ven•a•tic: fond of or living by hunting
NORTH AMERICA’S MOST-READ OUTDOOR NEWSLETTER
As we continue to slowly but surely inch back towards the weekend, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get into what this beautiful Tuesday has to offer.
Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:
Did they go easy on him? - Hunting community questions leniency in WV poaching case 🤔
The good fight - Wyoming man takes on mountain lion after it attacks his dog 🐈
Illegal hunt turns deadly - An early-morning illegal deer hunt turned deadly last weekend 🙏
Duck feed - Texas man enters guilty plea for illegal duck feeding operation 🦆
Front row seat - When the boys go at it in the front yard 🥊
MANY LOCAL HUNTERS ARE CALLING THIS OUT
DNR EMPLOYEE FINED $1,100 IN ILLEGAL DEER CASE, MANAGES TO AVOID TROPHY FEE
In something of an “inside job”, a West Virginia Division of Natural Resources employee found himself on what some believe to be the lighter side of punishment after illegally downing a Hampshire County buck. The state-employed wildlife specialist ended up pleading no contest to the allegations against him, and in doing so, seems to have avoided the brunt of the potential penalties.
According to DNR Director Brent McMillion, 37-year-old Geoffrey Brinker, a Wildlife Resources Specialist assigned to the agency’s District 2 office in Romney, was cited during last year’s gun season. After dropping a 7-point whitetail, Brinker was found to be without a Class RG resident or Class RRG nonresident gun deer hunting stamp and failed to electronically register his recent kill…
HEADLINES // DIGESTIBLE SNIPPETS
Love the shirt | Adam Borkhus/Cowboy State Daily
🐈 Cody man fights mountain lion to save dog, sits through rabies shots. Just as Adam Borkhus was ready to head out to photograph elk on Saturday, he found himself tangled up with a hungry mountain lion. After letting his 2-year-old Lab named Diesel out to pee, he heard the dog let out a yelp and soon found a juvenile mountain lion on the animal’s back. Rather than using the pistol on his hip or the bear spray in his bag, Borkus opted to kick the young cat directly in the face. The near 70-pound lion then turned his attention to the 6’3”, 320-pound human, went for his chest and “knocked him on his ass”. Rolling on the ground for about 20 seconds, Borkhus and the cat tussled ferociously until the lion had finally had enough and took off.
Wyoming Game and Fish called it a surprise encounter in heavy cover near the Deer Creek Trailhead that turned defensive. Rabies in mountain lions is rare, but doctors ended up putting Borkhus on a four-shot rabies series plus tetanus and heavy antibiotics - a round of treatment he said was worse than the fight. Officers were unable to locate the lion.
😮 23-year-old killed in illegal Georgia night hunt; Glenwood man charged. A 23-year-old man was shot and killed early Saturday in Alamo, Georgia, during what state game wardens say was an illegal hunting trip involving five adults. The shooting happened at around 3:30 a.m.,and Georgia’s DNR Critical Incident Reconstruction Team is currently leading the investigation.
Authorities arrested Howard Benjie Hartley, 57, of Glenwood, and charged him with felony involuntary manslaughter, hunting deer at night, hunting from a motor vehicle, and hunting big game from a public road. Officials have not said how the shot was fired nor have they identified the other three adults or the victim. Additional details are expected as the reconstruction work continues.
🦆 Texas man pleads guilty in baited duck-hunt case. Richard Lee Bowers, 55, of Conroe pleaded guilty in late August to one federal Lacey Act count for paid duck hunts over bait on his Walker County property, Pull Two Ranch. Prosecutors say he charged $100 a day in 2023 and let clients shoot migratory ducks over corn in the pond.
A longtime hunter at the ranch finally turned him in, providing photos of Bowers carrying bags of corn to the pond. Hunters who confronted him about the feed said he answered, “That’s how we get all the ducks,” leading U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents to surveil the place and eventually catch him in the act. At the time, he told officers the corn was for hogs, even though all of it was underwater. Bowers is a taxidermist with a record of state game violations and is now awaiting his sentencing, which is set for Nov. 9th. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, if convicted.
THOUGHTS FROM THE STAND // FROM OUR NOTEPAD
Sometimes in life we are so focused on the win that we forget to just put some points on the board.
The AI we know today is the least intelligent AI will ever be.
Adult-only households account for 55 percent of spending on kids toys.
A wise man always eats well. 🙏
VIDEO // SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN
🥊 When your front yard gives you a front-row seat. Watch as these fellas get after it as the rut heats up.
I don’t know the whole story, but it looks like this dude has got A LOT of deer around his yard…
WANDERINGS // A SFW GLIMPSE OF OUR BROWSER HISTORY
All of the reasons why Indiana Jones was both the best and the worst thing for archaeology. Ah, the good ol’ family landline and all of the social rules it forced everyone in the house to learn. This city that served as the US capital for just one day. And here’s a bunch of Airbnb’s you can book this autumn if fall foliage is on your list of things to see this season.
EYE CANDY // PICTURES > WORDS
“HEY BEAR!!!”
📸 by @bacha.photo
Oh, and one more thing…
