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2 weeks ago | 
fieldandstream.com | Dave Hurteau |David E. Petzal
For those of us lucky enough to still be chasing gobblers, which includes hunters in most of the northern half of the country, we are now firmly in the late season. The bad news is that we only have a handful of days left and what gobblers are still on the landscape have seen weeks of pressure. The good news is that those same birds are finding themselves increasingly lonely, as hens focus on nesting.
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1 month ago | 
fieldandstream.com | Scott Bestul |Dave Hurteau |David E. Petzal
For spring gobbler hunters, the late season is a bit of a double-whammy. First off, a fair number of the toms that were gobbling their heads off and running to decoys in the early season are in hunter's freezers (or bellies) by now. Second, what gobblers are left on the landscape have likely been bumped a time or two, have heard a lot of artificial yawping, and have possibly been shot at. Bottom line: They are at their absolute wariest.
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1 month ago | 
fieldandstream.com | Dave Hurteau |David E. Petzal
With May now underway, even Northeastern hunters are done waiting for the spring gobbler season to start (or very nearly done waiting in one case. We see you Pennsylvania). Meanwhile, most hunters in the rest of the country are right in the thick of the season, with peak breeding winding down in many areas—and the chances of finding a lone tom improving.
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1 month ago | 
fieldandstream.com | Dave Hurteau |David E. Petzal
After a long battle with cancer, F&S whitetails columnist, Scott Bestul, passed away Saturday morning, surrounded by family. Bestul sold his first story to Field & Stream in 1993. He became a contributing editor in 1995 and whitetails editor in 2009, anchoring the brand’s deer coverage for more than two decades. He co-authored two books under the F&S brand, The Total Deer Hunter Manual and The Total Bowhunter Manual.
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2 months ago | 
fieldandstream.com | Dave Hurteau |David E. Petzal
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn moreIf you’re a largemouth nut, you’re not waiting for the weather to turn balmy before hitting water. You’re looking for the best bass lures for early spring—emphasis on early. You’re out there right now, with a jacket and gloves if necessary. You know to head for the warmest parts of the lake, the north end and the stained water.
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2 months ago | 
fieldandstream.com | Dave Hurteau |David E. Petzal
Need to know how to remove a tick right now? No problem. I’ve got you. Having spent a lifetime outdoors and the last 25 years at an Upstate New York home whose yard is absolutely crawling with the horrible pariahs, I have removed more ticks from myself and others than I want to think too much about. It’s been a disgusting education, but with all that practice, I’ve gotten very good at it.
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Mar 9, 2025 | 
fieldandstream.com | David E. Petzal |Phil Bourjaily |Tom Davis |Christine Peterson
Grizzly bears are the largest predator in North America, but they seldom pose a serious threat to outdoorsmen who’ve taken the proper precautions. According to the National Park Service, historical data shows that on average one person a year dies from a grizzly attack, and since the turn of century, grizzlies and black bears collectively have killed fewer than 50 people in North America.
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Feb 24, 2025 | 
fieldandstream.com | Dave Hurteau |David E. Petzal
A recent Instagram video showing a Komodo dragon inhaling a “deer” (which appears to actually be a goat) is making the roundstoday. And why not? It’s been a long day already. You’ve gotten some work done. You deserve to watch animals gobbling up one another, and this is as good a gobbling as any. It’s better than most, really, because with snakes and alligators swallowing things whole starting to get a little old on social media, a Komodo dragon is a nice change of pace.
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Feb 24, 2025 | 
fieldandstream.com | David E. Petzal |Tom Davis |Christine Peterson |Phil Bourjaily
I met Buzz Charlton in 1992, on a safari in Zimbabwe when he was a 19-year-old apprentice PH. Buzz’s father was a professional hunter in Kenya, and Buzz has hunted since he was a boy. He has survived attacks by hippo, mamba, and elephant, and has kept both his life and his sense of humor. On a safari in 2017, he managed to listen to two weeks’ of my “safaris in the good old days” stories without going mad.
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Feb 21, 2025 | 
fieldandstream.com | David E. Petzal
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›IN 1958, I began shooting in an NRA summer camp program. We used .22 target rifles and fired strings from prone, sitting, and offhand at 50 feet. Scores were kept, and people won or lost. There were no prizes for participation. If you won, it was not quite as good as a date with Annette Funicello (Google her, Gen Z scum), but it was pretty damn nice.
