rack is extremely important to the overall score. What’s down below separates an average bull from a great bull.” Warren [...]

The Eland is the largest species of antelope in Africa and one of its’ most sought after spiral horned trophies. While field judging Eland, body size and appearance is the easiest way to confirm the maturity of a possible trophy bull. When field judging Eland, a few characteristics are to be considered: Mature Eland bulls [...]

Field judging elk really isn’t that difficult if you use these simple tips. For a typical American elk, Boone and Crockett requires a minimum of 360 points to enter the Awards Book, and 375 points for entry into the All-time Records Book. For most bulls, inside spread is only 10-15 percent of its score. Mass [...]

The Holy Grail of mule deer hunting is the 30 inch buck. Most hunters have 30 inches on their mind and that is all they think about, however it doesn’t always take that coveted 30-inch spread to make a trophy mule deer buck. In fact, there are many mule deer in the record books with [...]

Field judging pronghorn antelope can be tough. There are three main considerations when field judging antelope: length of horn, mass, size of prong.

Just What is an Aoudad? Native to rugged areas of Northern Africa, the Aoudad, also known as Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), is a tough and intelligent species of Caprid (goat-antelope). Aoudad are the only species in the genus Ammotragus. However, some include this genus in the goat genus Capra, and others in the sheep genus [...]

A trophy aoudad will have horns measuring 30″ to 35″+ from base to tip . Download the SCI Score Sheet.

A good buff is an old buff – no two ways about it! An old cape buffalo can be judged on the hoof by looking at their boss and other factors such as body development, penis sheath, hanging testicles, posture etc. The important part of buffalo hunting is getting as close as possible so that [...]

So you got a big mule deer buck and you want to know what he scores. Here are all the resources you will need. When you’re done, send us pics and your story. Video by the Arizona Game and Fish Department on how to score mule deer. Typical Mule Deer / Blacktail Deer Score Chart [...]

Few Hunting Trophies are more desirable than the Polar Bear Here’s what you need to know before you consider heading north to go polar bear hunting. First… It’ll be cold! Can you handle it? Going on a hunt in the arctic without good preparation and top-notch cold-weather gear can get you killed… period! Make sure [...]

Hunting Marco Polo sheep is a very high altitude endeavor. Generally hunting camps are located around 10,000 feet above sea level, with the actual hunting taking place at elevations up to 15,000 feet or more. Acclimatization, or adjusting to that altitude, requires special techniques and medication.

The Tian Shan Argali (Ovis amon kerelini) is also called Argali del Tian Shan, Argali du Tian Shan. Most hunters consider all Argali’s Marco Polo Sheep. DESCRIPTION & TAXONOMY The Tian Shan argali category is divided into two races: heinsii and karelini. The karelini was described from the Ala Tau range north of Lake Issyk [...]