We run a lot of coverage of bears, lions, and wolves attacking humans, but this is a new one for us. According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, a 66-year-old hunter died this week while recovering a whitetail buck that he’d shot.
“I’ve worked for the game and fish commission for 20 years, and it’s one of the stranger things that’s happened,” said Keith Stephens, chief of communications, in an interview with KY3 News.
The hunter was stabbed multiple times by the antlers of the mortally wounded deer. He phoned his family to report what happened, who in turn called emergency responders. The man died at the hospital shortly thereafter, but it’s unclear whether it was from the puncture wounds or from another cause like a heart attack. Stephens said there won’t be an autopsy performed.
While largely unheard of, this isn’t the first time the tables have been turned on a hunter in Arkansas. “There was somebody that did get stuck by a buck’s antlers, and this was about four years ago,” Stephens noted. “And it was pretty significant, but they did survive.”
It seems to go without saying, but make safety your top priority in the woods. Wear orange (or pink), carry bear spray, bring tree stand harnesses, and in case you need reminding, make sure your game is dead before you try gutting it.
