OK Rusa experts, or want-to-be-experts, which stag is bigger and which would score better? And why if you know?

Thanks

No 1:


No: 2


Same stag - no: 2

Im no 'scorer' expert but i'll have a go.
first one seems to have thickness while the second has length.

I'd go with thickness over length anyday.

(oh and thanks for the great pic of the rusa doe nitrox - i've been hunting for a good side on doe pic for a while now)

Stag #1 has more mass though what appears to be shorter tines. I prefer his looks compared to Stag #2 which looks like a younger animal and with time, will be a monster.

I don't recall ever seeing these animals before. Are they related to Elk? They look somewhat alike in the face and stance as well as the antlers. derf

I believe these to be "Red Deer" or "Stags" from Europe. Genetic testing has shown them to be the same species as our Elk, but they are smaller and lighter built. More of a sub-species I guess. One wonders why don't the Euro's import a nice bull Elk and give their a deer a "boost" haha. Oh and I like the #2 stag best, I think the longer horns might just make them look thinner. FNMauser

Stag No2 scores more as it is taller and the tines are longer...I am guessing it has better spread too, but can't be certain. No1 Stag does appear to have more mass but I don't think that is a consideration in CIC, Douglas or Rowland Ward for these deer.

Regards,

Pete

To late Frans there are quite a few "super reds" behind wire in Australia, and I've heard this has maybe happened in the wild in NZ with their Waipiti(Elk)

Muzza have you heard about Reds and Waipitit interbreeding?

derf and fnmauser

These stags are Javan Rusa deer. They originate from Java in the Indonesian islands. Their antlers have 3x3 tines. The best place to find them is in New Caledonia where they can also be hunted.

Frans and 416SW

Wapiti (North Amer "Elk") will readily interbreed. This has been happening in deer farms for decades where wapiti bulls have been bred with red hinds to produce from red females stags with superior velvet production. Fjordland in South Island New Zealand had always a problem with interbreeding of wapiti and red deer.

PeteE

Yes no.1 certainly is the one I would take and I seriously was interested but it was my friend's hunt so even though he urged me I decided he should take the first stag if one at all.

Here is another view of stag no. 1



It makes me ill to look at now nicely blown up in the photo and easily to look at.

He is a nice very mature stag while the other is younger and ideally should live another year or two and he will be a monster.

But even iller is the thought a day later I thought this stag was the same one, in the distance.



I came very close to breaking my determination and shoot him. Clearly his antlers are thinner. A spotting scope is called for I think in future.

Rusa are very much like sambar and will interbreed with them.

They have the same mane esp in the rutt and thieir coats are remarkably similar in texture/build.

Quite smaller than sambar though at around 1.5 - 1.8 mts high and up to 120 kg.

Seem to have short legs for thier bodies.

Bloody awful to eat,(imho), although some friends say they like them.

Male and females absolutely stink.

Hills here crawling with them.

Spot on NitroX. Reds and Elk freely interbreed. Bout as much the same as Kiwi's and Aussie's.

Waps are a sub-species of Red Deer.

Reds are the more agressive of the two, hence the thinning of the Wapiti bloodlines in the NZ Wild Elk herd (Or whats left of it.) in Fiordland.

Sika and Reds will interbreed as well, and in this instance the Sika are dominant.

Strange how in both of these the scenarios the deer of lesser stature push the bigger ones around, and steal their ladies. Wouldn't happen in Aussie I'm sure.

NB: Either of those Rusa would make the New Zealand record look small.No.1 with more mass, has a better cape, if that matters.

Both nice animals, the infomation I have on the scoring of Rusa antlers here by the Douglas system is that quote

Heavily pearled and of sturdy formation typical Rusa antlers have a brow tyne rising from the coronet at a rather acute angle to the main beam.
The second tyne "the outer" should be about identical in length to the brow tyne and likewise sprout from the main beam at at an acute angle.The main beam then carries on to form the inner top, which should be considerably longer than the outer and,rise straight up and parallel to its opposite.

Id take #1 although #2 may score better not sure im not a "scorer". #1 looks like the stag I took some years ago in Australia good mass all the way through to the tips but narrower.

Like Shehuntz mentioned earlier id take mass over length anyday like a thick heavy 30" over a skinny long 34" stag. Last year while hunting Axis deer I did this I passed on a long 35"+ to take a thick heavy beamed 31.5" buck the longer bucks mass was ok but when I saw the other buck there was no comparison as to which one I was going to take. Happy Hunting!!!

Which animal is more hunting in NZ/Australia, Rusa or Sambar? What are the main differences in their habits?
Is one a harder trophy to obtain than the other?