Field Journal

Michigan One Buck Rule: What Changes in 2026 and 2027
Michigan One Buck Rule: What Changes in 2026 and 2027
Michigan's NRC approved a one buck limit for the Lower Peninsula starting 2027, plus a 2026 season overhaul. The case for, the case against, what's unresolved. Read more...
Nonresident Hunting in 2026: What It Actually Costs
Nonresident Hunting in 2026: What It Actually Costs
Oklahoma nonresidents now pay $710 plus a $100 public-land surcharge. Here's what five states changed, why residents have a case, and how to run the real math. Read more...
Ammo Prices 2026: Three Explanations, No Winner
Ammo Prices 2026: Three Explanations, No Winner
A Sept 1, 2026 tracker put 23 calibers from $0.12 to about $1.87 per round. Three explanations compete for why, and the public data does not settle it. Read more...
Federal Lands Were Ordered Open to More Hunting. The Final Rule Just Landed.
Federal Lands Were Ordered Open to More Hunting. The Final Rule Just Landed.
Back in January, the Interior Department ordered its agencies to open more federal land to hunting and fishing within 60 days. We told you it was coming. Now it's time... Read more...
Grizzly Management Is Headed Back to the States — but a Hunting Season Isn't on the Table Yet
The federal government is moving to hand grizzly bear management to four Western states while keeping the bears on the threatened list. It's a milestone decades in the making — but read the fine print: it does not, by itself, open a grizzly hunting season. Here's what was proposed, what it means, and what happens next. Read more...
What a Historic El Niño Means for Ice Fishing
What a Historic El Niño Means for Ice Fishing
NOAA gives a 69% chance of a record El Niño this winter. What that does and does not tell you about first ice, plus the Southwest reservoir angle. Read more...
CWD by State: What Changed for the 2026-27 Season
CWD by State: What Changed for the 2026-27 Season
CWD is confirmed in 37 states and 5 provinces. Delaware's emergency zone plus North Carolina, Minnesota and Virginia rule changes, and Wisconsin EHD. Read more...
Colorado Initiative 302: Hunting Rights on the Ballot
Colorado Initiative 302: Hunting Rights on the Ballot
Colorado's Initiative 302 would constitutionalize a right to hunt and fish and name it the preferred wildlife management tool. It needs 55% in November. Read more...
Red Snapper Season 2026: Florida's Bonus October Days
Red Snapper Season 2026: Florida's Bonus October Days
Florida's Atlantic red snapper season 2026 runs 39 days, including October 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18. The 2025 federal Atlantic season was two days. What changed. Read more...
Duck Season 2026: Mallards Down 11%, Ponds Up 14%
Duck Season 2026: Mallards Down 11%, Ponds Up 14%
The 2026 USFWS survey puts total ducks at 33.4 million and mallards down 11%. May ponds rose 14% — but that water is in Canada, not on the U.S. prairie. Read more...
Can Silver Carp Actually Survive in Lake Michigan?
Can Silver Carp Actually Survive in Lake Michigan?
A reader argued Lake Michigan is too barren for silver carp. The modeling says otherwise — here's where they could live, and where the science is still open. Read more...
Invasive Carp Found 80 Miles From Lake Michigan
Invasive Carp Found 80 Miles From Lake Michigan
Crews pulled hundreds of 4-to-6-inch silver carp from the Illinois River 80 miles from Lake Michigan, weeks after work on the Brandon Road barrier stopped. Read more...