Outdoor Life

Outdoor Life is a magazine focused on outdoor activities like camping, fishing, hunting, and survival skills. It is part of the same family as Field & Stream and is often grouped with Sports Afield, making them the top three publications in American outdoor media. The magazine first appeared in Denver, Colorado, in January 1898. Its founder and first Editor-in-Chief, J.A. McGuire, envisioned Outdoor Life as a publication created by sports enthusiasts for fellow outdoor lovers, exploring every facet of outdoor adventures.

National, Consumer

English

Magazine

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#32854

United States

#7007

Hobbies and Leisure/Camping Scouting and Outdoors

#15

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

9 Old Wives Tales That Masquerade as Shooting Lore

3 days ago | outdoorlife.com | Jim Carmichel

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn More › These reader questions and answers from OL’s former shooting editor appeared in the January 1976 issue of Outdoor Life. Many of these myths persist today, such as using the crook of your elbow to measure length of pull. Shotgun BalanceI’ve noticed that gun experts, including yourself, often mention the “balance” of a shotgun. How do you tell if a shotgun is well-balanced?
The Best Dog Collars of 2025, Tested and Reviewed

4 days ago | outdoorlife.com | Alice Jones Webb

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn More › If you’ve ever watched your dog dive headfirst into a muddy creek or roll in something unspeakable, you understand that a good collar needs to be ready for anything. In the outdoors, a dog collar is far more than a fashion statement; it’s a functional piece of gear.
72-Year-Old Mom Lands Her Personal Best Bass in ‘Absolute Rodeo’ on Mother’s Day

4 days ago | outdoorlife.com | Alice Jones Webb

For many moms, Mother’s Day is filled with cards, flowers, and a nice brunch – but for Dave Field and his 72-year-old mother from South Carolina, the special day was spent on the water in a small flat-bottom boat making memories. The pair spent Sunday afternoon fishing a small neighborhood pond, and Mom came away with the biggest largemouth of her life. Field rigged a weightless white Zoom Super Fluke on a red Gamakatsu offset EWG hook tied to 8-pound monofilament for his mom.
Watch: Man Wrestling a Wild Turkey in Cemetery ‘Not a Good Look,’ Says Investigating Game Warden

4 days ago | outdoorlife.com | Natalie Krebs

If there was ever a video that showcased why a hunt might be legal but not ethical, it’s this one from a country cemetery in the Northeast. On Sunday the New Hampshire Fish and Game law enforcement division took to Facebook asking for the public’s help identifying a camo-clad man who was videoed wrestling a flopping wild turkey behind a gravestone and dragging it into the woods.
Lure Maker with Several State Records to His Credit Catches Two Record Sunfish on Back-to-Back Days

6 days ago | outdoorlife.com | Dac Collins

Mississippi fisherman and lure maker Eric Mayo has been on a record-breaking tear over the last five or so years. On April 11, Mayo was fishing his family’s farm pond near his hometown of Petal where he caught the new state-record longear sunfish. He then went back to the same pond the following day and landed another state record, a redspotted sunfish that weighed around a third of a pound. “I’d already broken the longear sunfish record last year,” Mayo tells Outdoor Life.
A Wisconsin Bowhunter Killed the Biggest Buck He’d Ever Seen. Then He Returned It to the Rightful Hunter

1 week ago | outdoorlife.com | Alice Jones Webb

When 27-year-old Cody Kabus realized the massive buck he’d just killed after two days of tracking wasn’t actually his deer, he made a decision few hunters would find easy: he returned the buck to the rightful hunter. As a result of that tough but honest decision, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources honored him with the state’s Ethical Hunter Award last month.
Two Polar Bear Photographers Apologize for Anti-Hunting Video in Which They Criticized Native Hunters

1 week ago | outdoorlife.com | Natalie Krebs

Two wildlife photographers from Turkey have issued an apology for posting a video to social media in which they criticized Native hunters in Nunavut for hunting polar bears. The men, Süha Derbent and Murat Uslu, had planned a 10-day trip to Arctic Bay to document how climate change is affecting the Arctic, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
'Bowling Ball' Smallmouth Caught in Michigan Was Busting at the Seams

1 week ago | outdoorlife.com | Dac Collins

Spring is fat bass season in the Great Lakes region, as the big, egg-laden females get ready to spawn. It’s during this time of year that some of the heaviest smallmouth bass are typically landed, and a fish caught this past weekend in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a testament to just how bloated these fish can get. Steve Schwartz of Grand Rapids shared photos of the chonky 8 pound 1 ounce smallie in a bass-fishing Facebook group on Monday. The fish is an absolute blimp of bass.
The 7 Biggest Turkey Hunting Mistakes That Will Keep You From Punching Your Tag

1 week ago | outdoorlife.com | Alex Robinson

When a turkey hunt goes perfectly, it’s so simple that it seems anyone could do it. Yelp at a tom, listen to him gobble, sit next to a tree, spot him strutting toward you and then watch him stand there dumbly for your shot. But as turkey populations have declined in many places around the country, hunting is getting tougher, and these perfect turkey shoot scenarios are happening less often.
If Turkey Populations Are Struggling, Why Do We Still Shoot Hens in the Fall?

1 week ago | outdoorlife.com | Dac Collins

Harvest reports from the 2025 spring turkey seasons are rolling in, and in many states, like Ohio, the numbers are still behind long-term averages. Although the Ohio Wildlife Council has already approved an either-sex turkey season for the coming fall, The Columbus Dispatch reports that concerns around bird populations have re-opened debates about whether hunters should be shooting any hens in the fall. The Buckeye State isn’t the first to grapple with questions around hunter harvest.