In my post about the 230-class Knife Handle Buck, I theorized that the monster might have died from tine wounds he suffered in a hellacious battle with another old buck. I think that happens more than you think. As they fight for does in the November rut, some (many?) bucks are gored and hurt or mortally wounded.
As if to confirm it, I ran across this over at Boone and Crockett. One day last fall this hunter (name and location unknown) killed a buck with a rack and a half! The buck had an antler from another 8-pointer stuck 8 inches into his shoulder/neck. It had busted off his rival!
Here’s a stuck, knife-handle buck of a different variety, courtesy of ZONER Tom Fassbinder of Whitetail Fanatic magazine. Tom wrote:
When I was just 12 years old, I was hunting with a group and my cousin, Jerry, shot a nice 10-pointer that dropped close to my post. He yelled over, “Slit its throat so it can bleed out.” I walked over and stuck my brand-new Buck Knife into the deer’s neck. He jumped up, spit blood all over my face and took off running! He made it about 100 yards before another hunter saw it, dropped it and began celebrating the biggest buck of his life. He walked up and was shocked to see my prized knife buried deep in its throat.
Hey, anytime you see something weird like a buck running around with a main beam or a Buck Knife stuck in it I damn sure want to know about it!
NOTE: I’m outta here next week, but the ZONE will be in good hands. Young Will Snyder of Outdoor Life will be guest blogging. Will is a cool guy, a hard hunter and a hell of a writer. Check him out and blog him back. If he screws up anything while I’m gone, let me know when I get back, LOL!
BTW, that will be August 8. Less than 30 days later I’ll be out in big, beautiful Wyoming, archery hunting for a velvet-racked buck on OLN TV. Unreal how time flies! Gotta start shooting more arrows and harder, you should too.