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Any animal that is cornered or threatened can be extremely dangerous and deer are no exception. Under the right circumstances, Bambi can easily transform into a fire-breathing widow maker with a deadly medieval weapon mounted on its head.
Just ask Randy Goodman of Missouri how fast a rut-crazed buck with a massive rack on its noggin can change your whole outlook on life. During the Missouri gun season, Goodman made what he thought was a lethal shot at a heavy-racked bruiser that was chasing two does. The loud roar of the .270 sent the buck into a summersault, but amazingly the animal was able to get back up. The hunter steadied his aim for a quick follow up shot which dropped the buck in its tracks. The hunter cautiously approached his downed trophy and noticed the buck’s tongue was hanging out and blood was already beginning to seep out of its nose. A quick field dressing job was just about all that was left to do on this phenomenal hunt.
Consequently, Goodman was in for the shock of his life when he reached down and grabbed one side of the massive rack. Without warning, the buck sprang into motion and violently pushed the hunter down to his knees. Desperately, he tried to control the long tines of the antlers as the buck forcefully shook its head in a consistent right to left motion. Eventually, the buck managed to break free from the hunter’s death grip and ran its rack directly into Goodman’s scalp. With blood pouring down his face and still addled from the heavy blow, he grabbed his rifle and quickly put two more rounds into the enraged buck. Finally, the 15 seconds of utter hell was over and a trip to the emergency room would end this Missouri hunter’s worse nightmare. This was definitely a bad to the bone 140-class, 9-pointer that Randy will never forget. He still has the scars from all of his stitches and staples to remind him that Bambi can be pretty bad when he wants to be!—Travis Faulkner
where is the picture of the heavy-racked bruiser, all i see a 2.5 y.o. 8 pt.
Posted by: dug kansas | December 26, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Great story...I'm glad he made it out alive!!!!
Posted by: Hopkins | December 26, 2008 at 04:58 PM
This story just goes to show that the outdoors are a lot different than Disney. Great Story Travis! Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Deerhunter3 | December 26, 2008 at 05:00 PM
WOW...Bambi put a hurtin on him! Incredible story Travis...you always have great stories on here that i look forward to readin. Keep em coming... I'm glad the dude made it out alright..
Posted by: BigHunter00 | December 26, 2008 at 05:01 PM
great story travis...i'm glad he made it out with only the scars..
Posted by: Bryan | December 26, 2008 at 05:03 PM
It is a good thing that Randy was able to keep his cool. This situation could have turned really bad had he not made the last two shots! Good Article!!
Posted by: Anthony | December 26, 2008 at 05:09 PM
That is pretty wild! That's why I always poke them in the eye first before touching! Glad he is OK.
Posted by: Adam | December 26, 2008 at 08:41 PM
Massive rack?, I guess I underrated my 9 pointer....This could have been much worse, Randy is lucky.
Posted by: sarg | December 27, 2008 at 08:15 AM
That's crazy stuff, Travis I like the sentence at the end "This was definitly a bad to the bone 140 class, 9 pointer that Randy will never forget."
Thats funny, and Randy, Way to hit back!
Posted by: JimboS | December 29, 2008 at 07:30 AM
Lucky man. Made my heart skip a beat.
I shot a bull elk this season - it collapsed after walking about 20 feet. Massive trail of blood on the ground. No sign of life. Touched its eye with the muzzle of my rifle. No reaction. A minute or so later the darned thing started kicking. I lifted my gun to shoot it again but it stopped. Touched it again - nothing. No chest movement. No reaction. Nothing. A couple minutes later it started kicking again and tried to lift its head. This time I wasn't taking a chance and shot. Still not sure exactly why this happened. But elk are tough. I am a bit more cautious and patient now.
Posted by: Mike | December 29, 2008 at 01:09 PM
gr8 story Travis/ question for you though? do you believe that the old metal locking tags would help prevent over kill on bucks? cost of tags these days should cover it,ez to get around telecheck pple taking more than thier one buck/u might be in a position to help change things.6phunter
Posted by: steve thompson | December 31, 2008 at 06:39 AM
Steve,
I really wish the state of KY would switch over to the old metal locking tags. Or, I would even be in favor of the check in station method where the deer had to be weighed and certified by an official. I know a lot of guys that kill multiple bucks and simply call them in under a buddy or other family members' name.
The tele-check is much easier, but it does allow people to cheat. However, I don't know if the state would change with healthy deer numbers across 120 counties and all of the money that was spent on the new system.
Travis Faulkner
Posted by: Travis Faulkner | December 31, 2008 at 03:15 PM
Unfortunately, there are hunters out there that use tags multiple times. But, I am sure some Farmers turn their heads to get the deer off their crops. Also hear this about turkey. Some farms are just overrun with them.
Posted by: Mike | January 02, 2009 at 12:42 PM
thx for youre responsive insight Travis/ I really didn't want to take anything away from Randy Goodmans story. Perhaps we could open a story with other hunters perspectives on this subject.The cost of any change in regulations would lie soley on hunters as kentucky relies only on these funds to support thier activities . If most hunters support such a change then what other recourse could they have but change it,I'm not sure who is in charge now or how he got there but surely the voice of kentucky hunters cannot be ignored . As kentuky's potential for trophy bucks and potential bucks from out of state hunters grow/ then we must also become better stewards of our own herds . thx for listening , 6phunter
Posted by: steve thompson | January 02, 2009 at 07:54 PM
Had a neighbor here in Oklahoma killed by a deer. The buck killed him after my neighbor walked between the buck and a "hot" doe.
Posted by: Tom | January 05, 2009 at 09:41 AM