http://www.khqa.com/home/headlines/512202.html

It looks like a barasingha.

Here's one I shot a number of years ago.


George

George- Please tell me more about that deer and your hunt. Where, when, how?? Even though I most probably will never afford a hunt such as that, I would still like to learn more about it.

Thanks

Crazy,

That deer has the face of a Sika and the heard of a young red staggie. That would explain the shaggy coat. Do you have Sika in the area? Have a look on IanF's thread on the European forum and you'll see the similarities.

Either way, if that buck goes 408lb, I'm the little green man!!!

FB

Crazy,

I'm with FB on this, I would have gone with a Sika.
Never did see one that weighed as much as that though.

John

Obviously an escapee from one of the many hunting preserves in Missouri.

I didn't buy the 408 number either.

Supposedly its because the animal was gutted? Even if it was gutted, its not going to have 150+ lbs of guts!

The coat looks Sika but the head sure looks a little different. Do Sika and Red Stag mate like Elk and Red Stag?

Might be a silk, sika/elk cross. I have seen a few and it sure looks like one to me.

Browningguy,

Sika and Reds will cross and the calves are fertile. Such crossing is very common in parts of Scotland and Ireland in fact.

As to the photo, the anlters & body look like a young red stag, but the face is something else perhaps Sika as suggested..

I do agree that there is no way that animal weighs 408lb, not even as a live weight..I could actually put it around 180lb to 200lb gralloched...

Regards,

Pete

Looks like a Sika/Red Deer cross as already pointed out. Not sure what they're called, but I know that here in Texas, the Sika/Elk crosses are called "Silks".

Sika and Reds cross down here too and Elk and Reds

Pete

I'd say you are spot on on the weight. given the head and hooves are still on.

The horizontal beam on the antlers make me thinki it is more likely Red than Elk. I haven't seen a lot of Elk photos butthey seem to go more upwards.

Rgds,
FB

It looks like an Eld's Deer.

GeorgeS is right. It's a Barasingha Deer. They're from India and are also sometimes called "Swamp Deer". They are on the endangered species list, but they can be hunted legally with a CITES permit. They have lots of them in the United States and, in my opinion, are not even remotely endangered! I worked as a ranch hand/assistant ranch manager on a 7,000 acre exotic game ranch in the Texas Hill Country over the summer that has Barasingha. The owner is a very good friend of mine and he has over 100 head of them. They aren't the most skittish animal in the world but they are VERY TASTY! (He had some sausage that was Barasingha mixed with lean pork shoulder). The buck above probably really did weigh 408 lbs. The can reach weights up and over 600 lbs. They're around the same size as Red Deer. Cost isn't too bad if you really want one. Best place is to come to Texas. Cost is usually between $3,500 and $4,000. The rack on the one above isn't very big. There was one buck on the ranch where I worked that had 15 points and several other large bucks with 10-12 points! They are quite ugly when they are in hard antler, but when they're in velvet they have a very short reddish brown coat with light spots. Just didn't want anyone to be confused.

Eland Slayer,

If you look at the photos you will notice that the shot deer has Tres Tignes above the brow tignes. That is an antler structure that The Barrasingha don't have. Their second forward pointing Tign is always on the first Foork in the antler.

They look similar to Reds and on the deer park, where a couple of freinds cull, the Barrasingha (Hinds Especially) often get mistaken for reds/Sika by inexperienced guns.

The slightly narrower face with longishg muzzel and distinctive gait when on the hoof (they seem to "cycle" their frintl legs when alert)are a distinguishing factor for these deer.

Here are a couple more pictures and you'll also see that the Barrasingha antler curves upwards rather than disp[laying the horizontal beam you get in some reds.

Fallow Buck,

You do see to have got nearer to solving the problem I think, with your comprehensive explanation. Eland Slayer has provide what could be an explanation to the brute, but, I just can't see that thing weighing 408Lbs. Unless of course that is some sort of giant squatting down in the photograph.

I still think it is some sort of hybrid, but I could be wrong, I was once when I was younger.

John

Jay,

I was reading an article a couple of weeks ago about deer hybridising. They Claimed that deer were more likely to hybridise where the poulation sizes were mismatched or both very small. That's why park escapees can be the culptrits especially where meat farming is the purpose because it is mainly hinds/does that are in the park so you get a gender mismatch too.

Apparently where big poulations of two species were present on the ground, Hybridisation was less prevalent.

The reality is that with the variety of Exotics available n the states it could be anything!!

Of course it helps pass the day at work trying to guess!!

Rgds,
FB

Fallow Buck

I know what you're saying. But, unfortunately, most of the Barasingha here in the States don't have very good genetics. This is just a Barasingha with crappy antlers. I think they are a little deformed. They had a few Barasingha on the ranch that I worked on that had antlers like this. Don't want to sound full of myself, but I know for a fact that it is a pure blood Barasingha. Just one with ugly antlers.

A friend of mine shot this deer a few weeks ago on a preserve. We were told it was a "Formosa Sika" it looks a lot like the deer in this thread. What do you think?

Foxfire

That deer your friend shot is really Formosan Sika. They are larger than the Japanese Sika.

crazy_quick that is definitely a barasingha. We have the swamp deer here in Texas.

FoxFire: What caliber of TC is your friend using in this photo?

Nice rack BTW.

What else would it be, a 45-70 of course.
It's a hand cannon, I forgot the name of the customizer. jd?

Hello guys!

The T/C is a 45-70 SSK Stainless Steel hand cannon with a 14" barrel The barrel has a full vent rib, muzzle break,and the TSOP scope mounting system ( 3 rings). The scope is a Burris 2X, and of course Pachmayr grips. I'm using factory loads, however the full potential is in the 500 grain category.

I've owned the gun several years with no gunsmithing problems!

Regarding the 408# deer...It is most likely correct as mine was estimated at 400#'s. These deer are large, and I'm 6'3" 250#'s.
Glenn

Sika

A dead one?