In most areas in Alaska a moose has to be 50" wide or more to be legal. There is also a brow tine requirement if less than 50" of either 3 brow tines or 4 brow tines depending on the area hunted. It is really important to be proficient at judging spread because you will get a game violation for being anything less than 50". Even if you are a half an inch short you can expect a several hundred dollar fine and a confiscation of meat and antlers. Some bulls are very deceiving and hard to judge. There are little tricks to help judge the spread of bull moose such as 10" from out side to out side of the eye sockets and then visually use that measurement and compare it to the width of the rack. This is not a 100% method on all bulls. Just like you and I bull moose have different facial characteristics. The only way to get good is to practice looking at moose racks. Here are some pictures of a moose shot this year. I did not shoot this moose, I actually borrowed these pictures from another sight. I know the man that was the guide on this hunt. These are all the same moose. It also demonstrates how different angles make a moose look like an entirely different animal. If you have seen this post on the other sight please don't give it away. I would like everyone to take a look at the pictures and guess the width. Ill give it a couple days for people to guess and discuss the methods of determining how you came up with your guess.
(http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/kodiakkid08/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy10_zpsrjkoxl9i.jpg) (http://s406.photobucket.com/user/kodiakkid08/media/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy10_zpsrjkoxl9i.jpg.html)
(http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/kodiakkid08/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy8_zpsgxcq9jzw.jpg) (http://s406.photobucket.com/user/kodiakkid08/media/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy8_zpsgxcq9jzw.jpg.html)
(http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/kodiakkid08/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy1_zps2n4fpuxe.jpg) (http://s406.photobucket.com/user/kodiakkid08/media/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy1_zps2n4fpuxe.jpg.html)
(http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/kodiakkid08/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy7_zpseghsjrn5.jpg) (http://s406.photobucket.com/user/kodiakkid08/media/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy7_zpseghsjrn5.jpg.html)
(http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/kodiakkid08/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy6_zpsgkksmgxq.jpg) (http://s406.photobucket.com/user/kodiakkid08/media/Mobile%20Uploads/trophy6_zpsgkksmgxq.jpg.html)
Yep after hunting them a few years with antler restrictions, they classify as brow tine legal or no brainer if you're going to shoot. A bull at 49" looks just like a bull at 50", So we go to about 55" and up on non brow tine legal bulls. Luckily the area we hunt have lots of brow tines.
Mike
Alaska department of fish and game has a pretty good video on judging them.
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=multimedia.embeddedvideo&videoID=38069348
Yep that is a great resource. I thought there would be a little more participation on this. Oh well. I will give the answer tomorrow.
that one looks iffy ...
I'll play. I've never hunted moose, but am willing to learn something new.
I'm going to base my estimate on the picture of the gentlemen standing with the rack held vertical. The man on the right in the picture I'm estimating to be about 5'8". The other people in the photo seem taller, around 6' or so. I noticed that the arm is out, but bent a little. That indicates to me that the rack is in the foreground and is appearing larger.
The other picture with the rack on the back, also indicates that the rack is approximately the same height as the man.
I'm going to say that, that rack is roughly 68" inches. It was a definite shooter!
Ray
62" :dunno:
Just trying the 10" eye socket thing I'm going to say 75"? Here at Benning we're QDMA so our bucks have to either have 4 points or be a spike under 3", and that makes me nervous enough to try to determine, I can not for the life of me imagine having to judge one of these in a short ammount of time!
68 1/2
If I remember correctly, a mature moose's ears are about 13" from tip to tip. If that is the case, this moose looks like it would measure smaller than it appears.
I wouldn't be surprised to hear it was 49", and that all the other pictures are misleading.
My guess is 47", and those fish-eye pictures are misleading. Note that the antlers are standing on a log in the beach/vertical picture. I think those are a bunch of shorter men in the pics too. In my opinion, you can't judge antlers when they're already on the pack, so those bear little in my estimate. The most important picture in the bunch is the first one, where the head and ears are visible relative to the antlers.
I grew up with my dad's 68" moose track hanging in the garage... and this one just doesn't seem to be in that class.
1 dollar bwahahaha!!!!
Whatever he is, he makes our Shiras critters look like babies. If he isn't legal, he oughta be.
Im guessing 60".
my guess is 63-65"
my guess is 63-65"
I say 66".
I'll take a stab at 73"
I saw that thread on the web site you mentioned this past week (excellent story) but didn't get to the end where he said the spread. I am guessing 63"
59"
So what is measured for width ? Just the farthest (apart) point from each side ?
This one appears to have a very misleading couple points that really go far out (see first pictures, face on). Without those, this rack is much smaller in terms of measurements than it will end up measuring.
If indeed the width of the eyes is 10", both of the sides exceed 30", plus that 10" face".
Looks like a nice showy bull.
I will step out on a limb here, I was a registered guide in Alaska for many years. I'll go about 65, maybe a touch more but not much. Now a question, was this a Cordova/Copper river moose?
I'll guess 67 1/2".
Well I will give the Answer. Thanks for all for participating. The spread is 64". I just wanted to bring this up because some Moose are hard to judge. It is a skill that a person should learn before coming up to Alaska to hunt Moose. There are hundreds of citations given out every year because people miss judge Moose. I would hate for one of you to come up on a hunt of a life time and walk up on a bull that was 49 3/4" and get a ticket and no meat and no antlers. Happy hunting and good luck to all
Newhouse114,
Im not sure of the location of where the bull was taken. I am pretty confident it wasn't around Cordova. I'm sure it was a lot further north.
