What makes a big bull

[time2hunt]

We beat up the what makes a big buck thread! So let’s move on over to elk. I know a lot of people have there methods but it take a lot of time to master it. I usually run out of fingers and toes .  52 mains 30 inch mass and 20 inch G1-G5 per side puts you at the magical 400 mark.


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[NWWA Hunter]

We beat up the what makes a big buck thread! So let’s move on over to elk. I know a lot of people have there methods but it take a lot of time to master it. I usually run out of fingers and toes .  52 mains 30 inch mass and 20 inch G1-G5 per side puts you at the magical 400 mark.


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I passed one of those once


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[Rainier10]

Extra points.

You can get to 350 with a typical six. Above that to 370 can still be done with a typical six but after that you really need good mass and extra points.

And 400 is a really special bull. Most would be thrilled with 320-350. 350 is what I consider a pretty good bull, up to 375 is really good and after that it’s just freaking big!

[time2hunt]

I’m with Rainier I’m all about Mass and character. The other thing is the genetic make up of the unit. We are spoiled in the state of Washington we have a lot of units that produce big caliber bulls.


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[Rainier10]

Big G4’s are a must for a typical 6 to be big but really every point has to be big.

More points make up for shortcomings.

I think mass is the most difficult to judge for me.

In the colockum thirds are short typically. It has to be a genetic thing but it could be a good thing as well. Maybe when thirds are coming in they are transitioning to different food at a different elevation.  I just know small thirds are a thing in 328.

I will say after looking at lots of bulls over the years I can get close on the net score most of the time but every time I see a freaking big bull that’s exactly what it is, freaking big.

[muleyslayer#1]

Kinda same with mule deer for me. I’m looking at mass and tine length. Especially the mains, I think if a bull has great 3rds he’s usually gonna be a great scoring bull. But to get to that 400” is gonna take something special. Tine length, mass, extra points etc. more times than not most guys are seeing 300”-320” bulls when they think they saw a 340-360 bull. I’ve personally seen 2 bulls that were either just shy of 400” or over it. When you see a bull if that caliber it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. It’s almost like a dinosaur walking.

[vandeman17]

First thing I look for is length of royals and if the fronts extend to the nose or close. Generally a bull with good royals and fronts will score well

[2MANY]

Ask the local cows.

[Tbar]

We beat up the what makes a big buck thread! So let’s move on over to elk. I know a lot of people have there methods but it take a lot of time to master it. I usually run out of fingers and toes .  52 mains 30 inch mass and 20 inch G1-G5 per side puts you at the magical 400 mark.


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I passed one of those once


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More like you passed one that dwarf those numbers!

[Tbar]

Big G4’s are a must for a typical 6 to be big but really every point has to be big.

More points make up for shortcomings.

I think mass is the most difficult to judge for me.

In the colockum thirds are short typically. It has to be a genetic thing but it could be a good thing as well. Maybe when thirds are coming in they are transitioning to different food at a different elevation.  I just know small thirds are a thing in 328.

I will say after looking at lots of bulls over the years I can get close on the net score most of the time but every time I see a freaking big bull that’s exactly what it is, freaking big.

Short thirds are prominent in many areas. I am usually looking for the 300 inch mark on the westside.  In my areas it gets tough to field judge due to vegetation.  That said there are several guidelines for the 300 inch mark that make it easier for me. Also agree with when you see a true giant, it's not hard to decide.  The few giants I've been around have grown on the ground vs shrunk. 

[Huckleberry]

Age, mass and character. Good time length and some extra points are icing on the cake. Score is a fun number to play with but I want the WOW factor. If your initial thought on a quality tag is more along the lines of “I should be shooting now”…enough said. A quality tag deserves a quality animal. Inches is only part of the equation. This was my one shot at a big coastal Rosie and until this year my only quality tag. Do they get better, absolutely…I’ve just never seen it in person and wasn't going to look.

Now will someone please show me a sheep picture I might find interesting.

