Field & Stream

WHOEVER SAID you can’t go home again never had my job. The last time I wrote to you in this space was more than three years ago, when I penned the Editor’s Page for Field & Stream’s 125th Anniversary Issue, in October 2020. I knew at the time that F&S was about to be sold, and that under the new ownership, the print magazine would be discontinued. As gutted as I was by that decision, I at least took solace in knowing that we went out swinging with that remarkable final issue. After it was finished, I never expected to work on a print magazine again. Jump to December 2023: F&S was sold again. To my surprise—and sheer delight—the first decision the new owners made was to revive the…

Ryan Kirby COVER ARTIST For the debut issue of the rebooted F&S print journal, we asked celebrated wildlife artist Ryan Kirby to paint a reimagined version of our classic April 1938 cover, showing a brook trout leaping for mayflies (see the back cover of this issue). Once he finished his work, we caught up with him to discuss the assignment and his process. F&S How does it feel to land the first cover of the new Field & Stream? R.K. Awesome. I love the retro vibe that the brand has leaned into. Across the outdoor industry, we’ve seen a return to the idea of getting back to our roots, like with original camo patterns. And I think it’s cool to see Field & Stream go back to print and…

ON JANUARY 25, 2024, editor-in-chief Colin Kearns published a column on fieldandstream.com announcing the revival of the print edition of Field & Stream. In the days that followed, cheers from readers filled his inbox. Here’s a collection of our favorites. WELCOME BACK I read your article this morning and wanted to reach out. I’m in my 40s now, and between a small business, two babies, and mom responsibilities, I hardly fish or hunt at all. (Eleanor, my 4-year-old, loves fishing, however, and caught a wild trout all by herself at 2½ years old.) If you have kids, you know that fishing with little ones is hard—and hunting is nearly impossible. That said, I grew up loving the outdoors. They’ve been the greatest joy in my life other than my…

01 Pike’s Peak A HOT BITE ON THE ICE This past January, Oliver Jacobson went ice fishing with his then-5-year-old brother, Ignatius, who caught this nice northern pike on a tip-up baited with a sucker. “We caught several other nice pike that day,” Oliver adds. OLIVER JACOBSON 02 Stillwater, Minnesota 03 Shock Gobble CAUGHT BY SURPRISE John Fallon was calling and photographing during a hunt with his 15-year-old daughter, Shannon, when this tom surprised them both. Her movement spooked the bird, he says, “But we left with an incredible memory, and a hysterical photo.” JOHN FALLON 04 Furlong, Pennsylvania 05 Rooster Seat A BOY AND HIS DOG Wyatt Eisenmann, 11, poses with some roosters he and his dad, Nick, bagged on land that their family has been hunting for…

I HAD JUST COME OFF the road from supporting my first album, Sinners Like Me. Thirteen guys on a twelve-bunk bus, smelling of urine and whatever air freshener Glade was hawking at the time. Very little money and, more alarmingly, even smaller record sales. Sweaty clubs, dreary rock bars, dirt-filled county rodeos, and the occasional half-empty theater left me wondering if my love for my chosen profession was noble or just insane. All that work had left me broke, and nearly broken. I was looking forward to a few days off in my favorite time of the year in Nashville—early spring. I was with my then girlfriend, now wife, Katherine, and her dad had come into town wanting to show us a piece of property for sale he’d stumbled…

If aliens visited Earth and happened to walk into the NWTF Grand National Turkey Calling Championship, how would you explain it to them? —D. Dalton, via email D.E.P. I would say, through my intergalactic interpreting device: “These people are trying to converse with avian dinosaurs that have brains about the size of a pea. They are doing it so that they can shoot them. Speaking of shooting, is that a gun you’re holding there? May I look at it?” “Ugly is a strictly human concept and has no meaning when applied to animals. Warthogs no doubt think other warthogs are beautiful. All animals, from wapiti to wildebeest, are fascinating and deserve a place of honor on your wall.” I keep hearing about the 280 Ackley Improved. Am I weird…