Before we get started, allow me to preempt any comments about how I don’t know what I’m doing by saying there’s more than one way to skin a cat (or in this case field dressing a deer). The method I describe here is one of many ways you can field ...
Big Game
The Essential Gear List for Bowhunting Pronghorn Antelope
Hunting the prince of the plains with a bow is no easy task. They inhabit wide-open spaces where they can use their large, powerful eyes and nearly 320-degree field of vision to detect predators up to four miles away — plus, they can reach speeds of ...
Smith & Wesson Introduces New 350 Legend Revolver for Hunters
S&W Model 350Chambered in .350 LegendDouble Action/Single Action7 round capacity using moon clips (included)Stainless steel frame, fluted cylinder, 7.5-inch ported barrelRed ramp front sight, adjustable rear sightOverall Length: 13.5 ...
Watch: Brown Bear Cub Trips Balls After Eating ‘Mad Honey’
It’s a scourge on our wildlife, a menace to bear youth everywhere — the cubs call it by a lot of different names: the “Sticky Trippy,” “Mad Honey,” or simply, “Doing Pooh.” But it’s all the same drug menace plaguing our forests, and it must be ...
Roadkill Rules: 30 States That Let You Keep Dead Deer
Until recently, an affinity for picking up roadkill wasn’t something you’d discuss in polite barbecue company. But salvaging the good meat from a dead deer — especially one that died after meeting your front bumper — is becoming more acceptable in ...
There Are Gray Wolves In New York Says DNA of Hunter’s Kill
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation doesn’t officially recognize the presence of wolves in the state — but the DNA test results of an 85-pound canid shot last year recently came back 99% wolf. Joseph Butera is the ...
Elk Reaper: The Rise and Bowhunting Success of Aron Snyder
On our short but steep hike to our spike elk camp in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, Aron Snyder stops and looks at the ground. “A pretty decent-sized herd must have come through here in the last 12 to 24 hours,” he ...
Investigators: Bear Went for the Kill in Fatal Montana Grizzly Attack
Last year, a fatal Montana bear attack claimed the life of Leah Davis Lokan when a grizzly dragged her out of her tent and killed her. When the story broke, authorities said Lokan had food in her tent, and many on social media wrote her death off as ...
HOUSES Act Aims to Build Apartments on Public Hunting Lands
If you think you've heard it before, it's because you have. A trio of western Senators have picked up a bill that's died two or three times, brushed it off, given it a catchy name, and are trying to peddle it yet again. Meet the newly-minted Helping ...
Bear Blood May Hold Key to Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
A study recently released by Japanese researchers reads like a superhero origin story: Scientists extract blood serum from a creature and use it to grow human cells like some kind of super brew of muscle-building supplements. Then, of course, Japan ...
Feds Close Units to Dall Sheep Hunting Along Dalton Highway
Despite public outcry and opposition from the state wildlife agency, the Federal Subsistence Board in Alaska has decided to close all Dall sheep hunting opportunities along the Brooks Range for at least the next two years. The board voted to ...
A Deep Dive Into the Redesigned Sitka Jetstream Jacket and Vest
Sitka’s Jetstream collection has been on the top of the company’s sales charts since it was introduced 14 years ago. The jacket and vest are hailed as one of Stika’s most versatile pieces of gear, and for good reason: They're warm, durable, block the ...
Swamp Bucks: Plan to Bowhunt Deer in Florida This Summer
When the sun started to peek over the horizon and rays of light teased the land to life, I found myself sitting in a treestand anchored to a palm tree. The heat mixed with over 90% humidity was already too much, and as I wiped the sweat away from my ...
Hawaiian Cast ‘N’ Blast, Part 2: Hunting Hogs and Spearing Giant Trevally
The second chapter of our cast 'n’ blast adventure (check out Part 1 here) follows Free Range American editor Mike Shea through Hawaii as he does a little bacon harvesting followed by some epic spearfishing in some truly heavenly blue ...
Hunting in Hawaii, Part 1: Bah Bah Black Sheep
The first episode of this once-in-a-lifetime cast 'n’ blast adventure sees Free Range American editor Mike Shea travel to Hawaii with his bow in search of goats, sheep, and pigs — all non-native invasive species that have overrun the Big ...
