I saw a TV program a while back where they found five different sets of bucks locked up over a period of time. In every instance one of the bucks was already dead and the second buck was alive. They freed the buck that was alive and radio collared it to see how the battle affected the bucks. 4 out of 5 bucks released died within 48 hrs of being released. The stress the battle put on their bodies was just to much. In the instance mentioned above with one of the bucks dead and starting to decompose, I seriously doubt the second deer would have survived anyway after being locked up that long. So with all that said I think I would have done the same thing and taken the buck that was alive. Now If I came across 2 bucks that were still alive and appeared to not have been locked up for very long I would probaly see what I could do about getting them free.