Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the newsletter. If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.
With that said, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey and get this mid-week dispatch out the door.
Here's what's worth reading about this morning:
It’s happened before - Montana Guard probe reveals previous antler collecting missions 🚁
Shot with an arrow - PA hunter injured after taking a bolt while deer hunting is expected to survive 🏹
Deer harvest up - Minnesota hunters dropped a lot more deer this year 🦌
Dairyland elk - Wisconsin had a successful elk hunt, with 15 animals hitting the ground 👏
Primitive - PA flintlock hunter downs a dandy buck in close quarters 🔫
Is winter over - Watch as this bear pops his head out of the snow at a Montana ski hill 🥱
THIS WASN’T THE FIRST TIME
MONTANA GUARD PROBE UNCOVERS PAST HELICOPTER ANTLER COLLECTIONS AMID TRESPASSING SCANDAL
In a bizarre case that captured national attention, three Montana Army National Guard members faced misdemeanor trespassing charges after landing a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on private ranch land to collect shed elk antlers. The incident, which occurred back in May, in the foothills of the Crazy Mountains in Sweet Grass County, has now concluded with a military investigation revealing that such misuse of aircraft for antler collection was not entirely unprecedented.
Last spring’s incident took place during a routine training flight from Billings to Helena, when the crew—pilot Deni Lynn Draper, 36, of Clancy; Michael Vincent Bray, 30, of Helena; and Perry Wray Woodland, 30, of Great Falls—allegedly spotted some irresistible shed elk antlers from the air and decided to land on private property, turning their routine flight into a snatch and grab op…
QUICK HITS // FROM AROUND THE WEB
Kentucky to adjust hunting and fishing license prices later this month: Hunters and fishers in Kentucky could see higher licensing prices soon — but there’s still time to buy at current rates. The state is changing how it sets costs for hunting and fishing licenses, moving away from unpredictable hikes. Prices will now increase every other January. Read the full story.
Man hunting deer in Pennsylvania injured after another hunter shot him with arrow, police say: A 48-year-old man hunting deer in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, was injured Tuesday when another hunter shot him with an arrow, police said. Read the full story.
Spring turkey hunting licenses now available through Michigan DNR: EAs turkey hunting season approaches, the Michigan DNR has begun offering applications for licenses starting Jan. 1 and ending Feb. 1. The drawing for the U.P. will be March 2. Read the full story.
Pennsylvania flintlock hunter gets massive buck while still-hunting: Larry Oswald, 25, of Crawford County, feels fortunate to have had a close encounter with an older buck in the late primitive weapons hunting season. Read the full story.
Oswald and his flintlock buck | Brayden Fenno
Minnesota deer harvest increased in 2025; hunters contribute nearly 14,000 samples for CWD testing: Minnesota hunters harvested 186,203 deer during the 2025 hunting season, a 9% increase from 2024 and 5% above the five-year average, according to preliminary figures from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story.
Hunters enjoy another successful Wisconsin elk season, including cows: Hunters in Wisconsin registered 15 elk in the 2025-26 hunting season, according to reports from the Department of Natural Resources and Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Read the full story.
Nonresident deer and elk tag drawing results released by Idaho Fish and Game: Idaho Fish and Game has released the results of the 2026 nonresident deer and elk tag drawing, with successful applicants required to purchase their tags by 11:59 p.m. MST on Jan. 20 or risk forfeiting them. Read the full story.
VIDEO // SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN
💤 The unseasonably warm weather out west is waking up the bears. Watch as these skiers notice a bear pop his head out of the snow as if to say, “is it over already?”
No, dude. Go back to bed…
QUOTABLES // WORDS TO LIVE BY
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.”
— John Muir
HUMPDAY MEME // SOON COME (KINDA)
WANDERINGS // A SFW GLIMPSE OF OUR BROWSER HISTORY
First week back and I’m already lost in this list of great performances in mediocre movies which kind of pissed me off. Firstly, Hook was not a mediocre movie, but a piece of cinematic brilliance. And yes, Dustin Hoffman was great. The art of idling (or doing nothing) is something apparently we all need to practice. I’m not terribly good at it, but I suppose maybe one of these days I could give it a whirl. Otherwise, I’ll continue to balance myself out with philosophies from some folks I respect like the great Jack London who said “I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.” Despite going a bit too hard and leaving us a bit too early, he had a lot of things right. And this dude grabbed a portrait of a 1640 painting featuring a bunch of people carrying on and gave some superb commentary.
EYE CANDY // PICTURES > WORDS
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