Stag Elk

Ikeepitcold

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 22, 2011
10,028
1,615
Reno Nv
Has anyone seen one?

I've seen many deer that have lost their boys but I don't think I've ever seen a bull elk. Have you?
 

AKaviator

Veteran member
Jul 26, 2012
1,819
1,084
"Stag" in this case, generally means a deformed antler growth. It's usually caused by an injury to the testicles when the buck/bull's antlers are in the growing stage. They don't shed the antlers and are generally sterile. A more technical term for it is "peruke head".

I've seen it in moose a couple times and several times in deer. I have seen a photo of an elk with it.
 

Colorado Cowboy

Super Moderator
Jun 8, 2011
8,349
4,741
83
Dolores, Colorado
Years ago I shot a buck deer that was a "stag". It had no balls and deformed antlers that were still in the velvet in late October. It was really fat and was one of the best eating deer I have ever taken.
 

missjordan

Veteran member
Dec 9, 2014
1,136
22
Missoula, MT
Husband missed one with a bow two years ago on opening day. Still couldnt decide if he was late shedding velvet or a stag. Seemed odd to us, he wasnt deformed by any means and was a decent raghorn bull.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Ikeepitcold

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 22, 2011
10,028
1,615
Reno Nv
Scott and I discussed this today.
We came to the thoughts that elk are much more hardy animals then deer. The elk can jump a fence much easier then deer so count that out. Elk can handle the cold better then deer can so count out the boys freezing and falling off to frost bite. So that pretty much leaves being gourd during a fight. Assuming that that doesn’t happen very often would be the reason non of us have seen them.

Maybe they would be killed in a fight by having no testosterone and being a submissive bull with a big rack that doesn’t have the drive to fight off a rutting bull?
 

rjroberts15

Member
Jun 8, 2016
121
9
CA
We saw what i assumed was a stag elk in northern nevada in 2015.
His antlers came straight back and were easily the size of a baseball bat. He had some junk points around his bases and was full velvet.


Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

Ikeepitcold

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 22, 2011
10,028
1,615
Reno Nv
We saw what i assumed was a stag elk in northern nevada in 2015.
His antlers came straight back and were easily the size of a baseball bat. He had some junk points around his bases and was full velvet.


Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
I would bet so.
 

Colorado Cowboy

Super Moderator
Jun 8, 2011
8,349
4,741
83
Dolores, Colorado
Scott and I discussed this today.
We came to the thoughts that elk are much more hardy animals then deer. The elk can jump a fence much easier then deer so count that out. Elk can handle the cold better then deer can so count out the boys freezing and falling off to frost bite. So that pretty much leaves being gourd during a fight. Assuming that that doesn?t happen very often would be the reason non of us have seen them.

Maybe they would be killed in a fight by having no testosterone and being a submissive bull with a big rack that doesn?t have the drive to fight off a rutting bull?
When I was a kid one of my Dad's friends shot a buck deer with no balls, everyone said like a "steer". Someone said that probably one of the local cowboys got it when it was young and "denutted" it. Probably just another one of those "urban legends". LOL
 

Prerylyon

Veteran member
Apr 25, 2016
1,334
511
52
Cedar Rapids, IA
Interesting. So, in this usage, "stag" means "eunuch".

We used say "going stag" back in High School to the dance when we had no date-never equated 'stag' with no [emoji461][emoji458]! [emoji44]

I used to go 'stag' a lot, too!

(b4 anyone says anything I have 7 kids, all mine, w/same wife of 23 yrs, plumbing works-maybe too good)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk