Three White-tailed Bucks Locked by Antlers

Three bucks lock horns

Just about every deer hunter has heard stories about or has even seen, maybe even found, two white-tailed bucks dead after their antlers ended up getting “locked up” during a fight. It’s just not that uncommon for bucks to get their antlers locked together while fighting. However, slim to none have heard of three bucks after becoming locked! As rare as it may be, check out the photos of these three white-tailed bucks that were found locked during the rut.

The bucks were located on a ranch in East-Central Texas and from the information that I received one of the bucks was still alive when the trio was found. Apparently, the antlers were cut from the dead deer and one very tired buck was lucky enough to run back off into the woods. He was probably greeted by another ornery buck looking to kick his butt yet again.

The urge to breed is a powerful one. It seems plausible that two bucks would fight for the the breeding rights to a doe or to an area, but it’s wild that another buck would pile on, too. Whitetail bucks must just be pumped full of testosterone just prior and during the rut. Don’t get in their way. You just never know!

29 thoughts on “Three White-tailed Bucks Locked by Antlers”

  1. Wow, you never see stuff like this up here in NY. Probably cause we dont get those massive racks that tangle up so easy.

  2. I think that’s one weird thing to happen. I would love to kill a buck that nice. I would be happy to shoot any of them.

  3. Yes, Joe Kingman. Someone found three deer dead of starvation and shoved them together to create a mortal sculpture of three deer dead. Why? Because it would look so cool on the internet. If you’re a $#!+head.

  4. The stupid things some people say… makes me wonder what planet they live on? For another set of three locked bucks, look on this site for the three found in a pond in Ohio. Over 450 inches of antler!

  5. i hate to say this but im a proffessional in the medical field when a deer would so happen to die struggling they would need to break there neck. by the statue of the toungue it states this deer died from heavy trauma and blood loss… a gun or a bow could of only caused that. so yes thats a fake bud

  6. Josh-

    No offense, but deer can die from shock caused by excessive lactic acid build up within their muscles/blood, which leads to death from their body’s inability to transport oxygen, leading literally to complete exhaustion and death. More on this can be found here. In addition, these animals do not show any sign of being shot… in any of the photos.

  7. Josh… I agree 100% with Buck Manager. I TOO am a medical professional (one that affords me a lot of time to go hunting), but that doesn’t mean you’re an expert in whitetails… that has taken me decades of research, reading, and countless years and years of time in the field. I have seen stress alone kill several deer. I found a buck that had his antlers locked in a tree. I had driven past that tree just 2 days before that, but then there was a dead mature buck with NO SIGN of physical harm (and it cannot die of dehydration in that short a timeframe).

    The buck was in good condition, but just got stressed (I also found a dead blackbuck antelope the same way). So Josh… you definitely need to do some research before you insult the author. Maybe rephrasing your insult in the form of a question would be less offensive.

  8. Hey Josh (Mr. professional), can deer die from lack of water? How are they supposed to stay hydrated if they are locked together…. duh. So yes, this can happen and is most likely not fake. Sorry Doc.

    Not to mention I have had rutting bucks die on my property from exhaustion from chasing does. Deer don’t have that much stamina, believe it or not. Hence, when it was legal dogs could run deer down and kill them just from the chase. I hate when people say things without thinking.

  9. I hate to say this but in these cases Josh B and the two that stood against his opinion are all correct. However, Josh B is correct in that the tongue in an exhuasting state would not be so fully drawn. But in this case, these deer may have locked causing the deer to panic and frenzy and this very well could cause trauma giving it an extended tongue or either jaw-shut tongue.

    So do not forget Josh that cars or even heavy animal trauma resulting in a broken neck, or antler through a vital, or even just landing the wrong way. Oh, and if a deer would so happen dehydrate or die from stress then it is most likely that the tongue would not be fully drawn, either partially drawn or not at all.

