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Need some Shiras pics please.

Firedude

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So...This spring my wife's friend was over at the house with her husband. We took her deer hunting last year for 2 days. That's the extent of her hunting experience. She asked me," What's the most fun hunt you've ever been on?"

"Easy, my moose hunt." I replied.

"How do I get a moose tag?"

With that question my hunting season was going to change. Long story short she put in, and DREW an Idaho moose tag. We've been hunting on days off and have seen cows. Last night we saw a NICE bull. Probably 40" 3 fronts on one side and 2 on the other. 13 points on both sides. I think... here's the problem. That's the first and only bull she's seen. She was rather confused on if she should shoot or not. I told her it was a little bigger than mine and that she should really consider shooting it. Without a good reference of what a good Shiras is, she hesitated. She doesn't have the experience to know what a good shiras looks like. So I can't blame her. It's the first one we've seen and have 2 months of season left. Plus I'm a touch rusty on judging them. I really think it's a good one. But I'm not sure. It turns out from scouring the internet that there aren't that many pictures with spread and score to show her. There's a few. Most of the stuff is on Alaskan moose. I think she looked at pics of those and doesn't know what a good shiras looks like. But not that much on field judging Shiras when talking to a hunter with very little experience.

If you could post some pictures of your shiras with a spread and total score so we have something to compare it to that would be GREATLY appreciated. Especially hunt photos with hide on. So I can sit down and go over field judging with her using ears, eyes, head length, etc.

This is my moose. It doesn't help that it's the only one she's seen up close and it's 138 inches with a 40 inch spread. Imagine the first time you've gone fishing for a species. Catch one and look around like, "Is this a good one?" Pretty much where she's at...
 

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Here is my 2019 SE Idaho Shiras. Spread = 40” I’ve never scored him.
 

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40 plus wide is a good Shiras but if you’re concerned about how it scores it’s a must to have at least two brow tines on each side. The length of palm has a huge impact on score. If your wife is new to hunting she should be thankful that she drew such a coveted tag and shoot a good representative animal. Good luck.
 
The one in the snow is my Idaho bull. 39.5 inches wide, nothing special. Backcountry unit ...ten days of hunting...only bull. Bang!

My wife's bull was a bit over 40 inches with more going on. The little girl in the pic just turned ten and drew that same tag her mom got and hopes to add a moose to her winter lion she got in January....so maybe I'll have more pics in the coming weeks.

Good luck. I am trigger happy and not often too patient. I would have gone after what you described, but many guys think there is something wrong with me.... mentally.
 

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Moose aren’t easy to judge. I spent a lot of time last summer and fall scouting and hunting for a Shira’s moose and have some pictures and other successful hunts.

The first picture is deceptive, as you get the idea this is a big moose and it is, but certainly not as big as he will be in a few years. Velvet helps create an image of mass that is not really there.

The second moose is a better scoring moose, but not as spectacular as the first, as the first moose has 2 points coming off the main beam on the inside of the rack. That doesn’t help score, but it makes it more unique.

The third was a long way (1000 yards) off and I took the picture through a Phoneskope, but you can see it does have double brow tines and that also helps on the scoring of the antlers, but it wasn’t impressive, yet could still be a shooter bull.

The next bull is a friend of mine that had a moose permit last year and we had a bet on who would get the better bull. This one is under 40 inches wide, but has good palms and lots of points. I would consider this a great bull moose.

The next is a moose I shot in 1999, with a very weak side, which is common on moose and you have to pay attention to both sides to make sure you get better balance. This one was 43 inches wide and had double brow tines, but didn’t score well due to the small palmation on the left side.

The next picture shows the first 2 bulls in comparison to each other, and either one would still be a good bull.

The last 2 are of the bull I eventually shot and you can see that it is the best of those I saw that summer and fall. It is 46 inches wide, with lots of points and mass in the palms. It grossed 173 and netted 160 7/8.

Inches count a lot on Moose. A mule deer of 155 inches isn’t anywhere near spectacular, yet it take only 155 to make the record books for a moose. The last picture is the score sheet, so you can see how they score a moose...

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Great pics and congrats on your Booner Kirk.

Drawing a Shiras Moose tag nowadays is really the luck of the draw. I'm up to 32 years and with maximum Bonus points without drawing.

Here's mine that I shot in the '80s. My first one was 50" wide, but his single brow point killed any chance of a score.
sYhdaLTm.jpg
UMvO9EHm.jpg


My second one was 40" wide, and I've never had him scored.
ROLTJ3Em.jpg
q8Gthoum.jpg


I also took a friend moose hunting in the mid '80s, and opening morning he shot a bull that was 49" wide, I believe 12 points on each side, and scored 175. At that time he was #4 in Montana.
 
Great pics and congrats on your Booner Kirk.

Drawing a Shiras Moose tag nowadays is really the luck of the draw. I'm up to 32 years and with maximum Bonus points without drawing.

Here's mine that I shot in the '80s. My first one was 50" wide, but his single brow point killed any chance of a score.
sYhdaLTm.jpg
UMvO9EHm.jpg


My second one was 40" wide, and I've never had him scored.
ROLTJ3Em.jpg
q8Gthoum.jpg


I also took a friend moose hunting in the mid '80s, and opening morning he shot a bull that was 49" wide, I believe 12 points on each side, and scored 175. At that time he was #4 in Montana.

Has George shown you that big bull in the Powderhorn that is from Montana and scores in the 170’s? It is a nice bull...
 
Rules of thumb for a B&C min moose from what I've seen on 10+ shiras moose hunts plus scoring 20 or so for B&C.

1- Spilt brows at least 2 point up front. 3 or 4 points in front is better usually. Some splits are way out there and can add 8 or more inches per side that's 15 to 16 inches or 10% of score. Paddle length is key for score and up to 35-40% of the total score.
2- At least 10 "real" points per side. A dip and rounded off point is not really a point per B&C. NOTE - If the bull is 50" wide but only 6x6 he's still likely to make B&C since he gains 10 points for width over 10x10 in normal points.
3- Filled in paddles and NOT longer points. The first point after the brows tends to be longer but "elk-like" moose do not score well.
4 - Width of 40 inches. I use a 9 inch space eye to eye and look for 4 or more eye widths to make a bull at least 36 wide. Most 10x10 will be at least 40 wide.
5- Paddle width will vary 10"-12" is good for a mature bull with filled in paddles not longer points see # 3 above.
6- Mass at the base Most will be 6 1/2" to 7 1/2" on a mature bull. Dont worry about it.

Here's a great resource-


13x13 with multiple brows is a "plug your ears" bull in my mind.

Sandbrew
 
Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

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