A North Idaho woman was trudging up her long, snowed-in rural driveway at dusk Saturday when she thought she saw her two dogs coming to greet her. “Then I saw two more of them, and all four were walking toward me,” said Karen Calisterio, 52. ”That’s when I said, ‘Oh s**t, I’m alone and I’m in trouble.’” Spokane Spokesman-Review outdoors writer Rich Landers has Calisterio’s complete report of the incident on his blog.

Already tiring of the non-stop, guilt-driven Christmas TV jewelry commercials? Then why not buy the love of your life something that truly reflects your personality: a titanium/black zirconium fashion ring with an exclusive Mossy Oak Break Up Infinity pattern inlay? Just in time for the holidays, the Titanium-Buzz jewelry company is expanding its current line of rings, which showcases inlays of RealTree and Mossy Oak camo.  Then watch her walk out the door

Burt Schmidt of Wausau, Wis. was frying a Thanksgiving Day turkey on his backyard deck when he discovered something had taken up residence beneath him: a 200-pound black bear that looked intent on spending the winter hibernating there. Schmidt has since contacted the WDNR and hopes the bruin will be relocated before it becomes too comfortable. WSAW-TV.

Authorities in Upper Saddle River, NJ say a 7-year-old girl running with about 2,000 others in the borough’s annual 5K  run was knocked over by a deer, but did not sustain serious injuries. “We have a lot of deer around here,” said Barry Ervin, an organizer of the event. “There’s deer behind my house, and we see them all the time. Usually when they see us, they go the other way.” The Bergen Record.

Today kicks off the third annual 3-day Second Amendment Tax Holiday in South Carolina, where handguns, rifles and shotguns will be free of state sales tax though Sunday evening. The tax exemption does not apply to ammunition, black power, holsters and archery equipment. Via AP.

Recent contradictory wolf decisions from separate U.S. District Court judges in Wyoming and Montana indicate the case is likely headed to the US Supreme Court, according to some on both sides of the issue. “We’ve been saying the only solution is a congressional one. The system has just flat not worked,” said Bob Wharff, Wyoming executive director for Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife. Jackson Hole News & Guide.

A new Oxford University study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals what dog lovers have always known, that domesticated canines are inherently smarter than cats. Studying the evolution of brain size, researchers found a link between the size of an animal’s brain in relation to the rest of its body and how socially active it was. “It appears that interaction is good for the brain and extends to other species, like ourselves,” said lead researcher Dr Susanne Shultz. The Telegraph.

Conner Peitsmeyer, 11, of Aurora, Colo. was  fishing at Aurora Reservoir with his dad, Michael Peitsmeyer, on a chilly Nov. 12 morning when he caught the new state record smallmouth bass weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces. ”Any time someone lands a new state record, it’s exciting for us,” said Greg Gerlich, DOW fisheries chief. “It’s even more exciting when it is a youngster that pulls in one of these big fish. DOW press release.

Residents of the Southern Colorado village of Crestone, known for attracting New-Age types and followers of eastern religion, have petitioned the U.S. government to change the name of the 14,165-foot tall Kit Carson Mountain to Mt. Crestone. They claim the peak’s namesake—mountain man, scout and frontiersman, Kit Carson—was a “war criminal” for his part in the 1863-64 campaign against the Navajo. OutThereColordo.com.

With the big-deer stories and photos rolling in with regularity, one of the more unusual trophies we’ve seen was taken Saturday by a Maine 15-year-old. Lucas Clark said he’s already been offered $5,000 for the 3-beamed, 20-point non-typical, but he’s not interested in selling it. “I’m going to get a head mount and keep it my living room for as long as I live,” Clark said. Bangor Daily News.

Gallup’s annual Crime Poll, conducted Oct. 7-10, found a record-low 44% of Americans say laws governing the sale of firearms should be made more strict, while 42% say gun laws should be kept as they are now. The most significant differences in support for stricter gun laws are along political lines. More than 6 in 10 Democrats and liberals favor stricter gun laws–compared with 31% and 26% among conservatives and Republicans, respectively.

The misfiring of a shotgun booby trap improvised by a Loveland, Colo. beekeeper to protect his beehive from a bothersome black bear resulted in a hospital emergency room visit and a subsequent investigation by authorities after the shooting victim’s story seemed suspiciously peppered with holes. John Frost, 68, suffered non-life threatening injuries to his left hand and left lower leg. The Denver Post.

Florence, Mont. bowhunter Dave Bradt, while unsuccessful in his September quest for a bull elk on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, nontheless came away from the hunt with the trophy of a lifetime—a 12-foot long, 70-million-year-old petrified plesiosaur he found in a creekbed. “I was washing my face in the creek and I saw the rib bones and I thought they were just petrified trees,” Bradt recalled. “And I got to looking and I said, ‘If I didn’t know better, these look like ribs.’” The Missoula Independent.