The Year That Was, 2025 Edition 🥳

Well, if 2024 proved to be an interesting year, 2025 said “hold my beer” and gave us a whole lot more to be wary of and/or thankful for, depending on how you looked at it.

Here in our little corner of the world, it was a year of insane growth. We literally 10x’d our readership over the past twelve months and we owe every bit of that success to you our loyal readers. Whether you’ve shared our stories on social media, in group chats, forums or dive bars, the word has obviously gotten out and we sure as hell hope you’ll continue to tell everyone you meet about how awesome and handsome we are well into the new year.

As far as stories go, we had a mix of just about everything come across our desk this year. In addition to the poaching stories that seem to get more egregious as time goes on, there’s also plenty going on at the confluence of wildlife management and politics. When it comes to contentious issues, nothing dominates headlines quite like the discussions surrounding the delisting of grizzly bears, wolf management, public land grabs and bear hunting in certain states like Connecticut. Outside of the political arena, we’ve got problems with wombat-wrestling influencers, Florida fishing guides going completely off the deep end and dudes in Washington stealing commercial fishing vessels with a full crew on-board.

And since you are all daily readers of the Venatic, you likely heard about all of it before your friends did.

As always, it’s been a pleasure digging up and writing about these stories that mean so much to all of us here in the outdoor world. Bringing them to your inbox each and every morning continues to be something our small team here thoroughly enjoys and plans on doing so long as you all will have us continue to do so.

Now, as we prepare to ring in 2026, let’s grab a glass of something strong and reminisce on some of the bangers that made the last year one to remember.

Thanks for reading along - we’ll be back in fine form on Monday. 🥃

-Ryan

With no records of a hunter ever successfully killing a black bear in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the news of a dead bear earlier this month was seemingly a cause for celebration.  

The bear was shot by hunter John Stoltzfus, 47, of Drumore Township on December 10th on a parcel of land owned by Constellation Energy. According to Stoltzfus, he stated that he had been hunting that very same hillside that leads down to the picturesque Susquehanna River for many years and, until this incident, believed it was allowed.

It was September 23, 2023 when William Gray had settled in to chase a large mature buck he knew was roaming his private property in Sumpter, SC. According to accounts posted to Facebook by Gray, he was sitting in his stand and minding his own business when he heard a pair of hunting dogs heading his way. According to his post, Gray then went on to say that he climbed down out of his stand and at that point saw the two dogs coming down a path towards him.

Without missing a beat, Gray shot the first dog, Annabelle, twice and ended up missing the second dog, Topsey, with his third shot.

Farming is tough work, especially when you are fighting against more than just Mother Nature. Given the destructive nature excessive deer can have on a farming operation, most state DNRs allow for agricultural damage permits that allow hunters to remove a certain amount of deer from their property.

In a system that is perfectly legal and seems to do the trick for the majority of farmers across the nation, there are some, unfortunately, who take things a little too far.

In a story coming out of Wisconsin, one Dairyland farmer has been handed his fate after illegally killing over 150 deer between 2020 and 2021. According to investigators, 61-year-old Dominick R. Stanek “made a game” of killing the deer and was eventually found out and brought to justice.

As was originally reported back in October 2024, a group of juveniles and their female leader, Jessica Kroening, were implicated in a poaching case the local sheriff referred to at the time as “Senseless. Reckless and Indiscriminate.”

The crimes took place in Fond du Lac, Washington and Dodge counties between the spring of 2023 and the summer of 2024. According to reports, 37-year-old Jessican Kroening and her 16-year-old  juvenile companions would ride around in their car looking for deer to hit. The band of illegal shooters would spotlight those they couldn’t target with their vehicle, shooting any they saw alongside the road.

Nick Scigliano, the U.S.-based owner of Nueltin Lake Lodge, discovered the carnage during a property inspection. Having recently purchased the property, he was doing a fly-over when he not only spotted the piles of caribou but also noticed that many of the cabins he had purchased were being illegally occupied. 

According to Scigliano, the lodge was heavily vandalized, with other buildings forcibly entered and valuable items stolen. At the time of the inspection, he decided not to land on the property, instead opting to return the following week with some additional firepower.

