Bagging big bucks. With the end of the year quickly approaching, many country stars are soaking up all the time they get off the road, spending time with family or doing activities they love, as many tours are coming to a close, if they have not already. And while the end of the year usually means an end to touring for most country music artists, it also coincides with another passion for many of them… hunting season. Koe Wetzel often spends his time off the road in the woods hunting, and over the years, he’s harvested some phenomenal animals. While Wetzel is an outdoorsman of all kinds, loving both hunting and fishing, I always look forward to the fall and winter to see what killer deer or other wild animals he takes home. Last year, Koe showed off a beautiful mountain lion in Colorado that stood just about as tall as Wetzel himself. In the snowy wilderness of Colorado, Koe (along with some help) hunted down and bagged a massive big cat. The “Werewolf” singer shared the photo of himself holding up and showing off his kill with the caption: “Last week I bought a one way ticket to Colorado to check off a bucket list hunt of mine. This trip had a lot of ups and downs but it was all worth it in the end. I can’t thank Hunt Nest and Clay Hill enough for making it all happen and putting me on this once in a lifetime mountain cat!” Once in a lifetime indeed… and for those not familiar, mountain lion has a pretty mild taste, like a lean pork. View this post on Instagram Koe Wetzel must have loved hunting in Colorado, because he headed back this year during deer season and posted his latest harvest online. Right now, Colorado is in the middle of their rifle season for deer hunting. Rifle season in Colorado technically has four seasons of rifle hunting, all very close in date, with the fourth season starting on November 19th. It appears that Wetzel bagged this massive whitetail buck during the third season, which goes from November 4th to 16th. Wetzel posed next to the large animal, showing off his kill and thanking the big man upstairs for blessing him with this trophy. “Thank you lord for blessing me with the opportunity to arrow this eastern Colorado giant yesterday evening! My first self-filmed hunt turned out to be one I’ll never forget. Chasing these big whitetails in the rut never gets old!” Self-filmed, you say… I hope that we get to see that footage one day because I bet it’s a great watch. Not to mention, I bet Koe Wetzel has some top-tier hunting commentary. Whether we see the footage or not, Wetzel is leaving the mountains with a stunning new wall mount and a full freezer. View this post on Instagram The post Koe Wetzel Bags Beautiful Colorado Whitetail During First Self-Filmed Hunt first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Already a 2025 CMA Award winner. This year, Morgan Wallen is up for several trophies at the CMA Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year for his album I’m The Problem. He is also the reigning Entertainer of the Year and has 18 career CMA nominations in total, and has won just two of them, New Artist of the Year in 2019 and the aforementioned Entertainer of the Year in 2024. Of course, he was banned from attending the CMA Awards in 2021 after a the infamous video surfaced of him using a racial slur, and he did not attend the show last year despite winning the evening’s biggest award. In many ways, Wallen and the CMA Awards have a complicated relationship, and it’s highly unlikely we’ll see him there this year, either. Just about a week ago, we heard him take a shot at the CMA Awards during a surprise duet with Ella Langley, so I think it’s pretty safe to say there’s no love lost between Morgan and the CMA. But he’s already a winner, as they announced last night that he is receiving the International Artist Achievement Award, which is: “Given to a U.S.-based artist who has demonstrated significant creative growth, development, and promotion of country music internationally. It recognizes an artist’s success in expanding country music’s reach and influence outside of the United States, honoring their contributions to the global country music industry.” Other recent winners of this award include artists Luke Combs and Ashley McBryde, and obviously, Morgan has had huge success overseas and previously broke a record at London’s Hyde Park for the largest country concert in the U.K. on July 4, 2024, which drew over 50,000 fans. He’s sold out tons of shows overseas, and has fans that stream his music all over the world. It can’t be understated just how massive he is worldwide, and I don’t think any other artist deserved it more than him when it comes to international impact in country music this year. I’m not sure how much it’s going to mean to him, and we’ll see if he ends up taking home any other CMA trophies this year, but he’s already a winner before the show has even aired: View this post on Instagram The 2025 CMA Awards will air live from the Bridgestone Arena on November 19 at 7 p.m. CT on ABC with Lainey Wilson taking over as solo host this year. You can view the full list of nominees below. 2025 CMA Awards Nominees Entertainer of the Year Morgan Wallen Luke Combs Lainey Wilson Cody Johnson Chris Stapleton Album of the Year Am I Okay? – Megan Moroney Producer: Kristian Bush Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank Cold Beer & Country Music – Zach Top Producer: Carson Chamberlain Mix Engineer: Matt Rovey F-1 Trillon – Post Malone Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen Producers: Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Joey Moi Mix Engineers: Charlie Handsome, Joey Moi Whirlwind – Lainey Wilson Producer: Jay Joyce Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce Male Vocalist of the Year Chris Stapleton Morgan Wallen Luke Combs Cody Johnson Zach Top Female Vocalist of the Year Lainey Wilson Ella Langley Megan Moroney Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Vocal Group of the Year Old Dominion The Red Clay Strays Little Big Town Lady A Rascal Flatts Vocal Duo of the Year Brooks & Dunn Dan + Shay Brothers Osborne The War and Treaty Maddie & Tae Single of the Year “4X4XU” – Lainey Wilson Producer: Jay Joyce Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma” – Luke Combs Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton Mix Engineer: Chip Matthews “Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney Producer: Kristian Bush Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank “I Never Lie” – Zach Top Producer: Carson Chamberlain Mix Engineer: Mat Rovey “You Look Like You Love Me” – Ella Langley ft. Riley Green Producer: Will Bundy Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley Song of the Year “4X4XU” – Lainey Wilson Songwriters: Jon Decious, Aaron Raitiere, Lainey Wilson “Am I Okay? – Megan Moroney Songwriters: Jessie Jo Dillon, Luke Laird, Megan Moroney “I Never Lie” – Zach Top Songwriters: Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols, Zach Top “Texas” – Blake Shelton Songwriters: Johnny Clawson, Josh Dorr, Lalo Guzman, Kyle Sturrock “You Look Like You Love Me” – Ella Langley ft. Riley Green Songwriters: Riley Green, Ella Langley, Aaron Raitiere New Artist of the Year Zach Top Ella Langley Stephen Wilson Jr. Tucker Wetmore Shaboozey Musician of the Year Jenee Fleenor (Fiddle) Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar) Brett Mason (Guitar) Rob McNelley (Guitar) Derek Wells (Guitar) Music Video of the Year “Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney Directors: Alexander Gavillet, Megan Moroney “I’m Gonna Love You” – Cody Johnson & Carrie Underwood Director: Dustin Haney “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson Director: TK McKamy “Think I’m In Love With You” – Chris Stapleton Director: Running Bear “You Look Like You Love Me” – Ella Langley & Riley Green Directors: Ella Langley, John Park, Wales Toney Musical Event of the Year “Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green ft. Ella Langley Producers: Scott Borchetta, Jimmy Harnen, Dann Huff “Hard Fought Hallelujah” – Brandon Lake w/ Jelly Roll Producer: Micha Nichols “I’m Gonna Love You” – Cody Johnson w/ Carrie Underwood Producer: Trent Willmon “Pour Me A Drink” – Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome “You Had to Be There” – Megan Moroney ft. Kenny Chesney Producer: Kristian Bush The post Morgan Wallen Receives 2025 CMA Awards International Artist Achievement Award first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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A new satellite-based system enables researchers to monitor animal migration, species endangerment and biodiversity across the globe. Source: ‘In Goats We Trust’ Pretty neat.

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