[Buck Rub Jr]

I’m no pro but I’ve been able to get pics of a lot of great bulls on cams. I think knowing what a bull scored that I got on cam helped me with judging the other ones I got pics of. I’m a sucker for long beams and whale tails. I always find myself looking at how much beam is between times  3rds and royals and on the backs. But again I’m no pro. These are my favorites I’ve got so far. I’d put them around that 360 ish mark. Got some great bulls on cam from this spot that year

[kentrek]

250-280 west side general tags
280-320 rockies general tags

North of 5 years of age is pretty cool on otc tags

Quality tags might get you north of these numbers..body size will mess with score a bunch but I want the thing to look twice the size of the other elk, big ol gut, chest and neck

[johnbmyersii]

Main beam length and tine length more than mass to me. Character is a big plus and this bull checks the boxes for me

[Mtnwalker]

Main beam length and tine length more than mass to me. Character is a big plus and this bull checks the boxes for me

How long are the main beams on that bull?

[Rainier10]

52 1/8&53 5/8 main beams on this guy.

[johnbmyersii]

Main beam length and tine length more than mass to me. Character is a big plus and this bull checks the boxes for me

How long are the main beams on that bull?

Wouldn't have a clue. If I can someday draw a bull tag I'll let you know haha

[Farmer72]

Mass can make things look smaller.

The mains on this one are 56-3/8 and 55-4/8.

[yogru]

In the colockum thirds are short typically. It has to be a genetic thing but it could be a good thing as well. Maybe when thirds are coming in they are transitioning to different food at a different elevation.  I just know small thirds are a thing in 328.

I will say after looking at lots of bulls over the years I can get close on the net score most of the time but every time I see a freaking big bull that’s exactly what it is, freaking big.

 

I'm paranoid about thirds.  Killed athe bull in my profile pic in the Wasatch over in Utah and the thing was a pig.....but those short stubby thirds just make me cringe a little when I look at it.  Now, after the first "overall" look on any set of horns, I'm zeroing in on those damned thirds first thing.

[Ricochet]

If you want big thirds, this guy is going to be a pig when he grows up.

[yogru]

If you want big thirds, this guy is going to be a pig when he grows up.

Um yes, I'll take one of those please! 

[jackelope]

Big bulls are the leaders of the pack

[Buck Rub Jr]

Big bulls are the leaders of the pack

Wowza 

[time2hunt]

This is what great genetic and no hunting will produce in Washington. These are colockum genetic bulls that found sanctuary from predator at Hanford.


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[huntnnw]

age

[2MANY]

Thirds should be up to a straight line between tip of eye gaurds and swords.

[Buckjunkie]

In my opinion, sometimes a score doesn’t do a bull justice and other times, a score is better than one deserves…but it means something. We like mass. If a pencil horned buck or bull with lots of extras scores a bunch, most give it a weak nod. If a buck or bull has crazy mass like 40+” for a Muley or 60+” for an elk, we don’t much care about score.

A great bull has mass, beam and time length. If it has all three, it will score well. Rocky Mtn. Bulls start looking good at 320, and even better when they score 340-350. By the time you hit 370, they become giants. You don’t need to know how to score to recognize a big bull, but if a bull is truly big, it will score a bunch.

[Buck Rub Jr]

Mass can make things look smaller.

The mains on this one are 56-3/8 and 55-4/8.

What’s the verdict? Him a couple years before you got him?

[huntnnw]

These are big bulls where I hunt in Idaho for otc units. I believe these bulls are about as good as they will get in the area. I’ve yet to capture anything bigger on cam or in person. These bulls are probably in the prime of their life. I’ve talked to some old timers who hunted from the 80’s to present in the area and said they had seen very few exceed what they thought was 350” over that time. Do they exist? Yes, but I think for that area 350” is a giant and far a few between.

[boneaddict]

The coolest bull and biggest I have encountered  had more mass than I ever imagined an animal having, so I guess that’s what I’d say.   

[C-Money]

Bulls sure start looking extra good around 340". 300" start looking like a good bull. At this point, just about any branch antlered bull would look good to me. I'm not a fan of brow tines that bend down, just looks weird on a elk.

[Falcon]

Age, mass and character. Good time length and some extra points are icing on the cake. Score is a fun number to play with but I want the WOW factor. If your initial thought on a quality tag is more along the lines of “I should be shooting now”…enough said. A quality tag deserves a quality animal. Inches is only part of the equation. This was my one shot at a big coastal Rosie and until this year my only quality tag. Do they get better, absolutely…I’ve just never seen it in person and wasn't going to look.

Now will someone please show me a sheep picture I might find interesting.

