This past Saturday, August 19, I was invited to a ranch just south of Austin, Texas to hunt Red Stag. You probably know that this is a European version of our Elk in the USA.

Long story short, I was given a free tag to take a beautiful 7x7 Red Stag. The owner of the property said the animal weighed nearly 700 pounds. It was nurished with high protein feeds as well as food plots and grass. It was an incredible experience.

I shot the Stag with a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 in 30-06. I used a 150 grain Remington Core-Lokt. The bullet went completely through the Stag and it ran about 25 yards before expiring. The shot was made at about 50-60 yards.

This was the animal of my dreams....I thought when I hunted in New Zealand, but I got mine in Texas.

"The stars are big, they're big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas!"

Billy

Nice Billy...where exactly was this ranch?
 
Just curious as that's where I grew up....

I am not familiar with the Austin area. But, it was about 20 - 30 miles south of Austin just off of a main highway. This friend called me the night before and had someone bring me to his ranch. It was a great time. (I was there no more than one hour)
Billy

Hi Bill,

     Hmmm if this Red Stag weighed nearly 700 lbs then it's not a pure Red, I suspect it's a Red/Wapiti hybred A very large pure Red in the South West of England where they grow biggest will get to around 500 lbs and even allowing for the high protein feed supplimant a near 50% body weight increase is one heck of a lot.

     Seeing as the North American Elk is a sub species of the Red Deer. Hybrids where both are present is not uncommon. In fact Wapiti have been imported to Scotland in the past to increase the size of the Reds in certain places as the Scottish hill Deer are smaller due to the harsher enviroment and poorer fodder a real big Scottish hill stag would possibly go about 330lbs most would be more like the 200- 250lbs for a good one.

    None of this takes away the excitement of the trip of course :D  nor the majesty of the Red Stag, being close to them is a thrill on it's own. A thrill which with a bit of luck I may experience later this year. A friend has just joined a syndicate which has 3,000 acres leasted in Western Scotland and is allowed to take a guest :D . As you know handling a carcase of such a beast single handedly is not a real option, yes it can be done by jointing and using a pack frame, but a helper makes it easier. Hence providing the rules on guests have not been changed I get to go as a guest and with a bit of luck will get the chance to shoot my own Red Stag :D . The luck comes in as you have to find the Deer then stalk them in fairly open terrain unless they are in the Forrest, this is lowland stalking as the lease is on the foothills of the Highlands so the Reds should be a bit larger than thr true highland beasts. Hence I had better work on my fitness a bit and get the bike out, that food poisoning has really knocked me back :o .

Floyd, you might be right on that. When I first saw the Stag the land owner said it looked like it weighed 600 pounds. When we walked up on it he said 700 pounds. I will let you know if they actually weigh the animal. All I know is that 4 men could not lift it off the ground. It makes sense that it would be the same as those in Scotland.

Thanks, Billy

Ahhhh it becomes clearer. I know that some can fairly accurately estimate the weight of a beast however those weights are those of good Elk and not Red Stags. I used to get a publication which listed the top Stags shot in Scotland and the heavist I can recall is 25 Stone which is 350lbs. Sorry to say but when I moved last year I cleared out a lot of old magazines and I threw them away due to lack of space. I had enough to move as it was.

Quote from: BrithunterAhhhh it becomes clearer. I know that some can fairly accurately estimate the weight of a beast however those weights are those of good Elk and not Red Stags. I used to get a publication which listed the top Stags shot in Scotland and the heavist I can recall is 25 Stone which is 350lbs. Sorry to say but when I moved last year I cleared out a lot of old magazines and I threw them away due to lack of space. I had enough to move as it was.

Hey Floyd, there is one thing you have to remember about this story......It happened in TEXAS! Everything is bigger in Texas. Billy

Hey Floyd, there is one thing you have to remember about this story......It happened in TEXAS! Everything is bigger in Texas. Billy                                                                                                              

Here is a picture

Hmmm very strange ............... I get an e-mail telling me there is a new post to this thread and it says :-

" Here is a Picture"

    So I come along and there is no new post and no Piccy.

Here's the picture....sorry, I cancelled the other post because the pic was so bad. I'm trying again. Billy

Billy,
Nice, very nice.
 
Does the "everything's bigger in Texas" include tall tales?:D Just wondering because I have doubted a few stories told me by Texans, but I have never been able to prove them wrong.
 
God Bless,
Maynard

Texans tell the "tallest" tales....yup...everything's bigger. Billy

Hmmm thankyou although the picture is stll not good!

Did you find out if the beast was weighed?

I ask because that does not look like a huge Stag. The Antlers are certainly very nice and an impressive set. But comparing the Stag with yourself .................... it looks like a nice sized beast but no real monster. I would guess 300lbs maybe a bit more but as I say the picture is not very clear.

They did not weigh it. It was a 4 year old Stag....The ranch owner/manager keeps telling me 700 lbs, I am with you though. Maybe not 700 but perhaps 500. I weigh 270 and if you could see the entire body you would see that it was much larger than me. We will never know. Still I will be very happy to get these antlers on the wall. BIlly