It isn’t often members of law enforcement draw their weapon without the intention of taking a life to protect themselves or save someone else. An encounter with two locked bucks left Lynn Lock, a Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks game warden, quite happy that he got to draw and fire his .45 Glock.
The two bucks had been locked together and looked pretty spent, except for the occasional struggle to free themselves.
Some really cool body camera footage of one of our Game Wardens separating locked together bucks by shooting the antler on one of the bucks. These guys are free to fight again next autumn. Great shot sir!
Posted by Kansas Wildlife, Parks & Tourism – Game Wardens on Monday, February 6, 2017
“I have a lariat in my pickup, but knew there was no way to use it without one of us maybe getting hurt,” Koch said of when he and fellow game warden, Brad Hageman, came across two buck deer with their antlers locked together on Dec. 20. “I talked to Brad and we both decided it was best to use the gun.”
So that’s what Koch did. He drew his gun, aimed (which blocked the actual moment he made the shot from being recorded on his body cam) and fired.
Right before he takes the shot, Koch can be heard saying, “Should I just try to shoot the antler?” After a pause he says, “All right, boys, hold still. Hold still.”
This isn’t even the first time that Koch has freed a buck by shooting off their antler. It’s also not the first time we’ve featured a game warden who freed a locked buck in a similar situation.
“It doesn’t always end up like that,” he said, referring to the when he freed another locked buck. “Last year I (shot the antlers to free two bucks) but one of the deer was already dead.”
