Ricky Meacham of Warrens, Wisconsin came north to hunt deer with his father and found the remains of two bucks who locked horns forever. Meacham will have this unusual find mounted with a clear finish coating to preserve it.
Many deer hunters find either moose or deer antlers as they walk through the boreal woodlands and brush in search of a white tail during the two-week Minnesota hunting season. Some people specifically search the woods for those antlers and become collectors.
But imagine Ricky Meacham’s surprise when he discovered the remains of two large bucks that had fought to the death.
The 17-year-old Warrens, Wisconsin youth was trying to find a good hunting spot on a warm and sunny November 8, when he discovered the horns and skulls. He wouldn’t say where he was hunting, only that “it was in the woods.”
Meacham had stumbled onto the site of a great battle between two rival bucks that had butted heads and locked horns forever, dying on the battlefield.
His father, Al, figured the bleached white skulls were at least four years old. Al has been coming north to Cook County, “the last 15 years or so.” And while he also goes to deer camp in Wisconsin, this was a hunting trip for him and his son to share.
When asked if he had ever found anything this distinctive while tromping through the bush Al just smiled and said “No, nothing like this.”
The unusual discovery was taken back to the truck for safekeeping before the hunt was resumed.
Typically bucks fight when they are in rut, and are fighting over a doe. Usually one is dominant and drives the other off, but in this case in was two titans—one a 10-point buck and the other a 9-pointer—who locked horns and couldn’t free themselves. If they don’t die in the initial struggle, each can last up to three days before dying of dehydration. It’s a big price to pay for love.
Father and son say the find will be mounted with a simple clear finish. There are other mounts in the house, said Al, but none this unique.
When asked if they had taken a deer for meat, Al pointed to Ricky once again, “He shot a 5-point buck.”
Ricky smiled. With 24 points total, some good eating venison, a trophy to talk about for years to come, it was quite a hunt. Father and son hunting trips don’t often turn out like this, but even without the take, one could see Al, who kept stepping out of the way and giving the floor to his son, was more than happy it was Ricky’s day.
Don’t be surprised to see them back next year.
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