We made it. It’s Christmas Eve and what will be, in all likelihood, our last transmission of this year. Just as we are attempting to do over the next few days, we hope all of you will take some time with those you love most and remember the reason for the season.
We’d also like to extend our heartfelt thanks for an incredible year here at theVenatic. We’d be nothing without our readers and their incessant banter about the stories we write here on a daily basis. We hope you’ll keep letting us have it, keep sharing and most importantly, keep reading along with us into 2026 and beyond.
With that said, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey and get this last dispatch of 2025 out the door.
🎄 Merry Christmas from our families to yours. 🎄
Here's what's worth reading about this morning:
Banned for life - Tennessee officials drop the hammer on serial poacher ✊
Sharp-tailed - Wisconsin’s first sharp-tailed grouse season in 7 years yields five birds 🪶
Big ol’ buck - This one could be a new Wisconsin record 🦌
The Goodnews - Alaska officials announce new moose hunt along Goodnews River Drainage 🫎
All the way up - Iowa hunters could be facing a 5% fee increase coming in the new year 💰
Last fight of the year - We’ve got one more good buck fight for you guys before the holidays 🥊
I LIKE THIS LIFETIME BAN THING
EXTENSIVE POACHING OPERATION IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE LEADS TO GUILTY PLEAS AND LIFETIME HUNTING BAN
It looks as though Christmas came early, at least for investigators with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, after a big bust led to guilty pleas in a massive poaching case from deep inside the state. In a significant victory for wildlife conservation in Tennessee, two men from Middle Tennessee have pleaded guilty to multiple poaching violations following a months-long investigation which unfolded near the border of Wilson and Rutherford counties.
The investigation began in the fall of 2024 after a concerned citizen tipped off TWRA game wardens about some fishy activity. After taking a deeper look into the allegations, it was soon revealed that Robert Comer and Carson Smith were allegedly involved in the illegal hunting of white-tailed deer, as well as the unlawful sale and bartering of deer meat…
QUICK HITS // FROM AROUND THE WEB
Hunters tally five sharp-tailed grouse in first Wisconsin season in seven years: Hunters registered a kill of five sharp-tailed grouse in the 2025 Wisconsin hunting season, according to the Department of Natural Resources. Only 12 permits were issued for the season, the first for the species in the state since 2018. The season ran Oct. 18 to Nov. 9. Read the full story.
Wisconsin’s 2025 elk season wraps up: “This elk season marks another rewarding hunt for 13 lucky state hunters,” said Christina Kizewski, DNR Central Elk Zone biologist. “The opportunity to establish a close relationship with the elk hunters and witness the excitement each one had was very special." Read the full story.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources releases deer hunting weekend results: According to the ODNR, hunters took 17,386 deer during the bonus gun weekend in 2024, while hunters in 2025 checked 15,835. Read the full story.
Police investigate bull elk poaching in Douglas County's Bear Creek area: The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division is investigating a report of bull elk that was shot and left to waste on Nov. 22, 2025, the opening day of Tioga Second Season. Read the full story.
Huge buck shot in Dane County could rank high in Wisconsin records: Steven Loomans of Madison shot the buck on the final day of the metro gun season using a rifle he borrowed from his grandfather. Read the full story.
Steve Loomans and his Booner | Instagram
Alaska DFG Announces Opening Of Goodnews River Drainage Moose Hunt: The Goodnews River drainage hunt area (that portion that drains into Kuskokwim Bay south of the Carter Bay Drainage (59.180 N 162.003 W) has fall (September 1- 30) moose hunting opportunity that was extended through October 15 in 2025. Read the full story.
Iowa DNR proposes fee increase for hunting and fishing licenses to help fund wildlife programs: The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recommended a 5% increase in hunting, fishing and trapping license fees in a report submitted to the Natural Resource Commission and state Legislature. Read the full story.
VIDEO // SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN
🦌 One more awesome fight video to close out the year. Watch as this fella pulls up to an all-out brawl in Ohio.
These boys didn’t even notice that they had an audience…
QUOTABLES // WORDS TO LIVE BY
“Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.”
— Steve Mariboli
HUMPDAY MEME // YOUR EMAIL WILL NOT FIND ME
WANDERINGS // A SFW GLIMPSE OF OUR BROWSER HISTORY
Ahh the American Sports Bar. The construction of these establishments continues to grow in large numbers, but for some reason these types of bars seem to be the hardest to define, yet easiest to defend. The fact that snackiness, or the constant craving for snacks, increases in your forties is perhaps one of the most justifiable headlines I’ve read lately. That’s not to say that I’ve not always been a snacker, it’s simply the fact that I seem to be more snackable since entering my formidable forties and now I can justify it. Oh look, chips. Here’s something to ponder over the break: have you ever wondered by we have two nostrils rather than just one big, ol’ nose hole? And the AP isn’t always known for doing amazing things, but their annual nature photography contest is certainly worthy of a few clicks.
EYE CANDY // PICTURES > WORDS
SHARE WITH FRIENDS // WE’LL SEND YOU COOL SH*T
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