Posted on 11/10/2009 12:11:52 PM PST by llevrok
This 640-pound concrete elk statue lies on its side in the backyard of Mark and Carol Brye’s home in rural Viroqua. The dead buck lies about 20 feet away.
A love-struck buck ran out of luck a week ago. The seven-point buck was killed when it rammed a 640-pound concrete statue of an elk in the backyard of Mark and Carol Brye's home in rural Viroqua.
Bucks often fight during the breeding season, commonly called the rut. Dominant bucks defend breeding territories and female deer by sparring with subordinate bucks. Antler battles sometimes result in the death of one or both deer, but usually end with the biggest buck winning and the smaller buck high-tailing it out to another area.
Mark Brye, who owns Brye Plumbing in Viroqua, was still laughing about the suicidal buck he found near his elk statue last week.
Brye said his morning ritual is to rise early and look out at the life-like statue about 40 yards from his home.
"Our son and daughter gave it to us for Christmas four years ago because we like to hunt elk," Brye said. "The elk is a nice thing to see every morning. It looks pretty cool, especially on a foggy morning."
Brye said he knew exactly what happened when he saw the statue tipped over. Although they were about the same height, the statue weighed at least three times more than the 180-pound deer.
He didn't realize the buck lay dead a short distance away.
"I could tell the buck poked the statue a couple of times by the chipped paint on it," Brye said, adding that the buck eventually rammed it like a mountain goat.
The buck apparently staggered about 20 feet and fell.
Brye claimed the buck with a tag from the Vernon County conservation warden. He laughed at the warden's tag note: "lawn ornament fight - lost."
Brye said the deer shattered its skull. The antlers were still on its head but were dangling.
"The statue is OK, but the antlers broke off when it tipped over," Brye said. "One side of the antlers is in one piece, but the other side is in five pieces."
Brye, 58, is considering removing the antlers from the unlucky buck and gluing them on the elk statue as a remembrance of the strange but true story.
The deer is butchered and in Brye's freezer. The elk remains on its side.
"I can't tip it back up until I get a whole bunch of guys to help me," he said.
Funny!
...and you have trouble killing these things. Killed any this year? I am expecting some sausage in the mail if you have.
RON WHITE:
“Big deal. I killed one with a van. Going 60. With my headlights blinking and my horn blaring. Yeah, real ellussive creatures”
Now, that IS funny. lol
Is that the dear departed deer in the background?
I wonder if Mark Brye has to tag the dead buck under his hunting license.
Thank you for posting!
It’s been a long, hard day so far and I needed the laugh!
Everyone in the office enjoyed the chuckle too!
the only trouble i have is getting enough tags. i’ve gotten at least on every year since ‘01.
haven’t been out yet. my sneak out tomorrow, but i usually have no luck with a bow. gun season starts sunday here.
haven’t learned how to make sausages yet. i got everything else down tho. my burger is the best. i grind slab bacon, venison, and a variety of hot peppers all together. :)
Oh Deer!
That burger sounds good. I have heard of people mixing ground pork for the fat and texture.
Even if I make beef burgers, I don’t use ground bacon, but I do mix in ground pork about 3:1 ratio. Nice and juicy that way. I leave them juuuuuust undercooked and let them finish wrapped in foil for me to comsume when I get done drinking beer.
All hormones and no brains.
oH mAN, The best of both. That would make one helluve good biscuit.
BTW... I will NOT ride my bike to work this time of year.
I have seen 4 dead deer on my road in the last month. Bad time to be riding.
DOH!
A guy in my vanpool remarked. “If that statue were a doe...”.
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