Daring Deer Cozies Up To Indiana Hunters, Licks Shotgun

DANVILLE, IND — These were no deer in the headlights. A group of turkey hunters in central Indiana recently got an unexpected visit from two daring deer, and one of the curious creatures felt comfortable enough to get up close and personal. In raw video shot last weekend in Hendricks County, the bold deer can be seen walking right up to the men, sniffing around curiously and even giving one hunter's shotgun barrel a nuzzle and a couple of licks for good measure.

In the clip, the men stand quietly as the anything-but-skittish deer approaches. One hunter is even able to stroke the deer's neck a few times. As the deer scratches itself, one man jokes, "Oh, your back itches!"

Hunter Leon Champine told WXIN-TV the inquisitive young deer appeared to be about a year old and didn't have their mother with them "to teach them what is dangerous." Champine said he and his friends have never had an anything like this happen to them in their combined 50-plus years of hunting, calling it a "once in a lifetime encounter."

WATCH: Deer Cozies Up To Hunter, Nuzzles Muzzle

Image by C Watts via Creative Commons 2.0 license