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Hunter Tags Two Locked Bucks

The white-tailed deer hunting season may be in the recent past for most of us, but hopefully we all have the memories and some good eating to help us make it through until next season’s opener. Until then, it’s time to focus on habitat management and wishful thinking that this spring and summer will be a wet one. Almost as much as the deer hunting itself, the one thing that I will really miss about deer season is hanging out at camp discussing deer management and trading hunting stories from past trips.

It seems ironic to many non-hunters that hunters really do respect the animals that they pursue and kill. The same can be said of deer hunters across the whitetail’s range. Deer hunters relish the opportunity to tag just a single buck each year, but some lucky hunters manage to tag a couple of bucks each fall. This was the case for Illinois’ Phillip McGowan. While out deer hunting this past hunting season he never expected to stumble into two bucks, especially two bucks locked together. Here is his story: Continue reading “Hunter Tags Two Locked Bucks”

Three Bucks Found Locked, Dead

A big part of deer management is maintaining promising bucks in healthy condition until they are mature and ready for harvest, so there is nothing worse than finding a dead buck that you did not shoot, but how would you feel if you found not one, but three dead bucks on your property? Okay, it gets worse. What if those three bucks totaled 450 inches of antler?

That is exactly what a hunter in the mid-West found on his Ohio farm while walking through the woods. Apparently, two bucks were fighting for the right to breed area deer when a third buck jumped in to kick both of their butts. That didn’t happen.

The three whitetail bucks were found dead, drowned in a creek on the Ohio property. This is not the first time three bucks have locked horns and died, but it’s the first I’ve heard about this phenomenon year. And the quality of the bucks involved is impressive, so you know the guys hunting this property had to have been more than a bit deflated. I know that I would have been sick to my stomach. Here is what a staff member of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources wrote after being called out on the 3 dead bucks:

“Wow, 3 bucks locked together, wow! Wish I could have walked up them alive. This is the result of three bucks all fighting for one lady. They had the bank of this creek all tore up. All together, I estimated the deer to score well over 400 inches of antler. The biggest one was a massive 6×5, approximately 165 inches. The other two were around 130 to 140.”

The bucks were all green scored and the 9 point went 130-ish, the 10 point went 140-ish, and the big 11 point went 169 inches. It looks like the young guns will get to do the breeding on that Ohio property this year. That is why it’s important for anyone serious about deer management to keep quality bucks of all ages on a property at all times. Simply amazing!

14 Point Franklin County Buck Saved

White-tailed bucks are an interesting lot. Individual bucks run together in bachelor herds during the summer, but become mortal enemies during the fall and winter. Most hunters realize the proper harvest of animals is essential for white-tailed deer population management, but we also hate to see deer die of natural causes, especially when self-inflicted. However, the life of a white-tailed buck can be tough.

In addition to surviving the seasonal stress periods of summer and winter, and sneaking by hunting season after hunting season, bucks also fight for dominance among themselves for the right to breed receptive does in the area. When big white-tailed bucks fight it is a sight to see. I have seen bucks spar for several minutes, although battles of several hours are well documented. I suspect that most encounters are intense, but short in duration (just seconds) with the stronger buck making his point rather quickly.

However, sometimes bucks will fight to the death. This happens when animals become gored by powerfully swinging points, when animals are pushed or knocked into natural obstructions, or when antlers lock and one or more bucks die from exhaustion and/or starvation. Such was the case last week when Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) responded to a landowner’s call about two bucks locked together in Franklin County, Texas. TPWD does it’s best to manage the Lone Star State’s white-tailed deer population through surveys, hunting regulations, and law enforcement, but they also get hands-on with wildlife when the situation calls.

TPWD: “On October 20 Camp County Game Warden Heath Taylor received a call from a landowner in Franklin County about two bucks that he found on his property that had gotten their antlers locked together and were under a fence on opposite sides from each other. One buck was a 9-point that had already died but the other was a huge 14-point that was still alive but to the point of exhaustion. Warden Taylor notified Franklin County Game Warden Doyle Brown and both wardens met the landowner.

When they arrived, Warden Taylor and the landowner were able to pry the bucks apart and untangle the huge buck from the fence. After laying there for a couple of minutes, the big buck stood up and walked into the brush escaping what would have been certain death. Both the wardens and the landowner stated that it was one of the biggest bucks they had seen in this area.”

Two Big Whitetails Lock Up and Drowned

As hunters, we hate to see dead deer that are not hunter-killed. This includes deer hit by cars, deer hung in fences by their hind legs, and locked bucks. To non-hunters, it probably does not make sense — because each fall hunters harvest hundreds of thousands of white-tailed deer across the US. The big difference is that most hunters have a good understanding of how wildlife management, specifically deer management, really works and why it is necessary. But there’s much more lost than just hunter satisfaction.

Hunters and non-hunters that see the photos of these two dead bucks will consider it a bad thing. However, deer hunters realize that not only has some excellent table fare been lost, but the satisfaction of two successful harvests has vanished, as well. But nature can be cruel — and a bit ironic. Was each of these bucks fighting for the right to pass on their genes, or simply to prevent the other from passing on his? If it was the former, they both lose. If it’s the latter, they both, unfortunately, win.

These two whitetail bucks were found dead on a ranch near Tilden, Texas. They apparently drowned in a stock tank after getting locked together in a fight that really was a brawl for it all. From the photos, the bucks do not appear to be severely locked, but it only takes about 10 seconds to drown. The larger buck scored 166 Boone and Crockett inches and the 12 point buck went 154. Two good bucks, some happy hunters, hamburger meat and a lot of sausage lost.

When Whitetail Bucks Lock Antlers

Each fall, as testosterone levels rise in white-tailed bucks they begin working off aggression by working rubs and building up much needed shoulder and neck muscles. It’s not an accident and if you’ve ever noticed the changes that a buck’s body undergoes between late August and late October, it really is amazing. However, as the breeding season — known as the rut by hunters — begins, whitetail bucks that were friendly towards one another during the antler growing period quickly become rivals. It’s all about a battle for space and access to receptive does.

The rut really takes its toll on bucks. Not only do bucks lose a substantial percentage of their body weight over the course of the breeding season, but buck to buck combat can lead to both direct and indirect mortality. Indirect mortality can come from wounds that become infected or even internal damage from fighting. Direct mortality, although more infrequent, can occur when two or three bucks’ antlers become locked together causing one or both animals to die.

This is the case today for one deer. I received these photos of two locked up white-tailed bucks from Minnesota. The guys that stumbled upon the bucks actually found them while one of the bucks was still alive. Instead of shooting the locked up buck, they managed to separate the two and send one lucky deer on his way. Here is the story: Continue reading “When Whitetail Bucks Lock Antlers”