Elk in velvet

So I know im kinda a stranger around here these days, but hopefully im still allowed to ask a question here and there... so here it goes;

i'll be hunting elk this year with my bow for the first time...... well, hopefully.

I was just curious, it seems like when seeing pics of archery elk in the past that they never have any velvet left on them.. Well the archery elk goes on the same time as the archery deer.. i think elk starts about one week later or something?? And the deer are in full velvet. So why is it that elk shed their velvet earlier than deer? Or am I wrong and they are in velvet?

If any difference i would think that elk would be in velvet longer than deer being as how much more growth they make.
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Elk sheds their antlers last...somewhere around the end of March and are fully grown by the first week in August. It has been proven the they have the FASTEST growing bone growth of any mammal...maybe thats why the chinese and asain communities want the antler powder so bad... :thumb

so, deer shed their antlers in late Jan.- Early Feb and don't complete their antlers till late Sept.- early Oct

hope that answered your question.
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hound_hunter
so when do they loose their velvet though?
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9er
hound_hunter

the elk will start rubbing soon, my old man claims he saw one last week that was aleady rubbed! i remember one bull i watched rubbing the 16th of aug. a few yrs ago!


9er
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hound_hunter
thanks 9er

That kinda sucks those - Those deer look awesome in velvet - imagine a mature bull elk, that'd be sweet! I dunno, maybe elk do look better hard horned
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a_bow_nut
The whole elk cycle runs earlier than deer. That is why they rub first. The rut in mid to late Sep. and deer rut in mid to late Nov.

The only thing that doesn't follow that trait is when they shed their antlers. Deer drop first thn elk. Why that is I don't know.
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hound_hunter
dang, crazy world we live in - thanks for the info guys
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proutdoors
Just as some bulls shed their antlers earlier than others, same goes for shedding their velvet. Some are already stripped, others are starting, and others will still have velvet for a few more weeks. Some spikes carry velvet all year. I have noticed, age has little to do with the timing of this amazing cycle of antler life other than the yearlings, I am talking about 'mature' bulls.

PRO
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dahlmer
We were out this morning and close to half of the mature bulls we saw were out of the velvet. Looks to be fairly recent as the antlers are still white and stained with blood. I'm getting excited now.
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youngbuck91
Last year when bowhunting around Aug. 20th. some bigger bulls were halfed rubbed and others rubbed all the way. Some spikes though were all velvet.
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StickFlicker
The larger bulls normally rub out first, with the yearling bulls being several weeks later. This gives the mature bulls the chance to gather up the harems of cows without having to expend as much energy, thus passing on the better genetics.
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