Whitetails Fighting
From Steve B, a quality sportsman:
On a Kansas upland bird hunting trip we walked up to these two bucks locked in combat.
It is interesting to note many quality racked whitetail bucks have been harvested by those that are primarily upland bird hunters that essentially are deer scouting for the next year during the current year's bird hunt. These same hunters that deer hunt as a secondary interest do so on what many consider "bird ground" and are happy to do so having many fine mounts on the wall at home.
When the two bucks saw us approaching, one of the bucks flipped the other buck over causing a fatal puncture to the head.
After calling the local conservation agent we came back and struggled again to free the surviving buck. This time we were successful and the living buck turned and bounded away, stopping about 30 yards out to look back for a few seconds. The two bucks were both young deer 2-1/2 and 3-1/2 years old, but both had exceptional genetics. The one that died in the battle was a 12-point and the other was a 14-point. Both bucks had split brow tines. The one that survive I'm sure grew into an exceptional buck this year.
One other interesting note, 100 yard down the hedgerow from where we found these two bucks, we found last years shed antler from the 12 point buck that perished. The shed was identical in shape, just smaller in size and without the spit brow tine.
Another
Notice not a tree in sight. This is a tall grass field covered in ice from a recent freezing rain.
From our landowner friend and current hunting lease land contract holder who shall remain anonymous as well as the location where these pictures were taken sent along this message:
"You don't see this but once in a lifetime! Late afternoon Jan 5, [after the hunting seasons and well after the rut] we saw these two bucks fighting. My wife & I walked in on them a quarter mile to find they were definitely locked together. The 
first pic was taken at almost dark. The game officer came after dark but we couldn't find them. I found them the next am, both still alive & called the officer back. He shot part of the rack off one to release them. It took three shots to get through the antler. I went home (1 mile away) and was taking pics of the ice when the buck with the partial rack ran past me (last pic). Still unsure exactly how big they were!"
We are grateful to this landowner for taking the effort to share with us this extraordinary series of pictures.
