JERAULD COUNTY Deputy Sheriff Jason Weber takes careful aim at an antler to separate them. After several successful shots, they were separated after at least a two-day struggle.

THE SURVIVOR of the buck fight that started days before stands free. After looking back at his rescuers, he slowly walked off into the woods.

BY DUKE WENZEL – TRUE DAKOTAN EDITOR

When two nice bucks decided to fight it out for their territory in South Gulch last week, they couldn’t have imagined the adventure that they would cause. As the two whitetails fought along the bank of the creek, they locked horns. The struggle continued for at least two days, according to area game warden Mike Cavanaugh who was called by landowners Dennis and Sandy Beckman. Sandy and her brother, Randy Baysinger, were passing nearby when Randy looked down toward the creek and said, “Now, that’s a huge buck.” After a closer look, they found it was the two locked together. One was dead after the struggle that took them into the creek perhaps drowning or from sheer exhaustion. The other one was still struggling but very weak. Now, how to separate the two safely without getting attacked when they become untangled? Dennis went for his tranquilizer gun. In the meantime, Sandy’s son, Jason Weber, a Jerauld County law enforcement officer, offered to shoot the horns of the dead deer. The group that had gathered by now was skeptical but told him to give it a try. He kneeled on the opposite bank of the creek and took careful aim. His shot rang out and one fork of the dead deer’s antlers broke away. The group figured which one to shoot next in the complicated tangle. Jason shot again and another dead deer antler broke away. After a couple more successful shots, the live deer was freed. It slowly crawled up the bank across the creek, looked back at his recuers with a “What’s next” look on his face before slowly wandering off. Wildlife officer Cavanaugh said it was one lucky deer. It was the first locked horn set he had ever seen that both the deer weren’t dead. Sandy figured that the buck would probably lose one damaged horn this year, but it should be a good one to hunt next year.