Richard Mann

Shooting Editor

Richard Mann was born and raised in West Virginia and has hunted from the Montana mountains to the green hills of Africa. He is a veteran, former police officer, and special agent, and has been writing for firearms and hunting publications since 1996. In 2015, Mann began contributing to Field & Stream to cover guns, ammunition, ballistics, and hunting. In 2022, he was named as the brand’s Shooting Editor.

Highlights

Military and law enforcement firearms instructor
Accomplished shooter
Worldwide hunter
Authored several books and thousands of articles
Student of ballistics and practical firearms application

Experience

Because his mother was a hunter, Mann was hunting before he was born. He has traversed the world in pursuit of small, large, and dangerous game. He was a member of the 1995 West Virginia Police Pistol Governor’s Twenty, won the 1999 WV National Guard State Pistol Match, and the 2004 WV Muzzleloader Metallic State Championship. Mann established a Scout Rifle training course for Steyr and assisted Gunsite Academy with the development of their Laser Integrated 250 Pistol Course. Mann has worked with many bullet manufacturers conducting ballistic experiments and has a patent for a bullet testing media and a scope reticle. He’s contributed to many periodicals, presented reloading seminars for the NRA, appeared on the Discovery Channel as a firearms expert, and was the executive producer of WildCraft: South Africa, on Amazon Prime. In 2019, Mann was awarded the Bill McRea Lifetime Achievement Award for his writings.

Education

Mann has a degree in criminal justice and is a graduate of the West Virginia State Police Academy and the Southwest Law Enforcement Academy of Virginia. He is also graduate of the NRA’s Tactical Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor School as well as multiple courses at Gunsite Academy. As a high school senior, Mann was failing English and his teacher told him, “Choose another career path, because you’ll never write for Field & Stream.”

F&S Lightning Round

Favorite Place to Hunt: Family hunting camp in West Virginia, Favorite Critter to Hunt: Whitetail deer, Bucket List Adventure: Lion hunt with PH Geoffrey Wayland and my son, Most Prized Piece of Gear: New Ultra Light Arms Model 20S in .30 Remington AR, All-Time Favorite F&S Story: “Ghosts of Africa” by David E. Petzal