The first thing you do with a plug is back out a few paces so you dont have to fight standing corn when you hop down to un plug the head.. Its usually the worst when the corn has been blown down. Thats when you dont SEE that big ol buck laying there, and run him right into the center feed and make a real mess..
I will agree he was shot and placed there.. Carrying the gun in the cab of the combine is usually a guaranteed way to get a shot at more than one BIG dear.. the mass of those antlers suggests the driver got his shot off well, then used the corn head to bring the deer up to where the truck is parked. If it had been run up there while picking the fingers would have already bunched him up against the auger and made a mess.. Nice deer though... I saw one bigger at my woodlot this morning.. already making plans to get him before my wife does!