There is a magic hour on the South Fork of the Snake River — maybe only a magic half-hour actually — when cutthroat trout seem to spontaneously appear in the long sweeping riffles that spill into the river’s deep emerald green troughs. The ...
Hunting & Fishing
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 ...
Don’t Screw Up Father’s Day: Get Dad Cool Stuff He’ll Actually Use
Shopping for Father’s Day is hard. It’s tempting to just get dad a gimmicky barbecue tool that will be used once before getting hung in the garage for the next decade. Or maybe a new pair of Crocs. But, this year, you don’t have to be that lame. ...
‘Revision of a Man’: Army Vet Tackles Modern Manliness With Poetry
Editor's Note: Here at FRA, we are a small but aggressive team. We're like a race car that we’re building while it zips around the track. Extending that analogy, Matt Smythe is the wheels: He is the primary point of contact between our edit team and ...
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 ...
Prison for Man Who Illegally Trapped Thousands of Turtles for Pet Trade
A man who helmed a crew that illegally trapped thousands of turtles in Georgia and South Carolina to sell to Chinese pet collectors is going to prison. In Atlanta, US District Judge William M. Ray II sentenced Nathan Horton on Tuesday, May 10, to ...
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 ...
Joining The Spring and Summer Cobia Craze
Standing on the bow of a boat fishing for cobia through the hottest part of the day is no picnic. The sun is high and cooking you head-first through your hat. Clouds are thin and disappear too fast to offer any shade breaks. The breeze does nothing ...
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 ...
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 ...
Hunting the Mountain-Dwelling Merriam Turkey
A nomadic wanderer with a beefy body and tail feathers with tips painted white, the Merriam turkey inhabits some of the most awe-inspiring places on earth and is a must-hunt wild turkey species. You’ve probably read or heard tales spun about ...
The Many Sounds of the North American Wild Turkey
While giving a seminar on public-land turkey hunting, a gentleman asked me, "What's so great about hunting a big, black-feathered bird? He'd never hunted turkeys before. The ivory on his necklace, ring, and belt buckle, along with a hat branded with ...
Getting Gobblers: Hunting the Rio Grande Turkey
The Rio Grande turkey is a hard-gobbling aggressive subspecies of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) that inhabits a wide range of habitats. If I had to choose one wild turkey subspecies to hunt for the rest of my days, the Rio Grande would top my ...
What Do Wild Turkeys Eat? Find the Food, Find the Birds
Every subspecies of wild turkey has different behaviors. They all populate a variety of landscapes, live in different weather, and are hunted by different predators — all of which shape their overall behavior. One thing every wild turkey has in ...
The Osceola Turkey: Only in Florida!
The Osceola turkey, also known as the Florida turkey, is unique, and that uniqueness isn’t due to coloration, build, or vocal nature. What makes the Osceola a super-special bird is its location. There are many go-to states for Merriam, Rio Grande, ...
Striped Bass: The Phish of the Sea
Striped bass fishing is not an activity for those with addiction issues. The true striper faithful never fully recover from losing their minds during the season. The off-season is essentially one long hangover waiting for spring migration’s ...
7 Kick-Ass Fly Fishing Boots That’ll Get You There and Back
When it comes to fly fishing boots, most anglers’ first experiences with river footwear are wading around for summer bass in soggy sneakers or pulling on a pair of hip waders when the water temps run frigid in the early spring or late ...
Oklahoma Joins Other States in Tightening Spring Gobbler Regs
Spring gobbler seasons are right around the corner; the turkey hunting faithful are poring over their gear for the umpteenth time, torturing the family dog with clucks, purrs, and kee-kee runs in the garage and selling their plasma to buy a fresh box ...
Eastern Turkeys: The Loudest and Most Paranoid Birds of All
Other than the deep, guttural bugle of a bull elk, nothing rattles my bones and sends chills running up and down my spine like the gobble of Eastern turkeys. God gave these birds remarkable voice boxes, and they know how to use them. If you've been ...
New Wildlife Commissioners Kill Hope for Washington Spring Bear Season
During this period in our history where very little surprises us anymore, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has managed to find a way to do just that by serving up yet another shit sandwich to the hunting, conservation, and wildlife biology ...
Turkey Hunting Gear: New Stuff You Just Have to Have for the Spring
Turkey hunting is a gear-heavy habit, and I love it. Over the years, I’ve amassed more than enough turkey tackle to take on birds anywhere in North America. Each spring, however, I seem to find an item or three — new gear releases or old ones I ...
Hunting Coyotes From Helicopters – Death From Above
My dad was a Green Beret back in the day, and he had some pretty cool experiences jumping out of planes and helicopters. When I told him I was going to be hunting coyotes from a helicopter to manage the predator population on a ranch that was losing ...
Stone Blinds and Bows: How Ancient Hunters Killed Reindeer in A.D. 600
Bowhunting for reindeer takes a good amount of skill and stealth in the 2020s. Ancient hunters 1,700 years ago in what is present-day Norway had to have Marine Scout Sniper-level skills. Now, there is well-preserved physical evidence of exactly how ...
Wildlife Board Upholds Utah Hunting Trail Camera Ban
In January, the Utah Wildlife Board voted 4-3 to ban the use of trail cameras during the state's hunting season. The decision ignited enough pushback from hunters that the board held an administrative rule appeal hearing on March 12. Even with dozens ...
WTF is FRA? The Origin Story of Free Range American
The best ideas are born in the mountains around a campfire, over coffee, before or after a hunt, a fishing trip, or a range day with friends. Free Range American is no different. It’s a community of like-minded adventurers, born — it turns out — from ...
Court Declares New Mexico River Access a Constitutional Right — Again
Anglers in the Land of Enchantment notched a big win in a stream access fight that saw private landowners attempt to bar the public from using waters that flow through their property. In a ruling on March 1, the state Supreme Court unanimously ...
Study Shows Elk Leave Public Land For Private During Hunting Season
A recent study from Brigham Young University (BYU) put some science behind elk movement during hunting season on the Wasatch Front, validating the importance of Utah private land elk hunts. When the broadheads and bullets start flying, more than ...
Axis Deer Hunting in Texas Should Be on Your Bowhunting Bucket List
Bowhunters are finaglers. We’re always scheming, thinking outside the box, and looking for ways to extend our hunting season by going on one more adventure. You know it’s true. If you’re looking for a summer big-game getaway, look no further than the ...
Vermont May Issue More Moose Tags to Combat Winter Tick Menace
Winter tick numbers are exploding in the Green Mountain State, and Vermont moose are carrying the weight of the load — literally and figuratively. This isn’t just a nuisance thing. Winter ticks, aka moose ticks (Dermacentor albipictus), are a ...
Brown Trout: The American Badass Jekyll and Hyde of Gamefish
Brown trout in the US are two fish trapped in the same body, switching from one to the other, like Jekyll and Hyde, depending on their mood. One minute they’ll be gently sipping mayflies from the surface like they’re holding up their pinkies at ...