  10. Everyone can make up their own ideas about what did or didn’t happen. If someone wants to think trauma caused that one buck to die… then you’re probably right. It says that one buck was still alive when they found the 3. In the pictures they are all dead. It stands to reason that they shot the one that was still alive, right? I’m going to say it was the one with the tongue showing to hopefully satisfy Josh B and “Dr.” S.

  11. The fact that “strange” things happen in the wild does not go unheard or unseen for any of us that have spent countless hours in the woods. We read of things like these deer or even a mountain lion following a deer through the brush. For some of us, the reality is of these things happening are too far fetched for us to wrap our minds around, but nature is amazing.

    For those of us that live and breath wildlife and the unpredictable things that happen in nature, my thoughts are that anything can happen. As far as I can tell, the stories here have a validity and backing of truth.

  12. OK, I misread. Apparently one buck was released, not shot. I have seen buck fights where a third buck was watching and flat-out gored one of the 2 bucks fighting, thus killing that buck after it ran off. I have also seen younger bucks acting like they wanted to get into the fight by putting their antlers down when two other bucks were fighting, but never had the bravery to follow through. I’ve never seen a third ever put his antlers into the mix. I think the reason why is that the other 2 must have been locked up for a while and the third one came in. It would also explain why one was still alive.

    We just found a 5 1/2 year old dead that we were hoping to shoot next year. He would have gone in the lower 160’s B&C (Hard to get an accurate score as he broke 3 tines off… judged by what we had left to score and video). Probably died from fighting or run down from breeding, but he had been eaten on by scavengers when we found him. It was tough to see such a good buck die like that, but then again, we never think twice when we find a dead spike or cull buck.

  13. That’s true. We had 3 bucks locked together in Athens County, Ohio, this year, a 170, a 150 and 140 all in a creek on land my buddy rents off of. I saw the pics from landowner.

  14. Staged… Third deer in lower part of picture does not have antlers locked. You can clearly see in second picture the antlers on this deer are not wrapped into a position where the antlers are “locked” together… If it were alive, it could get up and walk away… You are all fools if you believe this is real…

  15. Jack, I looked at the photo carefully and upon initial examination it does seem that you could be correct. However, upon thoroughly reviewing all the pics, it looks as though this incident may be legitimate. The reason why it that the buck’s G3 and the rest of the main beam is pinched in between the other 2 bucks’ antlers. Also keep in mind that these deer are constantly pulling away from each other while this is going on.

    FYI, calling everyone “fools” is probably not appropriate. I can’t say that I am absolutely certain in my assessment of the evidence provided… but if I was proven correct, I would certainly not resort to name calling those who doubted it’s validity.

  16. Joe,Josh and Jack, are y’all really calling yourselves hunters? The horns are locked and y’all were not there, so know what your talking about before bumping your gums.

  17. And Man never walked on the moon… always gonna be somebody who just refuses to believe unless they see it or touch it themselves..

    I grew up in deep South Texas and we saw lots of deer locked up over the years. I never honestly saw 3 locked together but I have seen a big buck attack 2 other smaller ones that were locked. He whipped on them so hard that they were trying to get away from him but couldn’t. He literally battered on them until they came dislodged.. they left the country! But there was blood and hair everywhere. Wish I would have had a video camera!

    Maybe the one deer’s horns weren’t really locked tight but once they went down, he wasn’t able to position his body and head in such a way that he was able to slip free. I call it the “fish hook” principle.

    We have saved cattle over the years that went down for some reason or another and couldn’t get up because they couldn’t get there legs under them. We have saved goats that put their heads through fences and couldn’t get out because of the horns but with a little manipulation out they came. And in both instances we have come along too late and found the animals dead or beyond the point of recovery.

    To some, Nature is cruel. To others, well, its just Nature.

  18. Serious hunter, they are called antlers, not horns. Horns never shed and continually grow, antlers shed every year.

  19. Josh. YOUR probably one OF Those guys that thinks he knows everything but YOUR nothing but an idiot!

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