Big Batting Cage Bucks

[blacktailer]

Got these from a buddy with the story below.   Quite a story on a couple of nice bucks (one in particular).  Unfortunate for a couple of beauties to go out that way.  I would suggest doing something with the batting cage.  I used to fish on Kodiak Island for years and we had a similar thing happen when a nice 3 point got tangled up in one of our Seine nets that was hung up.  Fortunately, I found him right away, deer season was open, we were tired of eating salmon and my boss popped him. 


If I wasn't there, I would not have believed this. Last night I was helping my neighbor Steve clear off the pond behind his house to make an ice rink for the kids. Steve's house is up on a hill and behind his house there is a wooded tree line before the pond. There is an old batting cage at the bottom of the hill tucked next to the trees that has netting to keep the balls in. A few days ago, Steve's wife told Steve that there was a dead deer tangled in the netting. After clearing the pond we went over to the cage to check it out. We found a massive non-typical buck tangled in the net. Check out the curly drop tines in the photo. As we were cutting this buck out, I was getting poked by something in the deep snow. I reached down and grabbed the rack of another huge 10-point buck that also became tangled in the netting and died at the same time! I am guessing they had been there for a week or so. They probably were walking along the trail together at night and bumped into the black netting and panicked. I am sure they thrashed and tried to run, but in doing so became even more locked in thus sealing their fate. They were so entangled that it took 20 minutes each to cut them free. The coyotes got the hindquarters of the typical 10-pointer but both bucks are in good enough shape that Steve is going to have both bucks mounted. I am guessing both of the bucks were 6-year olds and probably 200+ pounds each - we dragged both of them 200 yards in knee-deep snow. I will forward the pictures of the other buck once I get them. Unbelievable!!

[KopperBuck]

That's a shame. I would definitely be doing something about the cage.

[MuleySniper]

Wow! Crazy looking bucks and crazy story too.
MS

[BlackRidge]

soooo much character on that one, crazy

Thanks for sharing!

[high country]

looks like buck 1 had been in the cage before.

[quadrafire]

WOW!!! Was this in Wa

[blacktailer]

WOW!!! Was this in Wa

I think it might have been in Minnesota

[Huntbear]

I noticed the buck had his beer setting in the snow in that 2nd pic..... serves the buck right to be drinking and using a batting cage while under the influence...   

[509er]

wow

[400out]

Too bad seeing those go that way 

[Holg3107]

Pretty crappy deal if you ask me. Wonder what the guys going to say when people ask him about them after he has them mounted? Having crap around your house thats killing deer isnt exactly something to be proud of.

[dirty24d]

cool story thanks for posting. i think one of thos sweet trailcams that emails you when it takes pics would an awesome idea if the batting cage and deer are to coexist peacefully in the future!!   

[HighCountry10]

Pretty crappy deal if you ask me. Wonder what the guys going to say when people ask him about them after he has them mounted? Having crap around your house thats killing deer isnt exactly something to be proud of.

You can't be serious!  It is his backyard!  Deer get tangled up in things all the time.  I don't think a deer would walk right into that?  I am going to guess there was a bat handle or something with alot of sweat on it and the deer was licking it (salt)?

[dirty24d]

Pretty crappy deal if you ask me. Wonder what the guys going to say when people ask him about them after he has them mounted? Having crap around your house thats killing deer isnt exactly something to be proud of.

You can't be serious!  It is his backyard!  Deer get tangled up in things all the time.  I don't think a deer would walk right into that?  I am going to guess there was a bat handle or something with alot of sweat on it and the deer was licking it (salt)?

more likely fleeing a predator or sparring and then whoops I'm stuck..

[ser300wsm]

WOW, that is crazy..... 

[jeepasaurusrex]

You cannot blame some one for having a batting cage at their house. I've seen pictures of deer caught in swing sets before.

That non-typical will be a great conversation piece, that is for sure.

