Field Journal

The Rulebook Changed While You Were Scouting: 2026's Deer-Reg Shakeups and How to Not Get a Ticket
The Rulebook Changed While You Were Scouting: 2026's Deer-Reg Shakeups and How to Not Get a Ticket
Two states just rewrote big chunks of their deer rulebooks for 2026 — new licensing tech, mandatory CWD testing, weapon and season changes. Even if you don't hunt Minnesota or... Read more...
White-tailed buck with antlers in a field
The Wildest Hunting & Fishing Stories We've Seen This Year
The outdoors serves up the strange, the lucky, and the downright unbelievable. A roundup of the wild ones — and an open call for yours. Read more...
The Last State Standing: Idaho Reins In Cell Cams and Thermal — and Why the Fair-Chase Fight Is Coming for the Rest of Us
The Last State Standing: Idaho Reins In Cell Cams and Thermal — and Why the Fair-Chase Fight Is Coming for the Rest of Us
Idaho just banned cellular trail cameras, thermal, and drones for big-game scouting on public land — the last state that still allowed thermal for deer and elk. It's easy to... Read more...
Bow vs. Snakehead: The Chesapeake Study Putting Bowfishing on the Map
Bow vs. Snakehead: The Chesapeake Study Putting Bowfishing on the Map
A Maryland DNR study found bowfishing is doing serious work against invasive snakeheads in the Chesapeake. Here's the story — and how to get into one of the fastest-growing corners... Read more...
A Healthy-Looking Deer Can Now Spread CWD. Here's What That Study Actually Means for Your Season.
A Healthy-Looking Deer Can Now Spread CWD. Here's What That Study Actually Means for Your Season.
The “zombie deer” headlines are back, and this time there's a real study behind them: infected deer that look perfectly healthy can still shed the disease. Before you panic —... Read more...
Angler holding a largemouth bass caught from a boat
Forward-Facing Sonar Just Got Reined In for 2026 — Here's What It Means for the Rest of Us
The pro circuits are pumping the brakes on live sonar for 2026. Here's what changed at B.A.S.S., Major League Fishing, and Outlaw Outdoors — and why weekend anglers should be... Read more...
Bull elk standing in the western North Carolina mountains, representing the state's first modern elk hunting season
North Carolina to offer first elk hunting permits since reintroduction 25 years ago
North Carolina is opening its first modern elk hunting season since reintroduction 25 years ago. Here's how the resident raffle and conservation auction work, when the season begins, and what... Read more...
Court rules game wardens need warrants for private land
Court rules game wardens need warrants for private land
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, July 21 that the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) must have a warrant based on probable cause before entering private property. Read more...
Proposed Major Expansion of Hunting and Fishing on Federal Lands: What Hunters and Anglers Need to Know
Proposed Major Expansion of Hunting and Fishing on Federal Lands: What Hunters and Anglers Need to Know
Proposed Major Expansion of Hunting and Fishing on Federal Lands: What Hunters and Anglers Need to Know Read more...
A traditional longbow at full draw in golden evening light
The Case for the Stick Bow: Why Summer Is the Season to Shoot Instinctive
A recurve won't make you a better hunter by October on its own. The reps you put in through July will. Here's how to spend the off-season getting dangerous with... Read more...
Hunter glassing a ridge at first light
Sight-In Season: How to Pick a Hunting Riflescope (and Actually Get It Dialed)
Mid-summer is the right time to mount glass and get your rifle dead-on for fall. A no-nonsense guide to choosing a hunting scope — magnification, reticle, tube size — plus... Read more...
Pan-Fried Redfish with Lime Glaze and Watermelon Salad
Pan-Fried Redfish with Lime Glaze and Watermelon Salad
The Texas coast in late June doesn't cool off so much as it changes shifts. We'd been on the water since gray light, chasing tailing reds across a knee-deep flat... Read more...