HUNTING -- More details on the U.S. Senate vote this week turning down the Sportsmen's Act:

Alabama senator: Sportsmen's bill exceeded spending limits

The failure of the U.S. Senate to pass the Sportsmen's Act of 2012, sponsored by Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, came as a surprise to many who believed the measures contained in the bill enjoyed wide-ranging public support, but Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions said the bill exceeded spending limits passed by the Senate in 2011 to address federal debt, and for that reason alone, the bill failed.

Great Falls Tribune

See stories on the optimism the act would pass a day before the Monday vote.

See skepticism about the act on other issues posted last summer.