An Overview of Hunting Red Stags

Red deer stags are male, between 70 and 100 inches long, and weigh between 350 and 530 pounds. They get their name from their coat, which tends to be reddish-brown in the summer. Some males will grow a neck mane during the autumn– kind of like “No Shave November” for us human guys, right? Stags have stronger and thicker muscles than their female counterparts. Oh, and females don’t have neck manes.

Well-adapted to the woodland environment, red deer stags have antlers which grow in the spring and shed toward the end of winter. A stag’s antlers can measure about 28 inches in length, up to 45 inches for the bigger ones. These antlers are made of bone, and, interesting fact: they can grow an inch a day. In the springtime, you’re likely to notice the antlers have a soft covering, known as velvet, which helps protect them as they grow. Now stag antler growth is determined by testosterone. Some stags don’t grow antlers; they’re known as hummels.

Each autumn, red deer grow thicker coats of hair, in preparation for insulating themselves during cold winters. In the summertime, stags often rub themselves against trees to help remove hair from their bodies. Just like most men want to beat the heat by taking their shirts off in the summer, deer want to cool off, too.

Red deer, which are found all over the world, including North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and even New Zealand, have long been hunted for both sport and food. If you see one with 12 tines, that’s a “Royal.” One with 14 tines is called a “Winston.” By the way, tines are prongs/the sharp point of an antler. Interestingly, red deer can be found in the Atlas Mountains of northwestern Africa (between Morocco and Tunisia), and fun fact: they’re the only species of deer to inhabit Africa. You can use that piece of trivia at parties.

Want to hunt red deer stags? Tioga Boar Hunting might have boar in the name, but rest assured there are a whole lot of animals on our Pennsylvania property for you to hunt, including red deer. Find out more info about red stag hunts here.