ven•a•tic: fond of or living by hunting
NORTH AMERICA’S MOST-READ OUTDOOR NEWSLETTER
The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is.
So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours.
Here's what's worth reading about today:
31-year sentence - Serial Montana poacher gets 31-year sentence and big fines for non-stop poaching incidents 🧑⚖️
Freedom Amendment - Oregon’s petition to protect hunting, fishing, trapping and farming is getting closer to ‘28 ballot 🗳️
Keep an eye out - Missouri hunters are asked to keep an eye out for skeletal remains this season ☠
Let me clarify - Pennsylvania Game Commission clears the air on edited hunting pictures posted on social media 🤳
Half a decade - Virginia’s fifth installment of the state’s annual elk hunt did not disappoint 👍
The most weary creature in the woods - This whitetail doesn’t quite fit that description 🦌
FINALLY A DECENT SENTENCE
MONTANA MAN SENTENCED TO 31½ YEARS IN LONG-RUNNING SERIAL POACHING CASE
A Corvallis man who had been working on a 10-year career as a serial poacher has finally hit the wall after a judge handed him one of the stiffest sentences in recent Montana memory. After what was deemed to be a pretty good run (by illegal hunting standards), a Ravalli County judge has since ordered Jason Rulon Davis to serve 31½ years, including 15 years in prison with a five-year parole restriction.
Davis, who had already been barred from hunting in earlier cases, continued to pursue illegal activity anyway and ended up in front of a jury of his peers back in May. It was then that he was convicted on 18 counts (five felonies and 13 misdemeanors) after a four-year investigation by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks that began with tips from the public and was prosecuted by the Ravalli County Attorney’s Office.…
QUICK HITS // FROM AROUND THE WEB
Proposed Oregon amendment aims to protect hunting, fishing, and farming: The Oregon Freedom Amendment, a ballot initiative petition to protect hunting, fishing, trapping, farming, ranching, wildlife management, and agricultural animal husbandry, is one step closer to the November 2028 ballot. The petition, also known as IP 25, was recently authorized for circulation across the state. Read the full story.
FWP seeks tips after mule deer buck shot near Hamilton: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game wardens are asking for the public's help investigating the shooting of a mule deer buck southeast of Hamilton. According to FWP, two adult men in a silver pickup truck with a matching topper shot and killed the deer around 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, on Two Bear Forest Service Road near Sleeping Child Road in Hunting District 270. Read the full story.
Missouri hunters asked to ‘remain alert’ for skeletal remains as search for Lindsey Watts continues: As hunters take to the woods this fall, they are being asked to keep their eyes out for more than deer. In a release issued Thursday, The Edina Sentinel urged hunters to “remain alert for possible human skeletal remains while conducting their normal hunting activities.” Watts has been missing since May 19, 2026. Read the full story.
Pennsylvania Game Commission clarifies digitally altered hunting photos on social media: The Pennsylvania Game Commission is clarifying its policy on posting photos of dead animals on social media after an anti-poaching post drew questions online. On Wednesday, the Game Commission posted four photos on its Facebook page showing hunters posing with their harvest; however, the animals were digitally removed from the photos.
In response to the post, the Game Commission clarified that the meaning of the digitally removed deer was to show missed opportunities for family and friends if poachers were to take deer or other game illegally. Read the full story.
What poachers take from us | PGC Facebook
Man arrested on multiple charges after illegally killing deer on private property, CDFW says: A man was arrested Halloween night for killing a deer on private property after being found trespassing in the Sutter Bypass Wildlife Area, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The man was found with blood on his hands and clothes, along with a loaded .22-caliber rifle concealed beneath a towel in the back seat of his vehicle and a bloodstained sweatshirt. Read the full story.
Half a decade of hunting Virginia’s restored elk herd: Elk Camp in Buchanan County is the most exciting event in Virginia’s elk program. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) staff, volunteers, and landowners look forward to it each year, and the fifth annual elk hunt did not disappoint. Read the full story.
VIDEO // SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN
🚗 This fella was not paying attention to the vehicle approaching from the rear. Watch as this couple pull up on a curious buck who doesn’t even hear them coming.
At first I thought he might be sick but judging by the way he took off, he seems fine…
WEEKEND MEME // I MAKE THIS SH*T LOOK GOOD
WANDERINGS // A SFW GLIMPSE OF OUR BROWSER HISTORY
Forget Rick Moranis and Bill Murray, this crew was the original Ghostbusters. The story of one man and how he cracked the knuckles on just one of his hands for 60 years to prove his mother wrong. Apparently some folks are getting tired of invasive nose jobs and are turning to beauty manifestation, otherwise known as trying to will their way to better facial features. And the best bottle of whiskey for each of these classic cocktails.
EYE CANDY // PICTURES > WORDS
The pull of the weekend.
📸 by @brufkeef
Oh, and one more thing…
