Oh, learned heads.............

[Bob Wright]

Is India stag the same as Sambar stag? Are all antlered deer in India Sambar, or is there another breed?

I often see "genujine India stag" advertised.

And many knife brands continue to sell knives with Sambar stag handles.


Bob Wright

 

[Heliman]

Check this out....

https://www.wildlifeindia.co.uk/wildlife-species-india/wildlife-deer-india.html

Appears Sambar deer are the largest of the deer species in India.

Dave

 

[pete44ru]

.

AFAIK, female Reindeer, and male deer of all species except the Chinese water deer, grow and shed new antlers each year.

The antlers of the Muntjac, the Elk/Wapiti, the Fallow deer, and the Chitall, plus Reindeer/Caribou, Roe deer, Asian/Sambar, and Moose/Elg, are all technically "stag".

The various antlers each have a slightly different look/characteristic that changes each one's attractiveness (IOW, YMMV), some being more attractive than others for specific applications like knife & handgun grips.

Ergo, any real differences between various "stag" antler material is in the eye (and the wallet) of the beholder.

I have a set of "Elkhorn" stag grips that Sack Peterson (Ruger forum member & commercial grip maker) made for my Bearcat several years ago.

.

 

[Poco Oso]

Thanks for the link, Dave. Very interesting.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Is India stag the same as Sambar stag? Are all antlered deer in India Sambar, or is there another breed?

I often see "genujine India stag" advertised.

And many knife brands continue to sell knives with Sambar stag handles.

Hi,

Once upon a time I read Sambar deer are now protected in India. I know they are in a couple of other countries. Overhunting and other human pressures have led to population declines. The article said India had set a cutoff date for exporting genuine Sambar antlers. So reputedly there were folks stocking up on the genuine thing before the supply got cut off. Could be some makers are still working off of old stores.

Now, that story's a few years old, and I don't find anything in a quick search to verify it, other than a forum post to the effect "the real material is back" which makes me think any existing ban was lifted or modified. Anyway, according to a discussion I found on one of the knife forums, it looks like one has to read all the words, carefully. I'd guess "genuine India stag" comes from some other species of deer, native to India, but it's not Sambar. The Sambar name, being quite well known, would surely be used if applicable, no? There's also "genuine India stag bone" which, best I can tell, is the shin bone from a "genuine India stag" as opposed to the more common cow shin bone. It's then jigged, burned and colored to imitate real stag horn. I have a couple of knives from Bear & Son or Bear MGC, whatever they call themselves these days, made of the "stag bone" product. There are folks who do a good job of jigging regular cow bone (Boker and Case come to mind), and some who can even do a passable "bone into horn" imitation. They didn't seem to work for Bear at the time my knives were made.

Rick C

 

[Bob Wright]

Sambar stag, from the information I get, is still readily available, only not from India.

The shed antlers are picked up after shedding, the deer are not harmed. So why the embargo?

Antler gathers in India roamed the forests seeking the shed antlers. The Bengal tiger learned this might provide an easy meal and began attacking the workers. to protect themselves, these men carried guns and shot the tigers. So the Indian government placed a ban on gathering antlers to protect the endangered Bengal tiger. The tiger's numbers are declining due to loss of habitat.

Sambar stag is available from the Philippines to this day.

Bob Wright

 

[CraigC]

Because people were not waiting for them to be shed. They were shooting the stags and taking the antlers.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Because people were not waiting for them to be shed. They were shooting the stags and taking the antlers.

HI,

Yeah: putting Third Worlders on the honor system when it comes to such pursuits is a recipe for abuse, poaching and other misdeeds if there's the slightest possibility of financial benefit. Heck, it's even a First World problem! "Yessir, I gathered these antlers from the ground. They were shed."

"Ok, explain to me why they're still attached to a bloody skull!"

"I dunno..."

Rick C