That’s why the quota of antlerless or brow-tined elk from hunting district 442, north of the Sun River WMA, is at 400. The target is 2,500 observable, wintering elk. “In fact, we’re above target numbers.”Įach winter Kujala counts elk on the Sun River Wildlife Management Area west of Augusta. “We have very robust numbers,” Kujala says. South of the Teton River, Quentin Kujala, FWP wildlife biologist stationed in Fairfield, is seeing lots of animals. Olson’s area includes the Sweetgrass Hills and the Rocky Mountain Front north of the Teton River. “There’s lots of elk available,” says Gary Olson, FWP wildlife biologist in Conrad, “and good opportunities.” The back fork is also pretty good, about 8 inches x2 = 16 points.Īssuming the bull is symmetrical with no deductions to speak of, when you add up the points you get a score of 375 inches.There should be no shortage of elk for hunters this fall in north central Montana.įish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologists from the east front of the Rockies to the Little Belts and on to the Missouri Breaks all agree that elk numbers are good.The daggers are quite good, about half again longer than the burr-to-nose.The next two points are about 16 inches each on both sides.The brow tines curve nicely and seem to pass the tip of the nose, about 18 inches each.30 inches of circumference x2 = 60 points. It starts at a normally heavy 9 inches and keeps it pretty well. Mass isn’t huge, but he looks pretty big.The bull seems to have really long beams, almost scratching his butt.Get out your notebook…let’s start adding it up. So let’s look through the spotting scope at a really good bull (he’s a six-point). This is less important if the bull is a 7×7, but you still need some length there. It has to be strong, at least 8 or 10 inches. The dagger point is usually the longest point, and on a monster bull it will be half-again longer than the burr-to-nose yardstick, or even almost double that measurement. The next two points are usually shorter, but they still need to approach the burr-to-nose length. A curved brow tine that appears to reach the end of the nose will be about 18 inches long. Let’s start at the bottom of the antlers and work up. On a big elk, the distance from the burr of the antler to the tip of the nose is about 15-4/8 inches. Tine Length – Length of the points is the single most important trophy criteria when field judging elk.More importantly, the antlers should maintain that thickness to at least the fifth point.
When hunting, quickly look for antlers that are visibly as large or larger in circumference than the ear bases, which are about 9 inches around. Just remember that very few elk that look “big” have thin antlers. Mass – Most really big elk have heavy antlers that carry good mass through the length of the main beam.While field judging elk, simply look for a spread that stretches well outside the ears. The average trophy elk has an inside spread of 42-4/8 inches. Interestingly, the narrowest head in the book outscores the widest, which should be enough to tell you that spread isn’t everything. What is the inside spread? – Boone and Crockett records show a wide variation on spreads of trophy elk.No need to spend much more time considering beam length… he’s probably a shooter. If a bull appears able to “scratch his butt with his antlers,” it likely has the frame to be a trophy elk. However, the average beam length of the bottom 10 is 55-4/8 inches, so there really isn’t very much difference. In the all-time records book, the average beam length of the top 10 typical heads is over 58 inches. Figure out how long the main beam’s are – Most trophy elk have long main beams.Two points past the fourth is a 6X6, and so on. From there look back toward the main beam tip. Counting points is the first and most obvious step in field judging elk – Start by identifying the fourth point, sometimes called the “sword” or “dagger” point, which is typically the longest, most dominant point on the rack.This math means tine length accounts for about 40 percent of the score, sometimes more but rarely less. Beam length is worth close to 25 percent. Even then, it’s a tough goal to reach. For most bulls, inside spread is only 10-15 percent of its score. that’s a high bar, and if you truly want a bull of that size, you should consider hiring an elk hunting outfitter. Keep in mind that 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…. If you are hunting elk on your own and want to kill a good bull, you need to learn what field judging bull elk accurately will take. Dude Ranches, Horse Riding and Pack Trips.Types of Outdoor Adventure and Vacations.Remote Backcountry and Wilderness Hunts.
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