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FERTILE, Minn. - The way Mark Christianson tells it, in his lilting Old Country accent, the deer started the fight. "I was going out to finish spraying the soybeans," he said. "I stepped out a side door, and we saw each other, and he started coming closer. "He was pummeling me, standing on his hind legs and hitting me with the front ones. He hammered me good, rapid fire, and I thought, `Well, this isn't good.' I wasn't winning, so I grabbed him and tackled him and we both went down on the ground."

Deer hunting has been a Pennsylvania tradition for many years, and each man and woman who goes afield has a favorite deer rifle. Hunting conditions and technology have affected choices, but there are those models and designs that stand head and shoulders over the others. I thought just for fun - and controversy - I would name what I think are the best deer rifles produced since 1900. I decided to concentrate on sporting designs and ignore rifles what were simply military designs used for deer hunting. A good example of those would be the 30-40 Krag. Before and after...

<p>After becoming disoriented and wandering into the city of Moorhead, Minn., over the weekend, a herd of deer panicked and crashed into windows and doors at the local mall, police said.</p>

By comparing DNA from ancient bone specimens to DNA obtained from modern animals, the researchers discovered that the Kerry red deer are the direct descendants of deer present in Ireland 5000 years ago. Further analysis using DNA from European deer proves that Neolithic people from Britain first brought the species to Ireland. Although proving the red deer is not native to Ireland, researchers believe that the Kerry population is unique as it is directly related to the original herd and are worthy of special conservation status. Fossil bone samples from the National Museum of Ireland, some up to 30,000 years...

A Wisconsin man, who along with his three friends is suspected of illegally slaughtering as many as 100 deer in what prosecutors call an unprecedented "thrill-kill" spree, faces up to six months in jail. Nathan Blaha, 20, of Hillsboro, Wis., and his accomplices allegedly wandered the backroads of Richland County in a pickup truck, stunning deer with a light before shooting them and leaving their carcasses to rot in what he called a contest to “get the most deer,” according to court documents.

With a recovered gray wolf population and thriving numbers of black bears, coyotes and bobcats, predators are one of the most common topics of conversation among Wisconsin hunters and wildlife watchers. The question is often asked: What predator is the most significant cause of deer mortality in Wisconsin? The Department of Natural Resources embarked on a pair of deer research projects in 2010 that will add facts to the conversation. The first-year report is due to be released soon. But a study in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has been under way for three years and has produced several preliminary...

A Lancaster County hunter has been treated for rabies after field dressing a deer Jan. 20 in Valley Township, Chester County. The deer later tested positive for rabies. "The hunter contacted us about his concerns that the deer was unfit for human consumption," said John Veylupek, a wildlife conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Game Commission. "[He] said that he saw the deer standing in a creek, straining and growling. He thought there was a coyote nearby from the sounds the deer was making." Having cleaned the deer without wearing gloves and with open scratches on his hand, the hunter was...

FOREST LAKE, Minn. - A Forest Lake homeowner says he is livid about an "outrageous, unnecessary ending to a great wildlife story" after a police officer came onto his property at about 7 a.m. on Saturday and shot two orphaned fawns that often slept in the dog house at close range without warning. Jeff Carpenter contacted FOX 9 News about the weekend shooting, saying an officer "brutally gunned down" the twin, 6-month-old fawns his family had come to love thirty yards from his home. Carpenter said he was working in the home office when he was startled by a shotgun...

<p>QUANTICO, Va. (AP) — Call it a playground for Bambi and G-Men, where imaginary criminals are hunted and deer are the spectators.</p> <p>The 547-acre FBI Academy, where some of the nation's best marksmen fire off more than 1 million bullets every month, happens to be one of the safest places for deer during hunting season.</p>

A driver under the influence of alcohol was charged after being stopped by police taking a deer that he had struck with his car to the nearby hospital. Andrew Caswell, 29, hit the wild animal in the early hours of Monday, according to police. Caswell and three companions argued over what to do with it before he decided the deer needed to go to the emergency room of a hospital in Greece, New York. Residents who live near to the scene of the accident and had heard the men talking loudly, gave police a description of the vehicle. An officer...

