Only one hunter died as a result of a hunting accident in 2023. That’s down from 30 fatalities in 1972.
Hunting in Texas appears to be much safer these days.
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, a record-low 10 hunting accidents were recorded in 2023, and only one accident resulted in a fatality.
For comparison, a record-high 30 Texas hunters died as a result of an accident in 1972.
“The staggering numbers recorded every year [in that era] showed the need for more firearm safety, which led to the creation of the Hunter Education Program,” TPWD stated Friday in a news release.
Completing the program became a requirement for hunters beginning in 1988.
“The continued decline in hunting-related accidents and fatalities is in large part due to the efforts of the TPWD Hunter Education Program and the many Hunter Education instructors across the state, many of whom are volunteers,” said Steve Hall, TPWD Hunter Education coordinator.
“Beyond safety, we teach hunters how to be legal, ethical, take a good shot and take care of game from field to fork.”
Only one hunting-related fatality has been recorded in each of the last four years in Texas.
–Generic hunting image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A 70-year-old hunter was hospitalized in Colorado after one of his partners shot him while swinging his shotgun toward a coyote.
A 70-year-old hunter was hospitalized in Colorado on Thursday after one of his partners accidentally shot him instead of the coyote they were pursuing.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife stated in a news release that three hunters, all from Iowa, took aim at a coyote that appeared 50 feet in front of them in Baca County.
One man fired first, and missed the coyote. He then swung his shotgun and fired again, hitting his 70-year-old partner.
“This is a classic example of failure to maintain ‘zone of fire’ awareness,” said Todd Marriott, CPW area wildlife manager based in Lamar. “Hunters must always know where their target is and where the rest of their party is at all times.”
The unidentified victim was hospitalized in Colorado Springs and released after being treated for pellet wounds.
The shooter was identified as Matthew Mullenix, 48, of Urbandale, Iowa. He was charged with careless hunting, an unclassified misdemeanor, and will be fined up to $1,000.
–Coyote image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
“I think one of the main reasons I was so drawn to her was because I could see myself in her and she always made me smile,” Taylor Rabe wrote as part of her tribute.
A researcher who studies wolves in Yellowstone National Park on Sunday posted a video tribute to one of her favorite wolves a year after the animal was killed outside of the park by a trapper.
The female wolf was cataloged by park researchers as 1229F.
“Yesterday was one whole year without 1229F running around the park causing trouble – my favorite girl. She was spunky, charismatic, and moved to the beat of her own drum. She was always playing with the puppies and prancing around all over Lamar Valley.
“I grew very fond of her over the years, and loved trying to pick her out of the pack (though it wasn’t very hard). She was so unique, and I will cherish the moments I had with her.”
Yellowstone has lost several wolves that ventured outside the park during recent hunting and trapping seasons.
Rabe’s tribute comes nearly three weeks after the end of the most recent season in Wolf Management Unit 313, immediately north of the park in Montana, because an established quota of six wolves had been reached.
A park spokeswoman confirmed to FTW Outdoors that all six wolves “belonged to packs that spend the majority of their lives inside Yellowstone National Park and have territories largely within the park.”
One was a male collared research wolf from the Mollie’s Pack.
Rabe’s tribute to wolf 1229F continued:
“She helped me fall in love with wolves and wolf watching. I think one of the main reasons I was so drawn to her was because I could see myself in her and she always, always made me smile. That’s the beauty of watching wolves in Yellowstone – you can’t help but fall in love with them and following along with their stories, no matter how they may end.
“Unfortunately, she was trapped and shot last winter, and man do I miss seeing her every day in the field. Her absence is truly felt – but she made my time here so fun. Thanks for the memories girl, may I think of you always.”
The boy was home sick from school when he witnessed the unlawful killing of a deer on private property.
An 11-year-old Oregon boy has been rewarded $1,000 for providing a tip that led to the arrest of a deer poacher.
The Oregon State Police explained in a news release that the boy, Gage, witnessed the unlawful killing and retrieval of a deer on private property.
Gage was home from school with an illness at the time. He reported the incident via the state’s Turn in Poachers (TIP) hotline.
The reward came from the Oregon Hunters Association and Gage told OSP troopers that he was considering using some of the money to purchase gaming goggles.
An elk hunter in Oregon has reported killing a wolf in self-defense, prompting wildlife officials to investigate.
An elk hunter in Oregon has reported killing a wolf in self-defense, prompting wildlife officials to launch an investigation.
The Oregon State Police stated Monday that the hunter claimed to have been threatened by the wolf as he tracked elk on Nov. 2 along a ridge in Grant County.
