Rancher found this deer dead. He was found over 800 yards from the closest stand that could have been hunted, about a mile from the nearest road and about 3 miles from the nearest neighbor (except across the road). The rancher couldn't tell what killed it but looked like he had a wound on his flank, but no punctures.

They have been working in the area that he was found. He wasn't there on Monday, but was there at 1:30 on Tuesday. They said there was no way they could have missed him because he was in the open. He was bloated and smelled. Rancher said he had to have had an internal injury and was deteriorating before finally dying were he was.


He is the one under the feeder and in the daylight picture, the one in the back.

That sucks

Dang it!! That's a good one.

I knew of a buck that died because it punctured an eye fighting the brush trying to remove the velvet and the infection went to it's brain. At least that is what the biologist said.
All kinds of things out there that can do them in.

An antler tine can puncture a deer gut/intestine/lung without breaking the skin. That lower flank area is one the more common spots a buck gets gored in a fight it seems. Dang nice buck.

Terrible to lose a buck like that.

Hate to see that.

Bad deal. Hate to see it

That sucks.

Mother Nature's a ruthless b.

It is sad. But like all animals the older they get the sooner it is till they die from something or other. Kind of like us humans.

This. No mercy whatsoever.

A real shame, but it happens.

Hate to see that. Natures eternal circle. Beautiful eight, honor him with a Euro mount.

that double sucks

Many are wondering how and I will be the one to ask. Insight is requested.

Back in the earlyy 90's I was at a seminar on Exotic animals where Veterinarian from A&M Vet School there doing a necropsy to show how to do one and what to look for. He said that they would get a lot of animals in to run tests on to see what had they died from. He said that an antlered animal can poke into vitals and not break the skin. He demonstrated with a fillet knife show how it could happen. He said especially can happen on the rib cage where they lacerate the skin in between the ribs and then into the lungs never breaking the skin. Hard to describe on here but was interesting watching him demonstrate it during the necropsy. IIRC it was Dr. Mick Robinson (sp?) doing the necropsy that day at the seminar.

I have personally seen this on a buck that another hunter killed several years back during the later part of the rut.
He killed the big heavy antlered 12 pt. buck with his bow, as it was bow only property.
His feeder had gone off and it was a few minutes and the big buck came in slowly and seemed to stumble and looked sickly as it ate the corn.
He put his arrow into the buck and the deer looked healthy from the outside but as always during the rut they lose some weight.
I was there when he started to skin the buck and I'll tell you it was a sight that would turn the stomach of a buzzard.
I don't remember seeing very much muscle that wasn't bruised and punctured with large puss pockets from one end to the other of that deer. The hide didn't show very many puncture marks but the muscles, rib cage, hind quarters and shoulders were a mess.
Needless to say the only thing he could salvage off that deer was the cape and antlers.
I've always wondered what the victor looked like?

That's no bueno

Too bad