Deer with an extra set of antlers killed by bowhunter in Missouri. ‘What a find!’

A bowhunter who shot a deer in Missouri got an extra set of antlers with his kill, photos show.

Authorities with the Missouri Department of Conservation said hunter Mike Lewis shot the deer during archery season in Nodaway County.

That deer happened to have an extra set of antlers — and a deer skull — locked in its rack, according to a Nov. 2 Facebook post.

Lewis contacted a county wildlife agent and got permission to legally take the second skull and antlers.

“What a find!” authorities said.

The discovery left many people wondering how a deer would have gotten interlocked with another set of antlers, and how long the deer might have been dragging around an extra skull.

“With the cleanliness of the skull, we suspect the deer had sparred with a ‘dead head’ from last year and became locked up,” officials said. “The hunter has a trail cam photo from a neighbor of the buck a week earlier with the skull and antlers locked up with the live deer’s antlers.”

In Missouri, deer archery season is from Sept. 15 to Nov. 11 and again from Nov. 23 to Jan. 15. Bowhunters with a hunting permit may take two deer of either sex, but only one deer with antlers may be hunted before Nov. 12.

Hunters who hunt during the archery and firearms season may only take two antlered deer each year.

Nodaway County is in the northwest corner of Missouri.

This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Deer with an extra set of antlers killed by bowhunter in Missouri. ‘What a find!’."