Sitka Unveils ‘Most Advanced’ Insulated Jacket and Hoodie Line
Every hunter can attest to just how miserable a day in the field can be if you don’t have the right layers. A shell that sheds water when it’s pouring, moisture-wicking base layers for frigid pre-dawn hikes, or an insulated jacket that’s easy on/easy ...
Got a Few Million to Blow? Check Out These 7 Dream Hunting Properties
If you do any sort of hunting, the dream of owning a patch of wild game heaven has absolutely crossed your mind. Whether you’re a diehard whitetail hunter in the East or Midwest, if you chase elk and muleys in the West, or if you haunt cut corn and ...
A Stick-To-Your-Ribs Wild Game Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Difficulty: EasyPrep Time: 30 minutesCook Time: 45 minutesServes: 2 – 4 Shepherd's pie is one of those dishes that’s worth more than the sum of its parts. Sure, ground meat, mixed vegetables, and mashed potatoes are great on their own, but ...
Stonehenge Dig Reveals 400 Ancient Deer and Boar Hunting Pits
Stonehenge has long been known as the site of burial rites from the mysterious days of prehistory, but it turns out that this famed location on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, still has secrets to reveal about its deep past. About 5,000 years ...
Specialist Dogs Are Kicking The Hell Out of Rhino Poachers in Africa
Experts say rhinos are teetering on the brink of extinction, with 27,000 of the animals left on the entire planet. In Africa, the stakes are life and death for people defending their homeland by battling rhino poachers who would kill the few ...
7 Bear Attacks So Far in 2022: Two Attacks Since Fatal Army Base Mauling
When a freak bear attack claimed the life of a paratrooper stationed at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) and injured another on May 10, it became the seventh bear attack reported in the US in 2022 so far, and the first to be ...
New California Bill Takes Aim at Wild Pig Hunting, Again
On the heels of a recent resounding win for bear hunting in California, a less-than-stellar wild pig hunting bill is currently with the state's Senate Appropriations Committee. According to a letter to the Senate Natural Resources committee signed ...
Meet Justin Lee: Spearfishing Champ, Bowhunter, Cancer Survivor, Role Model
You’ve heard the saying “like shooting fish in a barrel.” When Hawaiian spearfisherman Justin Lee dove into Lake Powell for the National Spearfishing Championship held the last two days of April, fish in a barrel might’ve actually had a better chance ...
Tex-Mex Venison Stuffed Peppers: Not Your Mama’s Thursday Night Staple
Stuffed peppers rank up there with meatloaf, spaghetti, and chicken pot pie as staples of the American dinner table. Many of us grew up eating stuffed bell peppers on an almost weekly basis as a cheap, quick, and filling meal to feed a family. But ...
Whitetail Property Tweaks: Low-Effort Improvements That Yield Big Results
I cut my bowhunting teeth chasing plains muleys. In my tiny slice of southeastern Colorado heaven, you'd be a fool not to. Then, in 2012, I went to Illinois on a whitetail hunt. I was blessed to bowhunt a fantastic piece of dirt and the whitetail rut ...
Utah Cuts 1,300 Mule Deer Hunting Permits for the 2022 Season
For the fourth consecutive year, the Utah Wildlife Board has decided to reduce the overall number of mule deer hunting permits issued this year. The reduction is an effort to stem the decline of the state's muley population over the past several ...
Ban on Sunday Hunting in Maine Could be Trumped by Right-to-Food Law
Maine passed a constitutional right-to-food amendment last November, which guarantees the state’s residents the right to grow and harvest food for personal consumption. Thanks to an interesting interpretation of the amendment, a recent lawsuit is ...
Hunter, Sniper, Spy: Ret. SEAL Terry Houin Just Getting Started
Standing on the ramp of a C-130 in the dead of night, at 5,000 feet, in thick clouds over the Indian Ocean 12 miles east of the Horn of Africa, Terry Houin and his five teammates, all part of a secretive intelligence unit within the US Navy SEALs, ...
Arkansas Game and Fish Using Collars to Collect Bear Season Data
Thanks to the tireless conservation efforts of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the black bear population's resurgence in the state represents one of the most successful reintroductions of a large carnivore ever achieved. State wildlife ...
California Black Bear Season Will Remain In Place, Anti-Hunters Denied
For the second year in a row, the California Fish and Game Commission has turned away anti-hunting interests and stood by its sportsmen and women. The commission voted 4–0 against a petition filed by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to ...