'A vegan’s worst nightmare': Teenaged bow hunter builds a 10ft tall Christmas tree entirely out of deer antlers

Anyone who lives in rural America can attest that one of the most exciting times of the year is deer hunting season. Once a year, everyone can go hunting with their boys, taking weekender trips to the mountains and coming back with their haul. It's the one time a year that it's totally okay to wear camouflage gators to the grocery store, crush a Coors light for breakfast, and forego showering because you don't want the deer smelling your Dove for Men soap from 200 yards. However, some people are actually really serious about hunting and actually really good at it. One Nevada teenager named Ethan Wetmore has honed his hunting skills on his family's property over the years and has come up with the best Christmas decor in the world because of it.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are your antlers

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With hundreds of antlers that he has either hunted for sport or found lying around on their property, Ethan has collected enough racks to build a ten foot tall “Christmas tree” that would make anyone's jaw drop. Ethan claims he's been collecting this stash of antlers for over 4 years, either through hunting or scavenging the lands, which is an incredible feat for any 18 year old. Not only does that say a lot for Ethan's hunting skills, but to make things even more impressive, Ethan doesn't hunt with guns, he hunts with a bow. For hunters that want the extra challenge or who want to level the playing field with their game, they take up bow hunting, which is substantially more challenging and tactical. This makes PETA's least favorite Christmas decoration even more amazing. 

I'm dreaming of a backwoods Christmas

With the help of his mother and with baskets full of antlers, Ethan began work on the tree late last month. His followers were both impressed and a little horrified by the sheer volume of horns, and some raised legitimate points. Ethan's following on TikTok seemed generally opposed to the idea of the antler tree for both safety reasons and animal cruelty reasons. 

However, Ethan's following on Instagram was way more excited about the tree, loving the vibe and commemorating his hard work to collect this many horns. Since deer shed their antlers naturally, there's not too much to be worried about here. All of the other horns were collected from deer he legally and ethically hunted with his bow. 

Regardless of what you think about hunting in general, this tree is truly impressive and a work of art in its own right.