[dirty24d]

Especially if the taxi captures that look on its face in picture 2 ..

[spikehunter]

not much batting practice w/ a foot of snow, what a shame  

[grundy53]

You cannot blame some one for having a batting cage at their house. I've seen pictures of deer caught in swing sets before.

That non-typical will be a great conversation piece, that is for sure.

ya it's not like he's gill netting whitetails on purpose.... 

[Buckmark]

Sucks for those deer.
Now i am not saying the story is not true or anything, but..... is it just me or the very first pic looks totaly fake, i cant quite see how the guy is holding up the deer, and well it just kinda looks funny, something about that pic is not right.
Now i would like to see more pics of the last deer (the typical), how did his right antler get cut off so evenly?

[dirty24d]

Sucks for those deer.
Now i am not saying the story is not true or anything, but..... is it just me or the very first pic looks totaly fake, i cant quite see how the guy is holding up the deer, and well it just kinda looks funny, something about that pic is not right.
Now i would like to see more pics of the last deer (the typical), how did his right antler get cut off so evenly?

I'm thinking the non typ looks goofy because of the fact that its frozen solid and rigormortis (sp)   has set in.

[jeepasaurusrex]

Humm... maybe they are onto something here. May stretch a few nets between trees.....

[Shed Stud]

Look at the first pic real hard... photo shop. Look at the second pic, hard to see if it's real. Where's the snow on his neck? The last pic looks like the real one?  I'd like to see a gamies report on something like that. In washington? ??

[blacktailer]

Sucks for those deer.
Now i am not saying the story is not true or anything, but..... is it just me or the very first pic looks totaly fake, i cant quite see how the guy is holding up the deer, and well it just kinda looks funny, something about that pic is not right.
Now i would like to see more pics of the last deer (the typical), how did his right antler get cut off so evenly?

Here are a couple of more of the typical.  I don't see any altered photos though I am certainly not an expert.   Don't see any reason for a fabricated story thought I imagine there could be lots of them.   Something that could  happen to anyone living in deer country, though it should only ever happen once.  In Kodiak, we took the seine net down ASAP.  Felt kind of bad, but that was a tasty buck after eating salmon for a straight month.

[grundy53]

Look at the first pic real hard... photo shop. Look at the second pic, hard to see if it's real. Where's the snow on his neck? The last pic looks like the real one?  I'd like to see a gamies report on something like that. In washington? ??

I don't think so. Think about it if you were going to photo shop something why would you put it in a goofy position like that? i think it looks too goofy to be fake. if that makes any sense... i just think thats what happens when a deer dies in a weird position and then is frozen for a week.

[dirty24d]

Look at the first pic real hard... photo shop. Look at the second pic, hard to see if it's real. Where's the snow on his neck? The last pic looks like the real one?  I'd like to see a gamies report on something like that. In washington? ??

I don't think so. Think about it if you were going to photo shop something why would you put it in a goofy position like that? i think it looks too goofy to be fake. if that makes any sense... i just think thats what happens when a deer dies in a weird position and then is frozen for a week.

My thoughts exactly!

[LarMar14]

Both bucks are really nice and its a crazy story. I just don't see how you could be proud of getting two bucks like that. It would be different if you were out hunting all day and you got them a couple miles back in the woods. 

[boonerboy]

looks real to me. I think if this happened to me I would take pics and prob mount them also. Doesn't mean I would be PROUD but its just something waaay out of the ordinary and a crazy story that I would definately share with people. If he was netting whitetail on purpose, witch would be a ridiculous accusation, it would be a different story. Nothing to be ashamed of in my opinion. cool story.

[patton1]

 

[PacificNWhunter]

great bucks, to bad they went that way.

[granola/hippyslayer]

Humm... maybe they are onto something here. May stretch a few nets between trees.....

no tie a net between two tractors and go "catch" some deer

[wsucowboy]

Sad deal to see two great bucks die like that. Something should be done with that batting cage