It's that time of year. Instinct drives mule deer bucks to seek receptive females. Not an easy task and might be great except that they have to fight to get in on the fun. The younger smaller guys will lock antlers with the big older bucks but it's really only for practice. When two big bucks have to fight, the battle ramps up to deadly serious. I have seen many large males limping around with open wounds and eyeballs hanging from their sockets. As the rut concludes, the worn out males have a difficult time enduring the winter.