The "rut" is when male ruminants, attempting to breed, become aggressive, combative and far less cautious.
A buck will fight any other buck, it feels is a threat to it's chance to breed...
even a concrete one.
This buck deer sure put a hurtin' on that concrete lawn ornament, but it cost him his life, as you can see in the background.
More noble than being knifed in a seedy bar, I suppose, but the same result.
Edit: It was a 640 pound Elk statue and a 7 point buck. Some places (east) they count the points on just one antler, and some (west) count total points.