Charles Darwin with a purple swarm around his head, contemplating the twist of fate that natural selection sidestepped these still-living honorable mentions.

2009 Honorable Mention

Next Prev Random Honorable Mentions have misadventures that stop short of the ultimate sacrifice. Nevertheless we salute the spirit of their colossal blunders with an Honorable Mention. Better luck next time!

Ninja Deer Hunter
2009 Honorable Mention
Unconfirmed by Darwin

(Texas) Every time I read the story of the man who roped a deer, I am reminded of my father's friend. He was out in one of the many hunting leases in southeast Texas, hunting in his favorite spot, a climbing stand in an open creek bottom. One morning he heard a deer blow at his back but he didn't risk turning to look for fear of scaring the animal. He waited until the large buck sauntered just under the tree he was in.

Apparently he must not have had time to carefully determine his next course of action. Rather than lean down and shoot the animal in the head, he opted to attack with a large hunting knife that is commonly used for blood-letting and skinning. Positioning himself in a cat-like crouch, he pounced on the deer, intending to close the deal on what would have been an awesome deer-slaying story.

But when he landed the trajectory of the knife was slightly askew. He swung the knife under its throat and into his own opposing thigh. Since he landed primarily on the animal's neck it had no choice but to throw its large rack back into the man's face... The hunter lost consciousness following the head butt, so the following is clear speculation based on the blood trail and shards of clothing.

He appeared to have been dragged about 40 yards across the forest floor, his flannel jacket being the main reason for staying on the buck after the 8 second buzzer. Four hours later, his worried wife came to check on him, and found him in an unconscious state with blood and puncture wounds all about his body.

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Submitted by: Grady
Reference: Second-person account

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