Fall 2023 Crossword

Hunting season is in the air and with it, another seasonal crossword. Take a crack. Think you nailed it? Swing by the O/B office with your completed puzzle for a chance to win some swag. 

Across
1. Keen-nosed companion (two words)
5. Cattail country
8. Pretentious synonym for elk
11. The heavier, the better (pl.)
12. Good shot; the animal __ its maker
14. Best for birds and home defense (pl.) 
17. Don't stop; __
19. Pry it from my cold; dead hands
21. Wind at dawn and dusk (s.) 
24. Okay at party, verboten at secret spots: ___-one
25. Real occupation of first-generation Montana "rancher"
26. Notch it
28. Where grouse get lucky
30. Testosterone-fueled frenzy (not a frat party)
32. Ram or river; equally esteemed
34. Roads, rivers, and hearts are ___, later in the season
37. Piscine eggs and European deer
38. Shed or chandelier
39. Natural cover for hunters and soldiers

Down
1. Early-season implement
2. Hangs meat and outlaws
3. High-tech sight: red-
4. Don't put a bullet in this tract
5. Always bring a paper version
6. Highly sought-after, at the bar and in the woods (pl.)
7. Chilling sound from animal or sleeping pad
9. More at the range, less in the field
13. Light blue on the map; often inaccessible
15. Vicious marauder, or dainty flyer
16. Waste not, want not; ___ every part
17. Art of the stalk: closing the ___
18. Parcel of land or plan of attack
19. Field-dress
20. Land of the free, home of the brave
22. Gardening tool, or cow elk in rut
23. Largest upland subspecies in Montana
27. Duck, duck, ____
29. Keep it razor sharp
31. Seldom-seen fellow hunter: mountain ___
32. A lady hunter sports one
33. "Let's ___ a-movin'!"
35. Color of safety before shot, hands after