The hunter told OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers that the wolf emerged from the trees and stared him down as he yelled and waved his arms in an attempt to frighten the animal.
“The wolf then reportedly looked at the hunter from a distance of approximately 30 yards and started coming directly toward the hunter,” OSP described in a news release. “The hunter stated he feared for his safety and fired one round, striking the wolf and killing it instantly.”
Troopers who visited the scene determined that the wolf was about 18 yards from the hunter when he shot the animal. A second wolf also emerged but ran off after the hunter fired into the air.
OSP said a report on the incident will be submitted to the Grant County District Attorney’s Office.
The agency added: “Preliminary investigation revealed the hunter acted reasonably in shooting the wolf for personal safety and appropriately notified officials immediately upon shooting the wolf.”
–Generic wolf image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A Minnesota man was hospitalized with serious injuries Sunday after his 10-year-old hunting partner accidentally shot him in the buttocks.
A Minnesota man was hospitalized with serious injuries Sunday after his 10-year-old hunting partner accidentally shot him in the buttocks.
Valley News Live reported that the incident occurred in Hubbard County during opening weekend of the youth deer-hunting season.
The Hubbard County Sheriff’s Department, which responded to the incident, identified the man as Gary Peters.
Peters, 50, had accompanied the youth on a hunt earlier Sunday. Back at his truck, he instructed the youth to unload the bolt-action 270-caliber rifle.
While attempting to do so, the child apparently pulled the trigger, with the bullet passing through both of Peters’ buttocks.
Peters was transported to a nearby hospital and subsequently airlifted to a larger hospital in Fargo.
In the past three weeks, sportsmen in Montana and Idaho have killed three protected grizzly bears in apparent cases of self-defense.
In the past three weeks, sportsmen in Montana and Idaho have killed three protected grizzly bears in apparent cases of self-defense.
The latest incident occurred Sept. 1, when two elk hunters in Idaho killed a grizzly bear after a surprise encounter in dense brush west of Island Park Reservoir.
The hunters were targeting elk with archery equipment but used sidearms to dispatch the bear.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game stated in a news release that after “a thorough investigation” the hunters’ actions were deemed to have been in self-defense.
(Grizzly bears are protected by state and federal law.)
On Sept. 2 in Montana, an angler shot and killed a grizzly bear after a surprise encounter on private land along Tim Miner Creek, north of Yellowstone National Park.
On August 26, two Montana hunters shot and killed a female grizzly bear while scouting in the Whitefish Range in advance of fall hunting seasons for legal game.
Both hunters opened fire when the bear charged; one was accidentally shot in the shoulder and required hospitalization.
The bear’s cub ran off and it’s unclear if it has since been located.
Each incident involved a bear being surprised in close quarters and charging in a defensive behavior.
With fall hunting seasons getting underway, the IDFG advised hunters to be on the constant lookout for signs of bear activity and heed this advice:
“When not hunting, make noise, especially around creeks and thick vegetation. Most attacks occur by inadvertently surprising a bear at close range.”
–Generic grizzly bear image courtesy of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
A Michigan hunter is serving two months in jail after pleading guilty to sabotaging another hunter’s tree stand, causing the victim to fall more than 15 feet.
A Michigan hunter is serving two months in jail after pleading guilty to sabotaging another hunter’s tree stand, causing the victim to fall more than 15 feet.
Thomas Steele III, 23, of Chelsea, pleaded guilty in Marquette County Court to misdemeanors of aggravated assault and hunter harassment.
Steele was ordered to reimburse the victim’s medical expenses for injuries sustained in the fall, and his hunting privileges were revoked indefinitely throughout most of the U.S.
According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the harassment began in October 2020 when the hunter arrived at an Upper Peninsula tree stand he had set up and discovered a note on his trail camera.
Close-up view shows a cut strap from the tree stand in Marquette County. Photo: Michigan Department of Natural Resources
The note stated that the spot belonged to Steele.
Steele included his phone number, requesting a call. The hunter called Steele and was warned to stay off the land.
Hunters in Michigan cannot claim rights to public hunting land. Nor can they prevent other hunters for using abandoned tree stands and blinds.
The hunter stayed away for a few weeks, then returned to his tree stand, grabbed the memory card from his trail camera, and began to ascend the tree via climbing sticks.
Footage from a trail camera shows Thomas Steele III, 23, of Chelsea, cutting the straps on a hunter’s tree stand. Photo: Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Nothing seemed amiss, but when he stepped onto the platform it gave way and the hunter plummeted 15-plus feet, injuring his back and ankle.