 

Huckleberry

Great looking Roosevelt.   I agree that mass is the coolest thing to me.  I also love the crowning on your bull.  Spectacular.   
You said you want to see a sheep.    Here is my one and only from the Alaska Range way back in 07.  I was totally lucky to get this
Guy on opening day. 

[blackveltbowhunter]

    Age will make any bull "big". Genetics, food, location, winter stress, and a variety of other factors will determine if that big bull can turn the corner into something that could be defined as special. From there even more factors will play into the appeal of that bull to a given hunter.

   When I am discussing big bulls with folks in general and talk of  big bulls its any rocky over 300 and any rosie that is mature. My personal definition is a jet black antlered 8x9 with ivory tips, mass, and solid tine length on what may or may not have been short mains. A body like an angus bull on steroids.

[Karl Blanchard]

Age, mass and character. Good time length and some extra points are icing on the cake. Score is a fun number to play with but I want the WOW factor. If your initial thought on a quality tag is more along the lines of “I should be shooting now”…enough said. A quality tag deserves a quality animal. Inches is only part of the equation. This was my one shot at a big coastal Rosie and until this year my only quality tag. Do they get better, absolutely…I’ve just never seen it in person and wasn't going to look.

Now will someone please show me a sheep picture I might find interesting.

 

Huckleberry

Great looking Roosevelt.   I agree that mass is the coolest thing to me.  I also love the crowning on your bull.  Spectacular.   
You said you want to see a sheep.    Here is my one and only from the Alaska Range way back in 07.  I was totally lucky to get this
Guy on opening day.

Thank you Falcon! You finally made an elk thread interesting 😍

[Falcon]

Age, mass and character. Good time length and some extra points are icing on the cake. Score is a fun number to play with but I want the WOW factor. If your initial thought on a quality tag is more along the lines of “I should be shooting now”…enough said. A quality tag deserves a quality animal. Inches is only part of the equation. This was my one shot at a big coastal Rosie and until this year my only quality tag. Do they get better, absolutely…I’ve just never seen it in person and wasn't going to look.

Now will someone please show me a sheep picture I might find interesting.
[
p
Great looking Roosevelt.   I agree that mass is the coolest thing to me.  I also love the crowning on your bull.  Spectacular.   
You said you want to see a sheep.    Here is my one and only from the Alaska Range way back in 07.  I was totally lucky to get this
Guy on opening day.

Thank you Falcon! You finally made an elk thread interesting 😍


Karl:  From one sheep hunter to another.........There's sheep, and than everthing else

[Caveman123]

Saw this as kid and it’s what lives in my head as a big bull. I believe he had a reputation and met his demise a few months after this picture.

[Buckjunkie]

This is what a big bull looks like.

[time2hunt]

Yes it is


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[TommyH]

That is a GREAT Bull.

[TommyH]

.

[jackelope]

52” and 53” main beams. 399 and change. 

[2MANY]

Note how the tips of the 3rds are even with a line drawn between the tips of the eye gaurds and 4th point.

Redneck class dismissed.

[dagon]

Any bull that still needs to be packed out. 

[Mtnwalker]

Any bull that still needs to be packed out. 

They're all big when they're on your back 

[High Climber]

Any bull that still needs to be packed out. 

Truth!

[dilleytech]

For me a big bull is that 300-330 range, great bull 330-360, over 360 is a giant. But all bulls are good bull. I’m stoked to kill a 100” bull because regardless of horn size there’s still a ton of trophy meet to carry out. The same can’t be said for a 40” deer. Someone once said elk are for filling the freezer. Deer are for killing big ol bucks.

[nwwanderer]

Time and a belly full of quality

[scoutdog346]

I've allways called anything bigger then a spike is a big bull.  I think its because I started hunting spikes on the east side or something idk.

We beat up the what makes a big buck thread! So let’s move on over to elk. I know a lot of people have there methods but it take a lot of time to master it. I usually run out of fingers and toes .  52 mains 30 inch mass and 20 inch G1-G5 per side puts you at the magical 400 mark.


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[trophyhunt]

For me a big bull is that 300-330 range, great bull 330-360, over 360 is a giant. But all bulls are good bull. I’m stoked to kill a 100” bull because regardless of horn size there’s still a ton of trophy meet to carry out. The same can’t be said for a 40” deer. Someone once said elk are for filling the freezer. Deer are for killing big ol bucks.

I agree here!