Rare encounter with deer puts quick end to bow hunt.

Publication: Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Grand Forks Herald

Byline: Brad Dokken

GRAND FORKS, N.D. _ Call it hunter's intuition, but John Lien had a good feeling about the day's bow-hunting prospects when he set out for his tree stand southwest of Park River, N.D., on Sept. 24.

His optimism wasn't unfounded; the spot has produced nice bucks, both for Lien and a buddy who owns the land. But never in his wildest imagination, Lien says, could he have envisioned the sight that greeted him when he walked up to the tree supporting his stand.

There, in a small creek about 10 yards from the base of the tree, lay what appeared to be a buck with a huge nontypical rack and completely covered with mud.

At first glance, Lien thought the buck had fallen into the water and drowned. The shallow water flowing through that stretch of the creek had been churned into a black, mucky froth, a sure sign that some kind of struggle had occurred.

A closer look revealed something much more striking: Two bucks, horns...

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