At first glance, a bull elk and a red stag deer might look very similar to you. Even the most experienced hunters have been known to confuse them, and until recently, scientists actually believed that elk were a subspecies of red stag deer. The truth is that bull elk and red stag deer are not one and the same, though. They’re two totally different species based on their DNA. Here are some of the key differences between bull elk and red stag deer.
Bull elk are a lot bigger than red stag deer.
The biggest difference between bull elk and red stag deer might just be their size. It’s not out of the ordinary to see a mature bull elk that is anywhere from 600 to more than 1,000 pounds. There are some red stag deer that can come close to the 600-pound mark, but more often than not, they tend to be somewhere between 300 and 500 pounds. This makes them closer in size to whitetails and mule deer.
Bull elk and red stag deer have coats that are different colors.
From a distance, you might have trouble seeing the differences in coat color in bull elk and red stag deer. But bull elk usually have coats that are light brown on their bodies and a darker brown up around their heads. Red stag deer, meanwhile, have coats that are, as their name would suggest, on the reddish-brown side. It’s pretty easy to spot the differences between bull elk and red stag deer when you look at their coat colors up close.
Red stag deer have antlers that are different than bull elk antlers.
Bull elk have spectacular antlers. In some instances, their antlers contain six or seven times on them. However, red stag deer have antlers with unique features that set them apart from bull elk antlers. When you look at the tips of their antlers, they tend to form a crown that makes them look different than the antlers on bull elk.
In addition to these differences, there are also differences as far as hunting for bull elk and red stag deer are concerned. Tioga Boar Hunting can speak with you about how you hunt each of them and tell you what challenges you might face while doing it. Call us at 570-835-5341 today to find out more about booking an elk hunting trip or a red stag deer hunting trip.