Jail time for braggadocious poacher in Washington State 💪

If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week and another transmission from the great outdoors.

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

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

• Don’t brag about poachin’ - Bragging poacher nailed in Washington State 🚔

• Moose tags for kids- Maine’s new program awarded tags to kids with critical illness ❤️

• Updated regs - Michigan is fighting hard to keep deer in check 🦌

• Booby trapped trails - Colorado officials on the hunt for suspects 🏍️

• Bull elk p*sses himself - I don’t get it either…🚽

HOW ABOUT A LIFETIME SUSPENSION?
JAIL TIME FOR BRAGGADOCIOUS POACHER IN WASHINGTON STATE

A Washington State man has been sentenced to 29 months in state prison, a $4,000 fine, and a two-year suspension of his hunting privileges for his role in the death of at least two bull elk.

It was the opening day of the 2022 rifle season when another hunter came across the accused, 28-year-old Randolph “Randy” Cox, who was experiencing some car trouble. While the good samaritan helped out, Cox couldn’t resist telling the story of his recent kill. Stating that the hunting was much better the day before the opener, he went on to tell the fellow hunter about how he opened fire on a herd of elk and dropped a spike in the process…

New Maine law gives three kids with critical illness the opportunity to hunt moose. In a world where we are often struggling to find decent headlines, we’ve finally got one that almost anyone can be proud of. Working in tandem with an outfit by the name of Moose Maine Kids, Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife announced new legislation that would allow more kids with critical illness the opportunity to hunt. Bumping up available tags for the program from two to five has expanded opportunities for affected youth and this year’s winners were announced earlier this week.

A special ceremony was held Monday in Augusta for the young hunters, who were presented their permits by Gov. Janet Mills and Judy Camuso, commissioner of the Maine DIFW. 

"I've been hunting since I was eight years old and a moose hunt has always been a dream of mine," said one of the winners, Kellan Tilton. "Ever since I was really little and saw my dad come home with his first deer, I was just ecstatic about hunting and stuff. Now the opportunity to be able to get out into the Maine woods and hunt a nice moose is just the best."

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission approved new deer hunting regs to battle overpopulation. With over two million deer running wild and not enough hunters to chase them, Michigan officials put pen to paper this week and released some updated hunting regulations. In an effort to put more does on the ground on the Lower Peninsula, the state will now limit the liberty and independence hunts, reserved for those 16 years or younger or hunters with disabilities, to only antlerless deer beginning in 2025. 

Inching towards a “one-buck state”, officials also approved an extension to the archery season for antlerless deer through Jan. 31 along with a new antlerless deer season beginning Jan.2 through the second Sunday of the month for several counties in lower Michigan.

Conversely, populations in the Upper Peninsula are suffering, causing the commission to squeeze available tags for the U.P. in an effort to bolster populations. While hunter participation is down across the state, U.P. whitetails must contend with bears and a budding wolf population that are working to keep numbers in decline. Are the new changes enough to balance the whitetail scales in Michigan? Many don’t believe so, but time will tell what the future holds for deer hunting in the Wolverine State.

CONTROVERSY // ^{_{THIS WEEK’S SH*T DISTURBER}}

Colorado law enforcement is looking for “the loser” that placed multiple wired booby traps across public trails. Officials in southwestern Colorado are on the hunt for the person or persons responsible for placing a pair of wired booby traps across popular trails recently opened to motor bikes. 

Working alongside the U.S. Forest Service, local law enforcement uncovered the first wire trap on July 2nd, but it was too late to prevent an injury. According to reports and 18-year-old suffered two broken ribs after a run-in with the trap. A second wired booby trap was discovered on July 10th a few miles further down the very same trail.

“This despicable act is a severe public safety threat to our community,” Sheriff Bill Masters said. “We are engaged in a rigorous investigation to catch this loser. Meantime, we can’t emphasize enough to have situational awareness when recreating in this area.”

On Friday, the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office increased the cash reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest, bumping it up from $500 to $1,000.

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

🚽A bull elk causes a traffic jam after he send out a couple of bugles, stands up and pees all over his face.I’m unsure if this elk was rutty or just out of his damn mind, but I can assure you, you’ve not seen anything like this odd display.

🦬Dad of the year steps up and gets between kid and a charging bison. OK, I’ll use the term Dad of the Year loosely here only because this family should have never been this close to a bison. Kudos for putting yourself in harm’s way though and likely saving this kid from a whole lot of hurt.

CAMP TALK // ^{_{BEFORE YOU GO}}

We get a lot of questions and comments on here, and we figure it’s time to repay the favor. As part of our new Camp Talk section, we’re going to ask you, the reader, your opinion on some serious (and not so serious) topics to close out each newsletter.

On Friday I asked, With all of these bear attacks springing up, it makes me wonder if bear hunting is on the decline. Do you bear hunt regularly? If not, do you want to?

Top answers were:

1. I’ve done it a couple of times

2. I never miss bear season

For me, it took about 15 years to try bear hunting, and then I was hooked!

Y’all left plenty of comments too, which I love to read. Keep ‘em coming!

Here’s today’s question…

Oh, and one more thing…