Know How
Elk Antler Terms Explained: How to Count Points and Read a Rack
What a 5x6, a raghorn, and a royal bull actually mean, and how to name every point on an elk's antlers.
Published · 2 min read
Quick Take
Western hunters count elk points one side at a time, so a 6x6 has six points on each antler. The points are named from the bottom up: brow, bez, trez, fourth (often called the sword or dagger), fifth, and sixth. A royal is a 6x6, an imperial is a 7x7, and a monarch is an 8x8.
How elk points are counted
In the West, hunters count the points on each antler separately. A bull with six points on one side and five on the other is called a 5x6. My own bull this season was a 5x6, so one antler grew a point short of a royal.
A point usually needs to be at least an inch long to count. Anything shorter is just a bump on the antler.
The names of each point, from the bottom up
| Point | Common name | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Brow tine | The lowest point, sweeping forward over the face |
| 2nd | Bez tine | Just above the brow, often close in length |
| 3rd | Trez tine | Usually the shortest point on a mature bull |
| 4th | Sword or dagger | Often the longest and most dominant point |
| 5th | Fifth point | Near the top, where the beam starts to fork |
| 6th | Sixth point | The end of the main beam on a 6 point side |
The main beam is the long trunk that every point grows from. On mature bulls, the fifth and sixth points often form a fork at the top, which some hunters call a whale tail.
What the bull names mean
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Spike | A young bull with single unbranched antlers |
| Raghorn | A young bull, usually two or three years old, with thin or small antlers |
| 5x6 | Five points on one side and six on the other |
| Royal | A bull with six points on each side, a 6x6 |
| Imperial | Seven points on each side, a 7x7 |
| Monarch | Eight points on each side, an 8x8 |
Points are not the whole story
Point count is the quick way to describe a bull, but it doesn't tell you how big he is. A 6x6 with short, thin tines can be smaller than a 5x6 with long beams and heavy mass. Official record books score bulls by measuring beam length, tine length, spread, and mass, not by counting points alone.
So when someone tells you they shot a royal, it's always worth asking how long the swords were.