Outdoor Life

Our readers' hands-on spirit is reflected in the magazine's comprehensive gear tests and personal adventure stories. Whether shopping for a new rifle, searching for the hottest fishing holes this weekend or thirsting for exciting adventure tales, Outdoor Life is the ultimate resource.

HURTSBORO, ALABAMA/8:22 a.m.

LETTERS

THE RIGHT STUFF • Give your old gear new life while helping aspiring hunters and anglers

DISPATCHES • WHAT THE OL STAFF IS…

202 YARDS TO ADVENTURE • → If you’d asked, I’d have said it was farther from the jumble of weathered gray boards to the silhouette of the winter-bare cottonwood growing in what had been our backyard.

BUZZKILL

SCRATCH THE SURFACE ITCH • A summer storm’s boom has nothing on the thunderclap of a topwater hit

BIG BANG THEORY • Work the kinks out of your bass game with lessons from a topwater legend

STRESS CONTROL • To land a giant tuna on a popper, you’ve got to beat your weakest links

TOP HEAVIES • Five muskie pros share their secrets for hitting the ultimate freshwater predators on the surface

POPS AND PANS • Bust out the bluegill bugs and fly rod for old-school summer kicks

THE LAND REVOLUTION • A look at the new age of wildlife habitat work, land stewardship—and off-the-charts hunting

THE REVOLUTION BY THE NUMBERS

CLUB RULES • Thinking of a duck lease? Here’s what to know before spending the money

MANIPULATE THE RUT • Three strategic land tweaks to have your wildest fall yet

CLOVER KINGS • The Whitetail Institute’s VP on 30 years of food plots, deer hunting, and stewardship

PRECISION RIFLE PRACTICE • Become a better long-range shooter in your living room

PRECISION RIFLE DRY-FIRE ROUTINE • YOU CAN’T GEAR YOUR WAY INTO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE. ONLY MORE PRACTICE WILL GIVE YOU A SHOT AT THE PODIUM. THIS REGIMEN HAS HELPED CHRIS GITTINGS IMPROVE IN BOTH PRS MATCHES AND OTHER TACTICAL FIELD STEEL COMPETITIONS

MODEL OF 1941 JOHNSON AUTOMATIC • A World War II veteran that has been to hell and back

S&W M&P 9 2.0 COMPACT • The perfect pistol, ammo, and accessories for concealed carry

LASER SHOTGUN TRAINER • Hone your mount and swing without going to the range

TO HUNT A   GRI ZZLY • A PROPOSED BEAR HUNT IN WYOMING WILL PUT OUR FAITH IN THE NORTH AMERICAN MODEL OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TO THE TEST

NO   MAN’S   LAND

How to Be a   Fish Bum • Quit your job and just go fishing. It’s worked out for these six dream-living guys

MATT CROWE • THE CATFISHING QUINT

DAVID BURGHER • THE TROUT NOMAD

JON MARTIN • THE FALL GUY

KELLY WATSON • THE FISH SMOKER

TRAVIS EDENS • THE COUNTRY PUNK

ERIC KERBER • THE STRIPER SNOWBIRD

The Hog Dogs of Alabama • THE BAWLING OF A BLACKMOUTH CUR IS MUSIC TO A PIG HUNTER’S EARS. BUT ONCE THAT HOG BAYS UP, THE REAL EXCITEMENT BEGINS

PRIMER PRIMER • The newest developments for the most mysterious piece of the cartridge recipe

PRIMER HISTORY • The transition from flint “flash-in-the-pan” to cap primers

FISH FOOD • Asian carp are fun to shoot with a bow; now they’re also a hot commodity—for those who know how to market them

EL MACHO • Centuries, cultures, and traditions collide on a crossbow hunt for Spanish ibex

THE 2018 BOW TEST • Our testers shot 1,000-plus arrows through 17 new compounds and crossbows to find this year’s best bowhunting gear

GEAR TO GO

HOW WE TEST: COMPOUND BOWS

THE CROSSBOW TEST • A few years ago, we’d never have dreamed that the number of new crossbows would exceed the number of new compound bows in our test, but we live in...