By Bob Marshall

Make that some very, very good news.

In an example of what has become rare political compromise in Washington, the nation’s leading farm lobbyists cut a deal with sportsmen’s conservation groups.

The farmers for the first time agreed to support linking crop insurance subsidies to compliance with conservation programs, while conservation groups involved agreed to oppose amendments that would limit farmers’ access to insurance programs, and will support lightening some regulations of conservation programs. [ Read Full Post ]

By Phil Bourjaily

You can argue—and many do—that pepper spray is a more effective bear stopper than any gun. We’ll leave that aside for now, because this blog is not called “The Spray Nut.” Instead, we’ll assume you have already debated guns vs. pepper spray and opted for a gun. (Or you may decide to carry both.)

Not surprisingly, I would tell you to take a shotgun over a handgun. Shotgun slugs have about three times the muzzle energy of a .44 magnum and make much bigger holes. Unless you are a practiced handgunner, a .44 magnum is a difficult gun to shoot straight—even at a very big target.

[ Read Full Post ]

By CJ Lotz

A study out of the University of California, Santa Cruz suggests that flexibility in diet might have given wolves and bears an edge that left saber-tooth cats and cave lions in the evolutionary dust. [ Read Full Post ]

By Peter B. Mathiesen

Three years ago, outdoor writer, photographer, and consummate sportsman Peter Mathiesen left his hometown of St. Louis to start a new life in Alaska. Here’s why he made the move, what everyday life is like, and how it feels to have Denali right outside your window.

There is no telling how many bears walk within a mile of my home. I readily find both black and grizzly sign nearby. Grizzlies seem to want to shy away from the house, although blacks are far more curious.

Two summers ago, at around 9 p.m., I heard a single round discharged from what sounded like a large-caliber gun. My retriever barked once, looked up at me to see if we were going somewhere, and went back to sleep. That sounded close, I thought. Fifteen minutes later, a neighbor knocked on my door. He introduced himself and said, “I understand you’re a hunter. I don’t know what to do with this bear I just shot. Can you lend a hand?” [ Read Full Post ]

By David Draper

Last fall, I was lucky enough to finally fulfill my dream of hunting Sitka blacktail deer on Kodiak Island. The trip was pure Alaska: rough-water beach landings, white-knuckle bush plane rides, brown bear encounters, whale sightings, and mountain vistas so magnificent I won’t even try to describe them here.

And, of course, the food.

You might think it would be hard to eat well on boat with a galley the size of a closet, but with the help of Camp Chef’s Steve McGrath, we dined mighty fine. It didn’t hurt we had access to some incredibly fresh protein, including blacktail deer and tanner crab plucked from the Gulf of Alaska just hours earlier. [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal

In my post of April 29, Happy Myles pointed out that African PH Alexander Lake, whose books I recommended, may have been a little creative with his facts. This is quite possible. Peter Barrett, who was Field & Stream’s Executive Editor and an experienced Africa hand, said the same thing. “Lake drew a long bow,” was how Peter put it.

I think that Lake was a typical writer of his time, not an exception. Having read just about all the bound volumes of Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Sports Afield that F&S used to have in its library, going all the way back to the First World War, I think that outdoor writing is a lot more honest now.

[ Read Full Post ]