Red stag and elk are close cousins but not the same deer. How they differ in size, antlers, roar and bugle, and the rut, and how to hunt both in Texas.
Red stag and elk are close cousins in the genus Cervus, and for a long time they were treated as one species. Most authorities now treat them as two: the red deer (Cervus elaphus) of Europe, western Asia and North Africa, and the elk, or wapiti (Cervus canadensis), of North America and Central and East Asia. Elk are the bigger animal, with long, sweeping antler beams. Red stag are smaller and known for the crown of tines at the top of their antlers. A stag roars. A bull elk bugles.
- Species: red deer, Cervus elaphus; elk or wapiti, Cervus canadensis.
- Weight: red stag about 350 to 500 lb; elk about 600 to 900 lb.
- Antlers: a big stag forms a crown of points at the top; an elk's beams sweep back with points rising along their length.
- Voice: a stag roars deep and guttural; an elk bugles high and whistling.
- Rut in Texas: both in the fall, usually September into October.
One genus, two species
For years the American elk was filed as a subspecies of red deer. Mitochondrial DNA studies beginning in 1998 changed that, and the elk now carries its own name, Cervus canadensis. The genetic work also places elk closer to sika and Thorold's deer than to the red deer of Europe.
Elk and red deer still produce fertile offspring in captivity, and in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park the two crossed so freely that pure elk blood all but disappeared from the area.
Names add to the confusion. The word "elk" first belonged to the European moose, and in Europe it still means the moose. So hunters in Europe and New Zealand call the American animal a wapiti, from a Shawnee and Cree word meaning "white rump."
Size and build
Elk are the heavier deer by a wide margin. A mature red stag runs about 350 to 500 pounds, though size varies a good deal by region. A bull elk runs 600 to 900, and a big one can stand five feet at the shoulder. Beyond size, a few marks set them apart:
- Rump: the elk carries a wider rump patch, the "white rump" behind the name wapiti.
- Mane: a red stag grows a short neck mane in the fall; a bull elk's neck hair is dark and shaggy against a lighter body.
- Coat: both go redder in summer and greyer in winter, so color alone is a poor guide.
Antlers: the crown and the sweep
This is where most hunters tell them apart. A red stag's first three points are the brow, bay and tray. Above them, on a big stag, the fourth and fifth points and any beyond cluster at the top of the beam in what hunters call the crown, or cup.
An elk's beams grow up and back, with the points rising off the top of the beam along its length. The brow tines reach forward over the face, and the fourth point, the dagger or sword, is usually the longest on the rack. Most mature bulls are 6x6, and Boone and Crockett notes that American elk rarely crown. Elk antlers also tend to be paler than a stag's.
The judging cues follow the shape. On a stag, the crown is the prize: look for a full cup of points on top and heavy beams below it. On an elk, look hardest at tine length, starting with the dagger point, and at beam length. Boone and Crockett puts tine length at 40 percent or more of a typical bull's score. When a big bull throws his head back, his beams seem to reach his haunches.
Roar vs. bugle
In the rut, either call gives a bull away. A red stag roars: a deep, guttural bellow, heard most in the early morning and evening. A bull elk bugles: a high, whistling call that carries a long way in open country.
The bugle is two sounds at once. A 2016 study of wapiti in the Journal of Experimental Biology found that a bull's vocal folds make a low tone around 150 Hz while a whistle rides above it at up to 4,000 Hz, a pitch better suited to an animal a fraction of his size.
The rut
In Texas, both deer rut in the fall, usually September into October, when stags roar over their hinds and bulls bugle and gather cows. South of the equator the calendar flips: in New Zealand and Argentina, the stag roar comes in March and April. For the rest of the calendar, species by species, see the best time to hunt exotics.
Hunting both in Texas
Texas Parks & Wildlife lists both elk and red deer among its examples of exotic animals. On private land there is no closed season and no state bag or possession limit for exotics, though you still need a valid Texas hunting license.
At Black Eagle Ranch, red stag and elk both carry trophy fees from $7,500, plus $350 per hunter per day for lodge and guide. You pay a trophy fee only for animals you take. Hunts are fully guided and run on your timeline, so one trip can cover both deer, and the ranch is open year-round except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Red stag aren't the only Old World deer here. The deer in the photo at the top of this page are Père David's deer, from China, whose main antler tines point backward. There are fallow deer, with broad, palmated antlers, and sika, the elk's closer kin, which whistle in their own fall rut. See all the exotic deer at Black Eagle.
Every species is priced on the trophy fees page. When you know which deer you want, reserve your hunt and we'll plan the days around it.
