New regulations aimed at reducing Michigan’s deer population will limit hunters to one buck per year in 2027. Effective immediately, hunters will be able to use high-powered rifles anywhere in the state during deer season.
Starting in 2027, hunters in the Lower Peninsula will be limited to harvesting one antlered deer (buck) per season. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is encouraging hunters to take more does, which could help the state curb exploding deer populations in the southern portion of the state.
The rule could also help younger bucks live longer, meaning more mature bucks in the herd.
End of the line for the rifle line
Starting November 15, 2026, hunters will be able to use high-powered rifles in southern Michigan, below the ‘rifle line,’ an area which had previously been restricted to shotguns, muzzleloaders and straight-wall cartridge rifles.
Kevin Vistisen hosts the Deer Hunter Podcast and he says tension between hunters and state bodies Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and governor-appointed Natural Resources Commission (NRC) have been an issue for years.
“A lot of people in this country are just like, mentally wounded by being lied to by establishments for decades, and does that trickle down to state level policy? Yeah certainly.”
Vistisen joined Owen Armentrout on The Metro alongside MDNR specialist Brent Rudolph to discuss the recent deer hunting policy changes in Michigan, and how hunters are responding.
The findings of a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) investigation into the death of a Newberry teen nearly two years ago have left the family with more questions than answers.
The FWC investigation into the death of Malachi Lancaster, 18, who was hunting Dec. 8, 2024, with another teen off Southwest Williston Road in Alachua County, concluded his death was “accidental.” However, the death certificate from the District 8 Medical Examiner’s Office in Gainesville classified the manner of death as “undetermined,” according to official records.
Although the FWC released the conclusion of its investigation more than a year ago, people who have recently become aware of the case have launched a “Justice for Malachi” movement on social media. A petition on Change.org had received 6,639 signatures as of 2 p.m. Aug. 25. The petition asks the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to “intervene and reopen the investigation, bring in independent experts, review all forensic evidence and pursue a complete and unbiased examination of what really happened” the day Malachi was shot.
Interest in Malachi’s death increased following the death of Nolan Wells, a Mississippi teenager whose body was found after a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island, Mississippi, said Sophie Lancaster, Malachi’s mother. Wells’ case remains unresolved, with conflicting witness accounts, an indeterminate autopsy and concerns about racial bias influencing the investigation, according to a USA Today report.
Malachi, who played football at Newberry High School after transferring from Buchholz for his senior year, died after his rifle allegedly “accidentally discharged.” The young man hunting with Malachi called 911 at 5:39 p.m. Deputies with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office were the first law enforcement officers to arrive at the scene and found Malachi lying on his back on the trail with a gunshot wound to the back left lower flank above the waistline and no exit wound. Efforts to save him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at UF Health Shands Hospital at 7 p.m., according to official records.
Deputy William Patten wrote that while approaching Malachi, he passed a young white male who was on the phone with an unknown person and heard him say, “Someone must have shot him.” Sophie Lancaster said that was the earliest recorded statement made by the sole witness and that it does not match the accounts he later provided.
In one account given to ACSO, the witness said Malachi had been climbing into a tree stand when his rifle became caught on a branch and discharged. Based on that account, ACSO informed the medical examiner’s office there were no suspicions of foul play, which became part of the medical examiner’s initial understanding of the death, records show.
However, FWC investigator Terrynce Bing, who traveled from Jacksonville to the scene, walked the path between where Malachi was found and the tree stand and found no blood trail, leading him to describe the tree-stand account as “unconfirmed.” Bing concluded the incident occurred on the trail, according to records.
Official records also show that an ACSO crime scene investigator photographed the tree stand and documented that nothing of evidentiary value was found there.
Emphasizing that it was too early in the investigation to provide a complete account of the incident, Bing wrote in a supplemental report that “… this appears to be a hunting incident; however, giving the initial context of the incident and the fatal outcome, treating it as a criminal case was a possible course of action.”
Bing also wrote that further investigation was necessary and should be conducted thoroughly, as in all investigations.
“Based on my experience, I am aware that initial reports regarding critical incidents are often incomplete or inaccurate,” Bing wrote. “These early accounts can be fragmented and unreliable; while they provide helpful leads, they must be evaluated with caution and verified through subsequent investigation.”
