US Black Hawk helicopter trespasses on private Montana ranch to grab elk antlers
Collecting fallen (or "shed") elk antlers is a popular pastime in elk-heavy places like Montana, but it's usually a pretty low-tech, on-the-ground affair. That's why last year's story about a US Black Hawk helicopter descending from the skies to harvest shed elk antlers on a ranch was such an odd one.
Was it really possible that US military personnel were using multimillion-dollar government aircraft to land on private property in the Crazy Mountains-yes, that's their actual name-just to grab some antlers valued at a few hundred bucks?
Antler huntIn May 2025, Montana rancher Linda McMullen received a call from a neighbor. "He said, 'Linda, there's a green Army helicopter landed on your place, picking up elk antlers,'" McMullen told The New York Times last year. I said, Are you joking?' He said, I'm looking at them with binoculars.'"