Czech police on the hunt for rifle stolen by deer

“The deer was startled by a dog and charged straight towards a member of a party of hunters”

Fallow deer bucks (Getty Images)

Police in the Czech Republic have put out an unusual request after a deer stole a hunter’s gun. It fled the scene with the gun lodged in its antlers.

The deer was startled by a dog and charged straight towards a member of a party of hunters. They were hunting in the woods near the town of Horní Planá, not far from the Austrian border.

The 22 Hornet repeating rifle became attached to the deer’s antlers as the animal ripped the sleeve of the man’s jacket.

Czech police said: “The rifle the hunter had hung on his left hand slid down the deer’s antler, fortunately without ammunition and magazine, and disappeared with the deer.” 

They added that anyone who came across the rifle should hand it in to the nearest police department.

Both the hunting party and authorities have searched the forest but no one has been able to locate or recover the rifle. The disappearance was reported to Police under the Weapons and Ammunitions Act.