How-To & Skills

DSG Outerwear Lace Up Boot 2.0 1400 Gram in Realtree APX, angled side view
Cold-Sit Boots for Pennsylvania's Nov. 28 Opener and Ohio Gun Week: 400 vs 1,200 vs 1,400 Gram
Three DSG Outerwear boots sorted by job for Pennsylvania's Nov. 28 rifle opener and Ohio's Nov. 30 gun week: what the gram number means, and which one fits dry ground,... Read more...
Saddle hunter wearing the Twisted Iron Pack Rat carrying a platform and climbing sticks
Saddle Hunting Pack Guide: Pack Rat, Tree Hugger or the Full Send System?
Which saddle hunting carry setup is worth buying? We compare the Twisted Iron Pack Rat, Tree Hugger and Full Send System on size, weight and price. Read more...
Bootfoot vs Stockingfoot Waders: Which Design Fits Your Marsh, River or Flat
Bootfoot vs Stockingfoot Waders: Which Design Fits Your Marsh, River or Flat
Bootfoot or stockingfoot? We priced the full kit with boots, checked which listings describe a wading belt and which sizes are confirmed boot sizes, and pulled what wildlife agencies say... Read more...
Women's Hunting Jackets for Late-Season Deer: Kylie vs Ella vs Addie vs Breanna
Women's Hunting Jackets for Late-Season Deer: Kylie vs Ella vs Addie vs Breanna
Four DSG Outerwear pieces for women who hunt cold, compared by job: blaze gun seasons, quiet late-season sits, a first insulated coat and a go-to mid layer. Read more...
Five straight-wall cartridges standing in front of a shed antler
Tennessee's New Straight-Wall Rifle Season Opens Nov. 14: The Single-Shot Rule, the Ballistics, and the Scope That Fits
Tennessee's new straight-wall cartridge season runs Nov. 14-20 on private land, single-shot only. The rule that trips people up, the 200-yard numbers, and how to pick a low-power scope for... Read more...
Angler kneeling in a grassy river bottom holding a big brown trout, Idaho
Idaho's Brown Trout Record Fell Twice in Three Months. Here's How to Fish Big Browns in the Fall
Idaho's catch-and-release brown trout record was broken in May on the South Fork Snake, then broken again in August on the Bear River. What that says about big-trout water, and... Read more...
Angler holding a big channel catfish on his shoulder below a river bridge in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's New Record Channel Catfish, and How to Fish Below Locks and Dams This Fall
A 36-pound, 2-ounce channel cat from below an Allegheny River lock and dam just broke a 35-year-old Pennsylvania record. Why tailwaters hold big cats in the fall, and how to... Read more...
Lever Guns Are Back graphic with a modern lever-action rifle
Lever Guns for Deer in 2026: Marlin's 10mm Trapper, the 1854 Stealth Hunter and What to Put on Top
Marlin put the 1894 Trapper in 10mm Auto, Smith & Wesson added a .45-70 Stealth Hunter, and ammo makers are building lever-gun loads again. Which lever gun fits which deer... Read more...
New Deer Ammo: The 2026 Lineup graphic showing boxes of Hornady, Nosler, Barnes and Federal ammo
New Whitetail Factory Loads for 2026, Compared on the Makers' Own Numbers
Hornady, Nosler, Barnes and Federal all added deer loads for 2026. What each line actually is, Hornady's published velocities for American Whitetail Tipped, and why the box number is not... Read more...
Hunter in a blaze orange fleece jacket and cap adjusting his sunglasses in the mountains
Blaze Orange Requirements by State for the 2026 Gun Openers (and Whether Orange Camo Counts)
How much blaze orange you need ranges from a cap and vest to 500 square inches depending on the state, and orange camo is legal in some and not others.... Read more...
Bowhunter in camo standing in a climbing tree stand during an all-day rut sit
The All-Day Rut Sit: Why Midday Works in November and How to Last 10 Hours on Stand
For about two weeks in November, the hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. stop being dead time. Why bucks move midday during the rut, where to sit for it,... Read more...
Mule deer hunter packing out a buck on a frame pack through the snow
Mule Deer Pack-Out: When a Frame Pack Beats the Drag Rope
A boned-out mule deer buck runs about 55 lb. When a frame pack makes it a one-trip carry, when the drag rope still wins, and the rules to know before... Read more...