Non-typical bull elk picture

[68valu]

one of the more odd bulls I've had pose in front of my cameras this season:




                                                                                                                                             68valu

[craz07]

wow beautiful that such places still exist 

[RotBaron]

wat is dat velvet?

[craz07]

Nope. Looks like a beautiful healthy elk.. leave it alone rotbaron 

[craz07]

Looks like he's taking a drink?

[RotBaron]

velvet on the horns...every year they get new ones and grow with a velvet like fur on them til they're ready and strong to do some dueling with...

late winter/early spring shed horns, velvet in spring thru early summer, he's still in it kinda a bit late...I think Valu is N Rocky mtns though, I'm more familiar with the CO/AZ elk.

[Cremator]

Is that common with elk? Reckon it got hit by a car or some lack or a type mineral? With our deer here ive seen em grow weird for several different reasons. Don't know nothing bout no elk.

[craz07]

velvet on the horns...every year they get new ones and grow with a velvet like fur on them til they're ready and strong to do some dueling with...

late winter/early spring shed horns, velvet in spring thru early summer, he's still in it kinda a bit late...I think Valu is N Rocky mtns though, I'm more familiar with the CO/AZ elk.

I think you mean antlers.. a part of a skull growth..

[mbailey]

Is that common with elk? Reckon it got hit by a car or some lack or a type mineral? With our deer here ive seen em grow weird for several different reasons. Don't know nothing bout no elk.

Same reason as deer....food, injury,genetics..etc etc

We had one buck every year that would come in to our apple tree....had one side growing up perfectly, the other one was a red hot mess not knowing what way to grow......we saw him 5 or 6 yrs straight.....about 3 or 4 yrs after that we had a different one come in with a similar (albeit less pronounced) issue....im thinking it was the offspring of that buck.

[RotBaron]

yep, could be several factors, the Kaibab trophies are said to have abundance of calcium.

AZ elk, esp WM Apache are sought after because their spreads are the largest. One thing I always thought contributed to their ability to grow such spreads is the spacing of forest in AZ vs other Rocky Mtn states. Some places I hunted elk in CO (like the Medicine Bows) amazed me that they could traverse through, pines so close together...probably just genetics though.

[craz07]

yea i would say probably lol

[Rich46yo]

They are such beautiful animals. Worthy of respect.

[RotBaron]

Hunt the ghosts of the black timber in an over the counter 4pt bull season in CO this fall, everybody but the guy who gets the camp elk will gain a lot of respect. Try units 7 and 9 and hunt on foot in the Rawah wilderness for extra adventure   

[Cremator]

I'm in several different deer leases here in Arkansas. One lease is on a river in the flat ground about ten miles east of where I live. The bucks over there have those, or what we call, chocolate brown colored antlers. Another lease only 15 miles away, rolling hill ground, and the bucks all have a whiter colored antlers. A biologist told me that its all in the minerals in the soil.

What the hell does this have to do with duck hunting? Lol

[68valu]

I'm in several different deer leases here in Arkansas. One lease is on a river in the flat ground about ten miles east of where I live. The bucks over there have those, or what we call, chocolate brown colored antlers. Another lease only 15 miles away, rolling hill ground, and the bucks all have a whiter colored antlers. A biologist told me that its all in the minerals in the soil.

What the hell does this have to do with duck hunting? Lol

I believe the color of the antlers after the elk or deer has rubbed the velvet off is also a result of the type of brush and terrain the rubbing is physically done on. If an elk rubs his antlers on really sap carrying trees, then the antlers get sticky and pick up more coloration from other material and hold it better. If you watch "hunting" shows that go and shoot elk on fenced in game ranches, all the elk have very light colored antlers. That is because most of the trees and brush have all been rubbed from years past and have died and do not hold sap. The elk still need to rub so they use what they can to rub on.

Hunt the ghosts of the black timber in an over the counter 4pt bull season in CO this fall, everybody but the guy who gets the camp elk will gain a lot of respect. Try units 7 and 9 and hunt on foot in the Rawah wilderness for extra adventure   

I started my elk hunting passion in the "West Elk Wilderness" near Crawford Colorado in about 1987. Never got one the first few years, but moved to Oregon and have done well with both rifle and bow since moving here. Now i enjoy my game cameras more than hunting these amazing animals. Trying to set cameras in spots to get good pics while avoiding people is a challenge. I don't have access to private property, so I primarily focus on wilderness areas off trails and more difficult to access areas to reduce human interference.

here is a pic from the very first camera and placement I set and it hooked me on trail cams:





                                                                                                    68valu