\u00a0metro archery deer hunts<\/a>\u00a0have been allowed in select locations within city limits, to keep the deer population in check.<\/p>\nTypically, roughly 80 bowhunters sign up each year, and about 30 deer are killed.<\/p>\n
\u2018It Kind Of Bounces Around\u2019<\/p>\n
Clay Stoner has a large, unfenced backyard adjacent to a creek in Sheridan.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s essentially a thoroughfare for deer, and Stoner and his family enjoy watching them.<\/p>\n
The buck was among the deer that have shown up this fall, and Stoner said he noticed right away when the deer turned up with a busted antler.<\/p>\n
At first glance, he thought the buck might be shedding his antler, but that would have been incredibly weird, because deer usually don\u2019t shed their antlers until the spring.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first saw it (the broken antler), I saw it dangling down by the deer\u2019s face and I thought, \u2018Wow, it\u2019s a little early for him to be dropping an antler,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Then he noticed that the antler was still attached to the buck\u2019s head, albeit precariously.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s detached, so when he walks, it kind of bounces around, it\u2019s mostly just held on by the skin at the base,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/broken-deer-3-11.12.25.jpg\")
This young mule deer buck in Sheridan suffered a rare antler break at the base because of some massive force, such as a vehicle strike, or a fight with another deer. (Courtesy Tim Doolin Photography)\u2018Positioned Strangely\u2019<\/p>\n
Sheridan resident Tim Doolin, a photographer, was doing a human portrait session at a local historical site when\u00a0he\u00a0noticed the unfortunate buck.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u00a0happened\u00a0to show up there, and I just had to take pictures of him, because he\u2019s unique,\u201d Doolin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what people told me, apparently earlier in the year he was normal, then something happened to him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The consensus is that the buck was struck by a vehicle, although nobody seems to know for sure, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis antler is really quite well-formed otherwise. It looks normal, it\u2019s just positioned strangely,\u201d Doolin said.<\/p>\n
Disfigured For Life<\/p>\n
Monteith agreed that a vehicle strike\u00a0is\u00a0a likely scenario\u00a0to generate a\u00a0blow with enough force to break the buck\u2019s antler off at the base.<\/p>\n
A fight with another buck is another feasible cause, but not nearly as likely.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little early in the rut (deer mating season) for those big, intense battles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the cause, a break at the pedicle probably means a permanent disfigurement of\u00a0the\u00a0buck\u2019s right antler.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce this antler falls off, the antler that grows back next year will be severely deformed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Does that mean the new antler could grow in the direction of the current one, down toward the buck\u2019s face?<\/p>\n
Probably not, Monteith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s highly unlikely that next year\u2019s antler will head that way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
There have been cases of antler growth toward the mouth disrupting a deer\u2019s ability to eat, but Monteith doesn\u2019t think that will be the Sheridan buck\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s possible. But that\u2019s a very, very rare thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mishap that must have involved incredible force has left a young mule deer buck in Sheridan with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-288218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/borken-deer-4-11.12.25.jpg\")
This young mule deer buck in Sheridan suffered a rare antler break at the base because of some massive force, such as a vehicle strike, or a fight with another deer. (Courtesy Tim Doolin Photography)Part Of The Metro Deer Herd<\/p>\n