To Iowa 303 and all other interested parties,
That little buck was the second strangest deer I have shot in 52 years of deer hunting in Iowa. The pictures that follow are of a doe that I shot back in November, 2007. I was told that this condition is caused by biting midges or flies that bite the deer on the head. Then it gets an infection which causes the bite sight to start growing a huge wart like appendage, this happens most in hot dry years and I was told that the main reason for it is when the deer drinks from stagnant water puddles.
As hideous as it is to look at, it is part of nature and we all need to realize what our wild deer go through. Their lives can be pretty rough at times and we need to be aware of that. We did not eat any of this deer because I didn't know at the time what had caused this condition and wasn't going to risk any problems from eating any of it. She was perfectly healthy otherwise and I was told later that we could have butchered her and it would have been fine. I just don't think either my wife or myself would have been able to enjoy eating any of it anyway. At the time I considered this a mercy killing, right or wrong. Bob