Hunters still have a weekend of deer-gun hunting, December 17-18 COLUMBUS, OH- Ohio hunters took 90,282 white-tailed deer during the state's popular, week-long deer-gun season, which ran November 28 through December 4, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife. In 2010, hunters checked a total of 105,034 deer during the same time period. "Hunters clearly took advantage of the weather as the week progressed. They trimmed the deficit from last season from 39% on opening day, to 14% by the close of the season on Sunday," said Mike Tonkovich, ODNR, Division of Wildlife deer project...

Amy Mattson of Mequon was driving south of Port Washington earlier this month when she spied an all-white buck standing in a field. The nose of the 6-point buck appears to be pink in the photos that she and a friend shot. A pink nose and presumably pink eyes - a deer bereft of any color - means the two appeared to be observing a rare albino deer, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. "It was very pretty," Mattson said Saturday, the first day of Wisconsin's traditional nine-day gun season. In the dim light of late afternoon, "it...

The article about the hunter in Indiana reminded me of this story. Its deer season for alot of us. For those of you who think animals sing and dance ala Disney, don't bother.

ALBION, Ind. (WANE) - A Fort Wayne man died Monday while participating in a reduction hunt at Chain O'Lakes State Park. Officials say he suffered an injury to his liver that possibly happened during an encounter he had with a deer he shot. Indiana Conservation Officers have closed the investigation into the death of Paul J. Smith, 62, after the Noble County Coroner’s office ruled it was due to a lacerated liver. According to the Department of Natural Resources, Smith called his son shortly after 9 a.m. and left a message that he'd shot a buck. When Smith’s son returned...

A gigantic python snake in Florida ate a 76-pound adult deer. The 16 foot long Burmese python was one of the largest pythons discovered to date in the sunshine state. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s exotic species coordinator Scott Hardin, if these huge snakes aren’t killed, they could migrate northward. A government sanctioned shotgun blast stopped this snake from its potential journey to Atlanta or the Carolinas. And just how any inches around did the beast’s belly have to measure in order to covert a 76 pound Bambi into breakfast? 44 inches. Oh, and what is the average...

When dawn breaks on the Texas horizon Saturday morning, hundreds of thousands of hunters will be lying in wait with rifles in hand. In the Lone Star State, opening day of deer season is as coveted as the Cowboys and cold beer. "The night before is as close to Christmas Eve as you can get without presents under the tree," says Mike Cox, a spokesman with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Hunters, however, could be in for a cruel surprise this year. Texas just suffered through its hottest summer ever and is in the midst of an unrelenting historic...

A deer farmer in New Brunswick has apparently been killed by an animal in his herd, police say. The 55-year-old man was found with multiple antler wounds Sunday evening inside his enclosed field in Saint-Léonard, near the Quebec border. The victim's wife phoned police Sunday afternoon after he went out to feed the deer and never returned, RCMP Sgt. Marc Violette said. Officers discovered the man's body in the field at about 8 p.m. Sunday. His body had numerous piercings that appear to have been caused by deer antlers, Violette said. Deer have the capacity to inflict severe damage, he...

A Publix in Suwanee had a couple of uninvited guests this week: A pair of fawn that wandered into the supermarket and created a ruckus among shoppers and employees before store workers captured them, Channel 2 Action News reports. James Chronicle was standing in the pharmacy section of the store at 1000 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard about 5 p.m. Wednesday when he saw the front doors open and two young deer dart in. “They bolted through the store,” Chronicle told Channel 2. “I heard kids screaming and I thought I better catch those deer. I got to the back of the...

A cow in Germany has not only managed to escape from a Bavarian sausage maker, but has spent 10 months hiding out with a herd of deer in woodland. The brilliant bovine called Yvonne is said to have last year escaped from a sausage-based future after somehow escaping and going on the run in Bavaria. Since then she's eluded capture by pretending to be a deer and even blending in with a herd which live in nearby woodland. However, since the story was recently picked up by local media, it's not been looking good for Yvonne and there are reports...

<p>HELENA, Mont. — A Montana resident says an energy company has identified the cause of a brief power outage as "deer with wings."</p> <p>Lee Bridges says she was outside with her dogs around the time the power went out when a NorthWestern Energy truck pulled up, giving her a chance to ask the driver what caused the problem.</p>