19-year-old duck hunter cleared in wolf killing incident 🐺

Well, it’s that time again. Let’s get to celebrating the fact that, while the weekend might not be here yet, 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:

• Exonerated - Teen who shot wolf cleared of all charges 🐺

• Officer down - Michigan police officer paralyzed in hunting accident 🙏

• Cash on the dash - Montana puts up reward in poaching case 💵 

• Bear rehabbed - The captured cub makes a full recovery 🐻

• Emotional trauma anyone? - Two rutting bucks show up to a kids birthday party and trauma ensues 😳

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OPEN AND SHUT
19-YEAR-OLD DUCK HUNTER CLEARED IN WISCONSIN WOLF KILLING

A young man who was duck hunting with a group of youths earlier in the fall will not face charges for shooting a wolf that threatened them in their blind.

As we reported back in September, Chase Melton, 19, was duck hunting along with two friends, aged 13 and 14, when a group of wolves appeared and began to harass the group. Not knowing what to make of the situation, Melton held strong until one of the wolves got so close that he didn’t have much of a choice but to pull the trigger.

A witness, who was hunting about 300 feet away from the group of young boys, was able to corroborate their story, stating that he reportedly saw five wolves surrounding the blind and another four wolves in the nearby vicinity.

Following the killing, Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources began an investigation into the incident to corroborate the boy's story…

🙏 Michigan police officer paralyzed after tragic hunting accident. Shortly after climbing into his tree stand for a morning sit, Warren police officer Nick Kott fell out of the tree and ended up with a catastrophic injury.

After hitting the ground below his stand, Kott was immediately immobilized and it took family members hours to find him. He was soon airlifted to University Hospital in Ann Arbor and placed in the neurological ICU unit where he remains in critical condition and on a ventilator. 

"This has been an absolute nightmare that I can’t wake up out of," said his wife Holli. "I'm asking for your prayers most of all because I know that he’s going to be a miracle man and he’s gonna come out of this, but it’s going to be a very very long road."

💵 $1,000 reward offered for information on deer and elk poached in West Fork of Bitterroot. Montana officials are on the hunt for information regarding the illegal killings of three mule deer bucks and a bull elk in the area of Piquett Creek and Painted Rocks Reservoir.

The head and the legs from the elk were taken, but the remainder of the animal was left to waste along with all three of the mule deer carcasses. FWP wardens are reminding the public that these cases are often solved with help from the public and are encouraging anyone with information to make a report.

QUICK HITS // ^{_{FROM AROUND THE WEB}}

Ohio deer hunting season: See top counties and dates for deer taken: This deer season bowhunters in Ohio have harvested 65,783 deer through Sunday, Nov. 10. The three-year average for deer harvested through the second weekend of November is 67,216. Last year, hunters checked 69,886 deer through the corresponding date. Read the full story.

Colorado raises prices for out-of-state hunters of bears and mountain lions for the second consecutive year:  Non-resident hunters will have to pay $293 for a black bear license and $823.28 for a mountain lion starting in January, per the vote. This brings the bear license in line with the average price in other Western states and the lion licenses to the statutory limit and represents an increase from $250 and $500 in 2024. Read the full story.

Bear cub yanked from tree for selfies released into wild after rehabilitation: A black bear cub that made headlines when she was snatched from a tree outside an Asheville, North Carolina, apartment complex in April has been released back into the wild, wildlife officials in North Carolina say. Read the full story.

The Wisconsin DNR encourages hunters to donate harvested deer:  The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is encouraging hunters to donate Wisconsin-harvested deer. The Wisconsin DNR’s Deer Donation Program, supports Wisconsin residents who are unable to afford food. This program helps stock food pantry shelves with ground venison made from the donated deer. Read the full story.

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VIDEO // ^{_{SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN}}

🥺 Emotional trauma on the menu at a birthday party after two bucks get into gruesome exchange in the yard. According to the post, a children’s birthday party was just beginning to ramp up when the rutting emotions of two bucks made one hell of a crash. As the cameras rolled, a seemingly younger buck took advantage of some previous injuries that his much larger opponent was dealing with. Proceeding to gore his opponent to the soundtrack of screaming children, the only question that remains is…why in the hell did these parents not pull them away?

Nature is a son of a bitch…

Oh, and one more thing…

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