The 62-year-old hunter from Markesan claimed the incredible buck had been a free-range whitetail and attempted to enter it into the record books which is where his story began to go sideways.

At first sight of the tremendous 49-point antlers, the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club scorers immediately had their doubts about the authenticity of Waters’ story. The size of the rack, the number of points and the fact that it was scoring about 50 inches higher than the current 253-inch record instilled doubt in just about everyone who saw it.

As ripples of doubt began to circulate through the local hunting community, Wisconsin’s DNR was soon tipped off to the too-good-to-be-true story of the legendary buck. An investigation soon followed pitting the Buck and Bear Club, who stated that they complied within their own bylaws and in good faith of Waters’ story, in the middle of a scandal. 

Popular YouTube and CarbonTV personality Matt Jennings, who hosts The Game - a popular hunting show - has found himself in the middle of a legal firestorm after illegally blasting Kansas whitetails as part of his show.

In addition to the internet dragging this guy through the dirt like a gutted deer, after spending a day in court, the outlaw influencer from Bowdon, Georgia, has also been shackled with a lifetime Kansas hunting ban and $25,000 in fines and restitution. The 35-year-old’s saga is the ultimate lesson in how to shoot yourself in the foot while foolishly aiming for internet glory.

Often referred to as “black death”, cape buffalo are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. Known for their erratic behavior and incredible size, hunting these animals comes with inherent risk that has unfortunately resulted in the death of an American man.

According to reports, 52-year-old Asher Watkins was fatally gored by a 1.3-ton Cape buffalo during a hunting safari in South Africa’s Limpopo province, organized by Coenraad Vermaak Safaris. Accompanied by a professional hunter and a tracker, Watkins was stalking the buffalo in the 50,000-acre Bambisana concession. The unwounded buffalo, described as increasingly agitated, suddenly charged at Watkins at 35 mph, striking and killing him almost instantly. 

What began as a beacon of hope in the unforgiving San Juan Wilderness has ended in profound heartbreak. The multi-agency search for Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko, the two experienced 25-year-old hunters who vanished last week during an elk hunting expedition, concluded yesterday with the devastating discovery of their bodies. Colorado Search and Rescue teams located their remains approximately two miles from the Rio de Los Pinos Trailhead where their vehicle had been left untouched.

Family members that were undoubtedly waiting on a little closure from a deadly incident in October, now might have to wait a bit longer. According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the bear they euthanized and believed was responsible for the death of 60-year-old Max Thomas was not the culprit. The incident, which marked the second fatal bear attack in Arkansas in a 30-day span, spurred a multi-agency search that has seemingly, at least up until now, come up empty-handed.

According to reports, camper Max Thomas was alone at his campsite at Sam's Throne Campground in the Ozark National Forest when the attack occurred. Photos he sent to his family shortly before his death captured a young adult black bear sniffing around his campsite and even climbing onto the cot where he slept. 

Heading out into the great outdoors is undoubtedly a great family pastime for many of us. Unfortunately for some, it can bring out the worst, and from the way things are sounding, such was the case in this story coming out of Indiana. 

A father and son are now facing felony charges after allegedly shooting and killing two beloved family dogs with a bow and arrow while deer hunting on private property. John Lowe, 58, and his 22-year-old son, Hayden Lowe, both of La Porte, were arrested following the October 21 incident that has shocked the local community and reignited debates over pet safety during hunting season.

The victims — Josie, a beagle, and Bear, a chocolate Labrador retriever — were out roaming near the hunting site when they were fatally struck by arrows raining down from 20-feet above.

What started as something of a twisted cowboy stunt has since escalated into a felony animal cruelty case, casting light into yet another case of blatant animal cruelty in the state of Wyoming. Three men with ties to the M Arrow Ranch near Evanston have been summoned to court after graphic videos emerged showing them lassoing, mounting, and hauling a weakened cow moose across the terrain. The incidents, captured in May 2021 but only recently uncovered, have ignited fury among wildlife advocates and locals alike, with penalties potentially including prison time and five-figures worth of fines.

In the high sagebrush country of Uinta County, “breaking” a horse is part of the job. “Breaking” a moose, especially one already stumbling and blind in one eye, is apparently where some locals decided the line should be crossed.