Field Journal

Hunter in blaze orange kneeling behind a whitetail buck in a hardwood bottom
Minnesota Killed the Deer Tag. Here's What Replaces It.
Minnesota dropped physical carcass tags for 2026. Site validation replaces them — and the rules are stricter than most hunters realize. Read more...
Prone shooter in camo aiming a rifle with a suppressor attached
Buy a Suppressor Now: The $0 Stamp, the August Ruling, and the October 5 Deadline
The tax stamp died in January. In August a federal court barred the ATF from enforcing NFA registration - but only for covered buyers, not everyone. What is left is... Read more...
Two duck hunters in a layout blind on a Texas Gulf Coast marsh at sunrise
What to Wear Duck Hunting on the Texas Gulf Coast: A Wet-Weather Guide
Coastal duck hunting is a wet problem, not a cold one. What to wear for marsh and rice prairie, and why the best bird days bring the worst weather. Read more...
Bowhunter in camo at full draw behind a tree in green summer woods
What to Wear Deer Hunting in Texas: A Season-by-Season Layering Guide
Texas deer season runs from 85-degree openers to 25-degree fronts, often in the same week. Here is how to layer for it, region by region. Read more...
Whitetail buck standing in colorful fall hardwoods in Michigan
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...
Illustrated map titled The Real Costs of Non-Resident Hunters, with a loaded pickup crossing the U.S.
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...
Assortment of rifle and pistol ammunition cartridges standing upright
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...
Infographic map of 92 million acres and 1,450+ new hunting and fishing opportunities on federal lands
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...
Close-up of a grizzly bear's face
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 —... Read more...
Ice angler kneeling beside a hole on a frozen lake near an ice shelter
What a Historic El Niño Means for Ice Fishing
NOAA has raised the odds of a record El Niño this winter to 75%. What that does and does not tell you about first ice, plus the Southwest reservoir angle. Read more...
Thin whitetail deer feeding in dry grass along a fence line
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...
Infographic laying out the case for and against Colorado Initiative 302, the right to hunt amendment
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...