Wisconsin Man’s Effort to Register a 49-Point, High-Fence Deer as a State Record Backfires

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:

• Web of lies exposed - 62-year-old Wisconsin man found guilty of embellishing high-fence buck story 📢

• More steaming dog sh*t - Sen. Mike Lee’s new provision still stinks 💩

• Bringing ‘em home - Wild Sheep Foundation helping to bolster BC’s sheep populations with big donation 💵

• Who’s that playing peek-a-boo? - I wouldn’t be hanging around to find out 😳 

HE WAS COMMITTED
WISCONSIN MAN’S EFFORT TO REGISTER A 49-POINT HIGH-FENCE DEER AS A STATE RECORD BACKFIRES

Turning heads at a hunting expo this past spring was a 306-inch non-typical buck that was claimed to have been shot by a Wisconsin man by the name of Richard Waters. 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…

💩 Our buddy Mike Lee’s latest revision of the Interior Department’s budget proposal is still a steaming pile of dog sh*t. In a desperate attempt to jam some portion of a public land sale down our throats, Utah Senator Mike Lee released an updated version of his precious proposal on Tuesday night. In an effort to force this thing through before the July 4th weekend, Lee’s newest version of the proposal still contains over 1.2 million acres of public land on the auction block. The catch, he says, is that all available parcels of BLM land would have to be situated within five miles of “population centers”.

What defines a “population center”, you ask? Well that depends, of course. Just like the previous version, this newest iteration contains ambiguous language that can and very likely will be used against us if this thing ever sees the light of day. Lee is maintaining that the bill is intended to alleviate housing shortages around booming western cities limited by pesky BLM land. But by using tricky language that would allow lawmakers to sell land that supplies “any infrastructure and amenities to support local needs associated with housing” remains open for interpretation. So while, if passed, the bill would allow for the sale of any BLM land inside a 5-mile trek to a “population center”, language in the bill states that outside of any BLM land parcels given “priority consideration” by the Interior Secretary, any “interested party” would be able to nominate parcels of land for sale.

As something of an attempt at a peace offering to hunters and anglers, who have been the biggest thorn in his side (good work), the latest version of Mike’s masterpiece allows for a state portion of revenue from land sales to be used “for hunting, fishing and recreational amenities” on BLM lands. 

Well, Mike, we sure are “grateful” you thought of us on this one. But by using the same ambiguous style of language to offer us something in consolation for what you are taking away just isn’t going to fly. 

And just in case Mike and his cronies try to find any ambiguity in our collective response to his land grab, let’s continue to make our statement abundantly clear. 

Not one f**king acre. How’s that sound, Mike? 

🐏 The Wild Sheep Foundation raised big-time funding to bring back sheep to British Columbia. The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF), along with its chapters and affiliates, recently raised over $186,000 to fund the translocation of bighorn sheep from Oregon back to British Columbia. This conservation project, named "Coming Home," aims to support a struggling sheep population in British Columbia, a region from which these animals were originally moved in 1954. Gray N. Thornton, President and CEO of the WSF, emphasized the passion and commitment of wild sheep conservationists in making this project possible.

The historical context for this translocation dates back to November 1954, when California bighorn sheep were moved from British Columbia to Oregon to augment existing populations. Twenty sheep were captured near Williams Lake and released into a facility on Hart Mountain, where they thrived and became the source herd for further reintroductions across Oregon. Today, Oregon has 32 populations of California bighorn sheep, totaling over 3,700 animals, with some areas offering harvests of 60 ewes annually. British Columbia, however, is facing declines in several bighorn sheep populations due to factors such as disease, making this "Coming Home" project crucial for their recovery and bolstering low-level herds.

🫣 Who’s playing peek-a-boo over there??? Watch as this hiker suddenly feels like they are being watched and is proven right.

Here, kitty, kitty…

🚚 Building a Moonshine Runner: Moonshine running. Almost no modern American thinks that was a bad thing. Oh, was there some bad aspect to it? Sure. But mostly not: system wide, it proved to be nothing more than willing producers serving willing markets, fit to make Adam Smith sit up and invest in the S&P 500. And to further prove that point, the more notable historic moonshine runners, like NASCAR great Junior Johnson, ended up with nicknames like “The Last American Hero.” More currently, everyone reading this knows the fictional names “Bo and Luke Duke.” It’s not just that we know them, but that we holler in their support.

Why?

Because, at its core, the entire idea of moonshine running was a rebellion against a tyrannical, overbearing federal government.  Read the full story.

🦨 The Lucky Skunk - My Boat, My Life : I heard my boat’s name taken in vain. “Who’d want a skunk around?” My son and I looked up from scrubbing the bloody deck and saw a sneering, sunburned man. “Well,” I responded, “you gotta co-op negative mojo. Make the skunk your own positive power.” The man’s face twisted into confusion. My son lifted a 10-pound coho salmon from the cooler. 

For more than 15 years, this 16-foot skiff has been more than lucky; she’s been an easy-to-trailer, reliable means to the ocean, bays, rivers and lakes we love. My wife and I bought this 2001 Smoker Craft with a 4-stroke, 25-hp Mercury from a friend in 2008, for $6,200. I installed extra rod holders, downrigger mounts, a swim ladder (the kids insisted) and a 9.9-hp auxiliary trolling motor.

Smoker Craft, founded in 1921, claims to be the oldest family-owned boatbuilder still above water. Their Indiana plant produces a variety of riveted and welded models under several brands, including Starcraft and Starweld, and pontoons for Sunchaser and Sylvan. My Lodge Series skiff may be Midwest-made, but it swims comfortably in the Pacific Northwest, where most fishing boats are metal.  Read the full story.

🏡 Protests and Pit Hair:  I reeled out of my first Dallas Safari Club Convention like a lush at closing time, having drunk my fill of bespoke rifles and exotic hunts. I staggered smack dab into a handful of protesters. Had any of the liberal news media been present, I’m sure that handful would have been described as hundreds, but alas, there wasn’t a reporter in sight that unseasonably warm January afternoon. I was weaving my way through their whining when one of the protesters, a wormy guy wearing skinny jeans, muttered under his breath and in my general direction: 

“Bears got a right to live, too, man.“

His comment stopped me dead in my tracks, and I gave him my full attention, a courtesy he clearly wasn’t anticipating. The look on his face let me know that the guy wasn’t comfortable with direct eye contact and the tone in his voice told me he wasn’t particularly passionate about the protest. In fact, I was wondering why the guy was there at all when I caught him chancing a glance at a woman in the crowd who was sporting a tank top and screaming obscenities. Something in his glance suggested he might have a thing for her. When she pivoted our direction and raised the protest sign in her hands above her head, I got an up close and personal look at the greasy hair in her armpits. Easy to see why the guy was so smitten. Read the full story.

Oh, and one more thing…