“Concerned that Steele was watching him on a camera, the hunter quickly limped out of the woods,” the Michigan DNR stated in a news release issued Friday. “Once at home, he called 911 and checked his memory card, which had been wiped clean of images.”
An investigation was launched by DNR Conservation Officer Josh Boudreaux.
Several weeks passed before the hunter again returned to the spot, bringing new straps for his tree stand.
Steel was spying on the hunter with his trail camera, the Michigan DNR explained, and the next day Steele sent threatening text messages.
Boudreaux and Officer John Kamps, meanwhile, kept an eye on the stand. They acquired photographic evidence showing Steele sabotaging the hunter’s tree-stand straps.
“The straps were cut in such a way that they would support the weight of the tree stand but would break as soon as additional weight was applied to them, having a trap door effect,” Boudreaux explained. “The victim would have fallen 15 to 20 feet to the ground.”
Afterward, Boudreaux obtained a search warrant for Steele’s trail camera and arranged a meeting with Steele, whereupon Steele confessed to sabotaging the tree stand and other charges.
Steele was charged in 2021.
Said Dave Shaw, chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division: “Hunter harassment is real and taken very seriously. The DNR hopes that by sharing the details of this case, we can bring awareness to the consequences of this person’s unethical and dangerous behavior and know that it will not be tolerated.”
Montana hunters have killed three wolves from packs based in Yellowstone National Park so far this season, which pales in comparison to the toll exacted by this time in 2021-22.
Montana hunters have killed at least three wolves from packs based in Yellowstone National Park so far this season, which pales in comparison to the toll exacted by this time in 2021-22.
Yellowstone Public Affairs Specialist Linda Veress provided the following details to FTW Outdoors on Thursday:
One was an un-collared male wolf from the Rescue Creek Pack, killed on Dec. 5, 2022. The second was a radio-collared 2-1/2-year-old male, cataloged as 1325M, from the 8-mile pack, killed on Dec. 31, 2022.
The third was a 3-1/2-year-old collared female, 1229F, from the Junction Butte Pack, killed via trapping on Jan. 13, 2023.
All were harvested in southwest Montana after they’d wandered north of the the park.
Junction Butte Pack. Photo courtesy of Yellowstone National Park
In all, five wolves have been killed in a district that was notorious for wolf kills last season. The other two, both males, are not believed to have been based in Yellowstone.
Through Jan. 26, 2022, 17 Yellowstone wolves had been shot or trapped after leaving the park. A few were harvested in Idaho and Wyoming, but most were killed in the same southwest Montana region.
By season’s end, Yellowstone would lose 25 wolves – about one-fifth of the population – to hunting and trapping, thanks largely to the elimination of quotas near the park’s northern boundary.
Wolf crossing road inside the park. Photo courtesy of Yellowstone National Park
Montana hunters accounted for 21 kills in a season that was intensely controversial long before it ended. (Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte declined a request by Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly to suspend the hunt as concerns mounted in Dec. 2021.)
Yellowstone was left with only 89 wolves entering the spring pupping season. They faced an uncertain future as apex predators deemed important both ecologically and from a tourism standpoint.
But last August, to avoid a repeat of last season, the Montana Fish and Game Commission voted to cap the number of wolves killed in what’s known as Wildlife Management Unit 313, at six wolves for 2022-23.
CURRENT STATUS
The 2022-23 season in WMU 313, which began last Sept. 15, will end March 15 or as soon as the quota reaches six. Veress said that as of Dec. 31, 2022, 108 wolves belonging to 10 packs were residing primarily inside the park.
–Images show gray wolves inside Yellowstone National Park
Derek Wolfe is a licensed hunter who followed the Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s regulations for harvesting a mountain lion.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnm8rzyPS7r/?hl=en
Former Denver Broncos defensive lineman Derek Wolfe went viral last week after posting a photo of himself with a massive mountain lion that he killed outside a “rural neighborhood” in Colorado.
Wolfe said the large cat had killed two dogs and had been living under a porch. He tracked it with a guide last week and shot it with a bow and arrow.
The hunt left some fans asking, Is that legal?
In Wolfe’s case, yes.
The Super Bowl 50 champion, an avid outdoorsman, has a license and completed a course to become certified to hunt mountain lions, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed to 9News last week.
With his license, Wolfe was eligible to harvest one mountain lion during the fall hunting season, which runs from Nov. 28-March 31.
Wolfe, 32, played for the Broncos from 2012-2019, totaling 299 tackles, 81 quarterback hits, 33 sacks, 15 pass breakups and one interception in 108 games. He played one final season with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020 before retiring in 2022. Wolfe now works for 104.3 The Fan in Denver.