Inches? Whatever, that is a beautiful animal. Wow, congratulations!
Yep everything is measured in inches
Olin,
Thanks for the reminder, it is appreciated. I have been on two moose hunts in AK and we are headed back again next fall. My guess was within an inch of the actual measurement. The size restriction was my number one worry during my first trip to AK hunting the moose, learn how to judge them before you go.
FYI, I worried / thought a lot more about the antler size requirements than the grizzly's.
For some additional practice, Here are a few pictures of the moose rack taken during my last AK moose hunt. What is the width of this rack?
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/Slivershooter/AK%20Moose%20Hunt/P1000696_zps7f338847.jpg) (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Slivershooter/media/AK%20Moose%20Hunt/P1000696_zps7f338847.jpg.html)
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/Slivershooter/AK%20Moose%20Hunt/table111_zps258bc7c9.jpg) (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Slivershooter/media/AK%20Moose%20Hunt/table111_zps258bc7c9.jpg.html)
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/Slivershooter/AK%20Moose%20Hunt/P1000753_zps5e87007b.jpg) (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Slivershooter/media/AK%20Moose%20Hunt/P1000753_zps5e87007b.jpg.html)
Is that the Pigger bull, Walt? 59 inches?
I would guess that one at about 59 or 60 inches. Big enough!
Thanks Walt for taking the time to post another bull. Thats a fine looking bull. I love how long the tines are. Even though I have looked at a bunch of bulls I haven't gotten very proficient at guessing spread in my opinion. I would guess your bull at a little over 50" maybe 55"? I hear ya on the Grizzly bear. I don't give them much thought anymore. When I first came to Alaska there was a bear behind every tree Lol. After living on Kodiak and being out and about more I have a different attitude. I sure respect them but my blood pressure rarely goes up anymore because of them. Mostly because the chances of seeing one is 50/50 and the chances of having problems are very very low. I just spent 15 days out in the bush in a area that people say is a high density area and in that time we only had one bear circle our tent on one of the nights but we were sleeping. I do have a couple unnerving story's about sleeping in tents and grizzly bears lol. Good hunting to you sir.
Thanks for posting Olin. I am planning a moose hunt and judging a bull on the hoof to meet the 50" requirement is definitely a concern for me. Although I didn't post my guess, I guessed 65", so I was close. But honestly, that bull is really a no brainer....as soon as you see him you know he's legal. I'm most worried about bulls that are border line. I'm guessing Walt's bull is 55". I hope more people that have killed moose will post pics and the actual spread. Great learning tool!
I just spent 2 weeks in AK moose hunting. It's a lot easier "judging" from the barka lounger than when the bull is 15 yards away. After looking at footage of two bulls that were well within my longbow range, I believe I let legal bulls go free. They were too close IMO without 4 brow tines to take the chance of a confiscated moose and gear, along with fines and lost hunting privileges. One may have had 4 brow times but one of them was very small and coming off another brow point and I did not know how that would be interpreted. Not easy for sure.
Chuck, the greatest spread for moose is taken from the outermost antler material, excluding any abnormality or abnormal point on either antler, on one antler to the outermost antler material on the other antler. This measurement has to be taken perpendicular (right angle) to the centerline axis of the skull.
54"
Jeff,
Yes that is the moose shot with Pigger.
Olin,
You are the closest.
Photography can be deceiving,the bull was 49 3/4". If in a 50 " area I would have passed on this bull, the area I hunted was not a 50" area. The local game warden said regardless, he wouldn't have done anything as it was close enough to 50". After seeing Pigger, he was so amazed with a selfbow taking a mature moose that was all he talked about.
Walt, using a dividers ( on those pix), measuring off the width of the animals eyes, then going both sides, if that eye measurement is 10" that bull looks to clearly exceed 50", by several inches, again, if you believe that initial measurement. Looks to be a bit tricky I see.
ChuckC
ChuckC Thats the down fall of that measurement. That 10" is kinda of a average. Not all bulls are crated equal.
Walt that is a fine looking bull. I am glad you bumped into a understanding trooper. I know of a guy that is as honest as anyone and he turned himself in with a bull that was 49 1/2" and he received a $500 dollar fine, meat and antlers taken and lost his hunting privileges for a couple years. Pretty hefty fine for a 1/2 inch.
Anyway congratulations on a successful hunt and good luck on your 2016 hunt.
I killed a bull many years ago in a 36" area. 15 minutes after the bull died, fish and feathers was there putting a tape on it. 35.75" is what the tape read. The trooper laughed and told me he'd give me quarter inch because of possible antler contraction due to cold. It was minus 50 and in waist deep snow! Only had to move it a couple hundred yards but I was whipped before it was all over.
I killed a bull many years ago in a 36" area. 15 minutes after the bull died, fish and feathers was there putting a tape on it. 35.75" is what the tape read. The trooper laughed and told me he'd give me quarter inch because of possible antler contraction due to cold. It was minus 50 and in waist deep snow! Only had to move it a couple hundred yards but I was whipped before it was all over.