The Madness Moon

By Mark Kayser
November 2, 2009
The rut is heating up across the country and in the pre-rut madness whitetails are not only setting the pecking order, they are getting downright nasty about their position in the herd. Here are two bucks that not only had a cousin-like quarrel, but ended up in the fast lane. Beach, North Dakota, is the site of this bout. It's definitely not beach-like in southwest North Dakota, but there are good whitetails in this Western topography and these two bucks prove that point well.
The story with these photos states that local ranchers roped these bucks to subdue them and then got busy with a chainsaw to free the duo. After cutting off a few points the stronger buck dashed off, but the loser of the fight crawled under the fence and immediately hid in the brush to recuperate.
All I can say is that as the rut heats up you need to slow down. Hopefully you won't crash into a pair of boxing bucks like this, but your odds increase each day of denting your truck as the rut heats up. Drive safe and be cautious of the ditch-side activity peaking in your neighborhood.

Experts predict that this week's full moon will kick off the first serious rutting activity of the season.

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