Deer hunters save 'King of Carson,' Carson City's famous buck, from tussle with clothesline

Matt Parent of Carson City and Shawn Dixon of Reno have been friends since high school and both have been avid hunters their entire lives. So when Parent called Dixon to ask him to come look for a particular deer in Carson City last weekend, Dixon was more than happy to drive down.

However, this was no ordinary deer hunt, but instead, a deer rescue.

Parent often takes his kids to go and look for the local Carson City herd of deer that frequent the historic west side, and knows several of the herd members from watching them grow over the year.

The most easily spotted is the King of Carson, the great wild buck who is often seen munching on the grasses along the west side, generally accompanied by a dozen or more does and fawns.

Last weekend, the Deer King found himself in a bit of a pickle after getting himself and his massive antlers tangled with what appeared to be a clothesline.

“He had roping tangled around his antlers and it was dragging about twenty feet behind him, and I knew we needed to do something about it, because it was a safety issue for him,” said Parent. “He had four inch eyebolts hanging from the rope that sounded like bells every time he shook his head.”

Parent called the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) and told them about the situation the King found himself in.

“When I got through to the dispatcher I told them, ‘hey, this isn’t your average buck, he’s the King of Carson, a lot of people follow him, he’s an icon of our city and we need to take care of this guy,’” said Parent.

After realizing how important the King was (and how massive, which very well could cause a public safety issue if he were to become stuck on a fence because of the rope), an NDOW game warden agreed to come down and help Parent save the buck.

Unfortunately, they were not able to find the King the next day, but Saturday evening they were able to track the deer near the Governor’s Mansion. However, because deer can’t regulate their body temperature, the warden said it wouldn’t be safe to sedate him that night and they’d have to put it off until the next day.

Sunday morning before dawn, Parent called Dixon and asked him if he was ready for a rescue mission.

“I’d actually never seen the buck live until that day,” said Dixon. “I’ve seen pictures of him for years, but we’ve never been able to find him in person when we’ve gone to look for him.”

The pair set off at 6:30 a.m. to cruise through the neighborhoods, and weren’t having any luck. They decided to pause the search to hunt down some coffee, only to find the herd immediately after turning onto Carson Street near the legislature building.

“He was with about 20 does and another really nice buck, and we pulled over and called the game warden to tell him we’d found him," said Parent.

When the game warden arrived, he was prepared to use a taser on the buck, until realizing how tangled the deer was, and that the time he’d be incapacitated by a taser wouldn’t be enough time to free him safely.

So, the warden loaded up his tranquilizer gun and shot the King of Carson.

The King, in all his regal glory, simply moseyed down the street surrounded by his entourage, munched on some grass, laid down, and fell asleep.

The residence he chose to nap in front of just so happened to be one of the King’s most frequented yards, according to Parent, who has dozens of photos of the King in front of the same residence. The warden knocked on the door and let them know what was happening before getting to work on the tangled buck.

“I asked the warden if I could cut the rope,” said Parent. “I said, ‘I found him, I’d love the honor of setting him free.’”

Parent, Dixon and the warden cut him free as quickly as they could, in case he woke up. However, the sedation lasted a full three hours, which allowed many passerby and spectators to take photos and talk about their own experiences with him.

“We were the first three people to ever lay hands on that buck,” said Parent. “It was really special.”

The three kept people at a distance so the buck would be protected. However, a very special moment arose that made the situation all that more meaningful for Parent and Dixon.

The residence that the buck laid down in front of is owned by a man, who lives there with his adult daughter, who happens to be fully blind.

“She came out and Shawn talked her into touching the deer. He guided her in with his voice and took her left hand and guided her hands over the antlers,” said Parent. “I took her right hand and guided her through his antlers, his ears and his forehead and his nose.”

“She got to feel him and ‘see’ him in her own way, and when is she ever going to able to have that opportunity again, to see the way she sees, a wild deer of this caliber?” said Dixon.

“That was a moment both Shawn and I never thought would happen, but after talking about it, that was the most meaningful thing of the whole incident,” said Parent.

“He’s the biggest buck I’ve ever seen,” said Parent. “To put your hands on a living giant like that, to give him the privilege of surviving another day and going on to live his life was really special.”

Being hunters is what made Parent and Dixon so intent on saving the King of Carson, because they are, at heart, conservationists.

“I want people, anti-hunters and non-hunters, to understand that most hunters are ethical sportsmen and we genuinely, deeply care about our wildlife," said Parent. “We are true conservations. As hunters, we know the avenues of who to call to make sure these animals survive.”

“We want to conserve them,” said Dixon. “We enjoy hunting, we need them to be here. My grandfather, my father and I hunt, our kids hunt and soon-to-be grandkids will hunt. It’s important.”

“Hunters genuinely care, we deeply care about preserving our wildlife, making sure they stay alive and sustain their resource,” said Parent. “Freeing him up to go procreate and pass on his genetics is conservation and preservation. Above and beyond him being a celebrity deer, he’s just cool to interact with.”

As for the King of Carson, who woke up and rejoined his herd, who had been standing nearby the entire time waiting patiently for him to return, Parent and Dixon are excited to keep watching him throughout his life.

“Taking down any of these deer wouldn’t be a hunt for any true hunter,” said Parent. “These deer are pets; it’d be nothing more than a glory kill.”

We are all happy to see that the King of Carson is back on his feet, sans rope, and glad to know he has fans that care deeply about his well being.