The Brooks Bull Claims Archery World Record Amid Controversy 🏆

I’m currently at the “it’s Thursday already?” phase of the workweek and am unsure as to whether or not that is a good thing as of yet.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get this Thursday morning dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about today:

HELL OF A BULL
THE BROOKS BULL CLAIMS ARCHERY WORLD RECORD AMID CONTROVERSY

On Tuesday, the Pope and Young Club officially crowned a massive Rocky Mountain elk as the new nontypical archery world record. Harvested by veteran bowhunter Casey Brooks of Washington state, the "Brooks Bull" scored an astonishing 478 2/8 inches net—surpassing the previous record by nearly 29 inches. And as in the case of many of these triumphant stories, it unfolded amid a swirl of online controversy.

Casey Brooks, a 60-year-old Hoyt pro-staffer with over 86 bow-killed elk to his name—including a dozen over 400 inches—had been chasing giants for years. The Brooks Bull first caught his eye two seasons prior, roaming the rugged terrain of Kittitas County in central Washington. Armed with a special Governor's Eastside elk tag (acquired through a raffle auction for around $37,500, allowing hunting from September 1 to December 31, 2024), Brooks embarked on what would become a grueling, multi-month odyssey…

🐕‍🦺 Tennessee Hunter Seeks Justice After Dog Shot on Public Land. In Union County, Tennessee, 20-year-old avid raccoon hunter Braxton Graves is mourning the loss of his beloved hunting dog Jeff, who was shot and killed on September 20th during a routine hunt on public TVA land. Graves, who has hunted with dogs since age five and considers them family, was out with friends when Jeff—his first dog, valued at over $1,000—struck a track and circled back up a public road. GPS data confirmed the dog never entered private property, but Graves heard two shots and found Jeff dead, with the shooter, Jeffrey Tincher, holding a gun. Tincher claimed they were trespassing, but Graves insisted it was a familiar public area he'd hunted his whole life. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officials determined Jeff posed no threat and was simply walking, leading to a citation against Tincher for intentionally killing a hunting dog.

Graves, devastated and seeking full justice, hopes for jail time for Tincher, who faces a potential felony charge and 1-6 years in prison depending on his criminal history. His court date is October 30, 2025.

🙈 Mike Lee’s Back, Targeting Wilderness Areas with Border Bill Overreach. Utah Senator Mike Lee is back in true form, introducing yet another controversial bill aimed at amending the 1964 Wilderness Act to grant the Department of Homeland Security extensive access to federally designated wilderness areas within 100 miles of the U.S. northern and southern borders. Framed as a measure to address "border chaos," the bill would allow DHS to build roads, fences, surveillance systems, and other infrastructure, and use motorized vehicles and aircraft in areas like Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Co-sponsored by Republican senators Ted Cruz, Cynthia Lummis, John Barrasso, and Rick Scott, the bill seeks "operational control" to curb illegal entries but has sparked fierce opposition from hunters, anglers, and conservation groups who see it as a broad attack on wilderness protections.

Sportsmen’s organizations, including Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and the Sage Brush Institute, argue the bill undermines the Wilderness Act’s ban on motorized access and development, threatening prime hunting and fishing lands under the guise of border security. Critics note that existing laws already allow DHS to waive restrictions in high-traffic border zones, making the bill’s sweeping 100-mile scope unnecessary and damaging. The proposal also burdens underfunded land agencies with maintaining new infrastructure, potentially affecting nearly 10 percent of U.S. land, including Montana’s elk-rich Bob Marshall Wilderness.

"The true aim of this bill is to override the Wilderness Act," BHA’s Devin O’Dea says. "It will codify and build new roads in our wilderness areas and to then hit our federal land agencies—which have already been gutted—with unfunded mandates to manage new roads, which they'll be hard pressed to implement."

☎️ Hunters Urged to Report Mistakes After Cow Moose Abandoned Near Timmins. Towards the end of last month, Ontario conservation officers discovered a cow moose shot and abandoned in a forestry cut-off in Bartlett Township, near Timmins. The moose, believed to have been killed on September 28 or 29, was partially taken and covered with logs and brush, with evidence suggesting a .243 calibre rifle was used. Sgt. Bill McCord of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Enforcement Branch suspects the hunters shot the wrong moose—lacking a valid tag—and fled to avoid penalties. He noted that such incidents occur two to three times annually during the moose hunting season, often due to fear of hefty fines.

McCord emphasized that reporting accidental shootings immediately allows the meat to be salvaged for donation to needy families and reduces fines, as opposed to hiding the act, which worsens penalties and wastes resources. Officers found a live round at the scene, indicating the hunters left in a hurry. The Ministry is seeking dash cam footage or information from September 28-30 to identify those responsible, urging the public to contact their TIPS line, local office, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

👀 When you try to bribe the local cows into giving up the location of their beau. Watch as this fella puts it all on the line to try and find a nice 7 × 7.

I think she held strong…

🐿️ The Great Yard Grizzly Expedition : I looked out the window and noticed a small creature scurrying through the thick grass. I studied it carefully and decided it was a squirrel—much larger than the Eastern gray that inhabits half the country, including all of Mississippi. With a pelt like the fox squirrels I shot in my youth in Texas, only a bit darker, with a jet-black head and a white snout, it was a trophy for any self-proclaimed squirrel hunter.

“Have you ever seen a squirrel like that?” I asked my father‑in‑law as he handed me a beer.

“Yeah, it’s some kind of fox squirrel. I think they call them Bachman’s or something. From what I’ve heard, they’re only in small pockets along the coast.”

We watched the squirrel play until another one appeared.

“You don’t know how bad I want to shoot that thing,” I told him, half hoping he’d tell me to sneak out with the pellet gun and not tell his mother I was hunting on the Sanctuary. Read the full story.

🏞️ Grouse Creek: Because early people depended on bodies of water for survival and travel, they were among the first geographical features to receive names. They served as key points and markers. Their names were given by the Indigenous people, plainsmen, voyaging pioneers, settlers, explorers, and hunters. In fact, these waterways were probably known by the same or similar names or description by Native Americans, using words expressing the same meaning or description. 

The origin of names attached to some Kansas creeks, streams, and rivers are mostly known. Others are unknown or uncertain. Some waterways names have been lost to history. Their stories as to why they were named, forgotten. They are now merely erected signs to passing motorists and hikers who cross them.

Grouse Creek, Ks is one of those. The creek’s namesake – the grouse – is a game bird and was named after the abundant numbers of birds that flourished in the area. 

Grouse? In Kansas? Yes. Read the full story.

🍂 Our Season : Best of all he loved the fall, wrote Ernest Hemingway in an epitaph for a friend. Don’t we all? For hunters throughout the Northern Hemisphere, this is our season. Summer heat is abating, leaves are starting to turn, and animals are feeling good.

Like Robert Ruark’s hunter’s horn, autumn sounds earlier for some, later for others. I’m at the farm in southeast Kansas in early October. Fall isn’t here yet, but I’m seeing the first signs: morning temps in the 50s for the first time in months.

We don’t see our deer much through the summer. Sure, they go to agriculture at night, but our country is mostly climax oak forest. There are plenty of good groceries in the woods, especially in this year of heavy rains after four dry years. Just yesterday, we were out checking stands and clearing shooting lanes. We saw a lot of deer, so they’re feeling the fall, too.  Read the full story.

Oh, and one more thing…