Thread: When will the stags harden up?

How can you tell "on the hoof" when a stags antlers have hardened under his velvet? Whilst I know he won't be hard yet I got another look at a group of stags and spikers I have been keeping my eye on yesterday, didn't have binos with me but they were standing in full view at about 40m away (they didn't see me) and one in particular is a bloody dinosaur with a real nice rack on him that looks fully formed (if that makes sense?) the tips are pointed now compared to when I first saw them a few weeks back they were stubby looking. I'm really hoping these fellas hang around long enough to harden up.

Some info here
http://www.nzhunter.co.nz/Literature...aspx?ID=157652

Hope you catch up to him when he has stripped. from what guys tell me at the club some stags you see only once in velvet then vanish once hard.

Originally Posted by Kooza

Some info here
http://www.nzhunter.co.nz/Literature...aspx?ID=157652

Hope you catch up to him when he has stripped. from what guys tell me at the club some stags you see only once in velvet then vanish once hard.

Yes that's what I'm concerned about, that he buggers off when he's close to stripping. I think my best shot at him due to where he is would be whilst he's in velvet but hard underneath. If he doesn't stick around that long then so be it. I want to at least hunt him with the camera but for now I'm trying to leave them as undisturbed as possible, only happened on them again as I had to do something on that part of the farm, staff have been given the "stay away from there" talk also

Should this not be here? http://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.n...5/index16.html
Ha nar he's not roaring post a pic if you do catch up with him and good luck with him.
I wonder if you could stain his horns up with some brown nugget our something similar?

Originally Posted by Sideshow

Should this not be here? http://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.n...5/index16.html
Ha nar he's not roaring post a pic if you do catch up with him and good luck with him.
I wonder if you could stain his horns up with some brown nugget our something similar?

From what I have seen he won't be roaring where they are either as they are having a bit of a sausage fest down low while the girls hang out up high.
Have seen a few stripping stags heads stained up by a taxidermist before that looked pretty good

Cool, I'm no expert so others on here should be able to help out. I guess undisturbed they may well stick around a bit longer, time will tell I guess

Hey mate, about that boundary fence I offered to fix up after the earthquake...... I'll be up shortly to do it with a couple of mates

Depending on when he dropped he won't be hard enough until Feb.

If he is huge he could have cast early so will in turn be hard early but no more than a month I would say.



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I hunt a place where the stags grow their velvet. For 3 years I've been trying to catch one as they begin to strip but never have. Haven't seen one with the slightest peel. Its open scrub and bush, and they seem to clear off back into the trees of a big DOC reserve on Snee rd when it (the velvet) begins to get itchy. Don't see them again really until after the roar - and that presents the best opportunity to get one of them, through until they drop.

Ryan if they do disappear, start looking for them again in May. They might turn up. Especially if there is some feed.

Waitangi weekend is usually the safe zone

Had one last roar that was peeling on One top point, plenty hard underneath. Whitetail though so different timing, second one a few days later was out of velvet and fully stained up

I shot a stag stripped and stained the first week in February a while back. As stated earlier depends on when they drop their antlers as to when they harden off. Older stags generally drop first with younger animals holding antlers through to late September, sika are even later.
By the sounds he is a big older stag so he may be hard enough to strip and stain by late January. I suppose if you get the chance around then you will have to decide there and then if you shoot or not. I would think he will move around late February early March and start moving back towards rutting grounds.

End of Feb is usually when they are fully formed/hardening up round here.....spikers can still be in velvet near the end of March and even April!

whatever you decide to do...you run the risk of taking what may well be your "once in a lifetime head" BEFORE it is ready if you go too soon...you would be absolutely gutted if you dropped the big boy only to find some tines werent fully hard yet.....
as for staining,there is a thread on the other pub about it....condies crystals I seem to recall is the stuff to use.

Wouldn't go earlier than waitangi weekend