raghorn
Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- noun Any male elk (bull) with antlers between one and six points, non-inclusive, on either side. Also called an "intermediate bull" (bulls with two, three, four or five points on either side).
Examples
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A raghorn is often a spike bull and certainly no more than two and a half years old.
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A spike elk is a trophy, a raghorn is a trophy, a mature bull is a trophy.
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I think the term raghorn refers to the typical ragged, unbalanced appearance of the antlers on bulls at this stage.
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According the the White Mountain Apache Tribe, a raghorn elk is a bull having a maximum of four points on either beam with no broken points or beam.
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Any branched antler bull with tiny branched antlers is considered a raghorn.
Note
The origin of the word 'raghorn' is uncertain; it may come from the animals being 'non-trophy' specimens, or from the covering of new antlers hanging like rags when sloughing off.
