This buck was ready for a fight. The archery target on the other hand? Not so much.
Chances are this big antlered beast is going to think it absolutely wrecked a fellow member of its species. It saw what it thought was a worthy opponent and decided to challenge it. That’s normal – and expected – for this time of the year. What happened after the real buck lowered its antlers, on the other hand, is pretty rare.
Most deer don’t just fall apart into pieces, and that’s what spooked the buck shortly after it launched its attack.
But to be clear, deer (specifically the males) being on edge and ready to fight is very common during this time of the year. We’re currently in the middle of the rut, which refers to the mating season for deer. It’s this period of the year (late October through December) where bucks compete for the attention of does (female deer).
The rut is typically triggered by the shortening daylight hours in the fall. In response to the lack of daylight, bucks experience a surge in testosterone, and that causes a dramatic change in behavior. While deer are normally cautious and nocturnal, the rut causes them to be more territorial, aggressive, and active during daylight. Bucks will also do all they can to mark their territory, which is where rubs and scrapes come in.
Another telltale sign of the rut is buck-on-buck clashes. In a battle for territory, male deer won’t hesitate to clash antlers. And as you’ll see in this video, they’ll fight just about anything… even fake deer. This poor buck thought he was matched up against an easy, non-moving target. In a way, it was… just not in the way it thought.
In an open field stood a decoy deer. Some might assume it’s an archery target (and it might be), but the way this one was set up, it looks like it’s meant to lure any big bads in the area to come out and pick a fight. If that was the plan for this decoy, it worked like a charm. A sizable buck made its way into the field, and as soon as it set its eyes on the still-as-can-be buck, it was ready for war.
The real deer huffed, stamped and scraped as it got closer to the fake buck. From what I can tell, it was surprised that its potential challenger wasn’t countering with moves of its own. So after a while, the white-tail lowered its antlers and charged. What happened next – the complete dismantling of the decoy – signified an immediate victory for the buck, but it also scared the you-know-what out of it.
It quickly (and hilariously) fled the area after it laid down the big hit:
“Homeboy came in looking for a fight and found exactly what he was looking for… except the other guy was plastic and his head fell off.
Getting to see stuff like this is one of the best parts of hunting… never know what you’re gonna see.”