Bing also wrote that his survey of the scene “strongly suggests” the shooting occurred where Malachi was found, “where the blood pooling and the firearm were found — rather than at the tree stand.”
The FWC’s final report states that a preponderance of the evidence led investigators to conclude that Malachi’s death was accidental.
“Based upon the evidence gathered, witness statements, laboratory and forensic test results it is my conclusion that the incident on December 8, 2024, is a result of an accidental discharge of the Savage Arms rifle, that was carried by Malachi, and not criminal in nature,” wrote the report’s author, FWC investigator Joshua Bembry.
According to the report, factors supporting that conclusion included neighbors who lived near the scene hearing the gunshot and communicating with the other hunter within seconds, responding deputies securing the scene within four minutes of the 911 call, and all evidence being photographed and collected by ASO forensic investigators. The report also notes that the Savage Arms rifle recovered beside Malachi was left untouched until processed by crime scene investigators.
The report further states that FDLE ballistic testing ruled out the other hunter’s rifle as the weapon that fired the single round recovered from Malachi. Investigators found that the only other rifle at the scene, Malachi’s, was entangled in brush with a stick protruding through the trigger guard.
The report also cites the fact that neither Malachi nor the other hunter had “attended and completed” a hunter safety course, which teaches the importance of firearm safety while participating in outdoor activities.
Though the FWC’s final report was completed more than a year ago, calls for a review of the investigation continue to grow.
The family is not asking for any favors, only that the FDLE or another law enforcement agency conduct a thorough review of the FWC’s investigation, Sophie Lancaster said. She added that the family is grateful for the attention the Justice for Malachi campaign has received since it was launched on change.org.
Lancaster said an official with the medical examiner’s office succinctly summarized the situation by saying the story of Malachi’s death “has yet to be told.”
A Racine County Sheriff’s deputy is being charged with four felonies for accidentally shooting a coworker and that coworker’s 7-year-old son while out hunting.
The Brief
A Racine County deputy faces four felony counts after accidentally shooting a coworker and the coworker’s 7-year-old son.
James Lehman allegedly let his 3-year-old daughter pull the trigger during a turkey hunt.
The 7-year-old boy underwent surgery, leaving pellets in his skull, brain, and near his spinal cord.
RACINE COUNTY, Wis. – A Racine County Sheriff’s deputy is being charged with four felonies for accidentally shooting a coworker and that coworker’s 7-year-old son while out hunting.
Prosecutors say the defendant, James Lehman, let his 3-year-old daughter pull the trigger of the 12-gauge shotgun aimed at what he thought was a turkey head 39 yards away. This happened at Honey Creek Wildlife Area back in April, but the case is still ongoing. Lehman and his daughter were out for a youth turkey hunt weekend.
Through the hunting mentorship program, Wisconsin state law says that there is no age requirement for hunting as long as that person stays within an arm’s reach of a licensed hunter.
Lehman got his hunter safety certificate through basic training with the U.S. Armed Forces.
James Lehman
Dig deeper:
According to the criminal complaint, Lehman admitted he was “not a very experienced turkey hunter” and it was one of the first times he hunted independently.
The case was turned over to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources the day of the incident.
“I won’t say that I guess it’s uncommon to have someone of that age,” Renee Thok, a representative for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said. “(They should) use their best judgment when they’re doing that and to consider the mentee’s abilities, their strengths, their weaknesses.”
After the shot, the 7-year-old was bleeding from the head and on June 5, he went into surgery. Doctors couldn’t remove pellets from his skull, brain and near his spinal cord.
Pellets hit the coworker in the back, lower torso, left hand, forearm and upper arm, but he was released from the hospital that night. He still had significant swelling and numbness in his left arm during a follow-up 12 days later.
According to the complaint, he had told Lehman in the past “not to hunt on his hunting spots.”
Walworth County D.A. assists
What’s next:
Racine County Sheriff’s Office declined to give any more updates on the father and son’s health.
The Walworth County District Attorney, Zeke Wiedenfeld, is helping the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources with this case. This is because the Racine District Attorney handed it off as both parties involved in the incident are from the Racine County Sheriff’s Office.
Lehman is still on administrative leave and due in court for the first time on Sept. 10.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Ben Hanson and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Racine County open records, the Racine County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson.
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