The return of elk hunting in Virginia is expected to draw many people to the Commonwealth in 2022. And soon, hunters will have a shot at drawing for a chance to pursue Virginia bulls. The Department of Wildlife Resources recently announced formal ...
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8-Year-Old’s Bear Dogs Saved After 100-Foot Fall Into WV Cave on Hunt
Bear dogs are known for being tenacious and tough — as you’d expect from any dog that’s willing to risk life and limb running down an animal three or four times its size. Sometimes, that drive can get a dog in trouble. On Thursday, Dec. 30, ...
Hunter Tags Two ‘Albino’ Deer with One Arrow in Texas
When David Santini spotted the doe from his stand, he knew immediately that it was the “albino” deer the property owners had seen numerous times on the adjacent lot. The rare blond-colored doe had successfully eluded hunters on this Texas ...
Watch: Polar Bears Are Apparently Hunting Reindeer Now
Recent footage of a polar bear hunting down a reindeer off the coast of Norway is fueling debate over the effect of climate change on the threatened species. In August, scientists filmed the bear chasing the deer into the sea and dragging it ...
Coyote Hunting: Intense Scouting and Planning Pay Off
There was a time when one could head to the prairie, turn on a fairly low-quality e-caller, and bring in song dogs at full tilt before blasting them in the face. Hell, it didn’t even have to be an e-caller. As a young man on the plains, I got coyotes ...
North Carolina Black Bear Hunting May Be Expanded to 3 Sanctuaries
While Washington state has canceled its spring bear hunting season for 2022, wildlife officials are considering opening three sanctuaries to North Carolina black bear hunting in the western part of the state this year to address an increasing number ...
Utah Wildlife Board Bans Trail Cameras for Hunting Big Game
Hunters and wildlife lovers will no longer be allowed to use trail cameras for hunting big game animals in the Beehive State. The measure passed with a 4-3 vote by the Utah Wildlife Board, which also banned the use of thermal imaging night vision ...
6 Simple Steps for Duck Hunting Creeks: Guns, Gear, and Tactics
Waterfowl hunting is some of the most fun that a guy or gal can have in the outdoors, and puddle ducks are some of the tastiest critters on the planet. Yet the barrier to entry to waterfowl hunting seems huge if you don’t have big water flowing ...
Underdogs: 4 Hunting Dogs That Beat Death and Got Back in the Field
Americans love their underdogs. The comeback story is an age-old reminder that you can’t count someone out till the final whistle, bell, buzzer, or fat lady dropping the mic. Of course, some of the best comeback stories aren’t about people. In ...
These New Year’s Resolutions Will Make You A Better Hunter
We asked friends of FRA if they had any New Year’s resolutions for hunting — it came as no surprise, a lot of them did. Whether stalking elk in the mountains, waiting out whitetail in a tree, or calling at cupped mallards in a beaver swamp, so much ...
Grizzly Steals Kill From Yellowstone Wolf Pack – Again
A grizzly stealing a kill from a Yellowstone wolf pack is not particularly new news. It’s actually a pretty common occurrence for a grizz to grab an easy meal from wolves after they’ve done the heavy lifting. The two apex predators have been at odds ...
Get a Little Classy With This Venison Wellington Recipe
Beef Wellington is an iconic British dish that lends itself well to a wild game adaptation. In fact, plenty of you will probably prefer the venison Wellington you're about to learn how to make, and that's a good thing. In the traditional recipe, a ...
Reader’s Choice: The 10 Biggest Free Range American Stories of 2021
This was a good year for Free Range American. We grew by hundreds of percentage points in every conceivable metric and covered a wide range of topics (and controversies) other outdoor media sites were afraid to touch. We broke the news on an ...
The 8 Greatest Hunting Dog Breeds of All Time
When it comes to flushing birds, retrieving waterfowl, treeing big cats, or tracking wild game, every hunter has a dog in the fight. Many hunting dog breeds are absolute killers when it comes to the chase that’s coursed through their veins for ...
Zambian War on Wildlife Poaching Captured By Montana Filmmakers
Wildlife poaching in Africa is an extremely complex and deep-rooted problem that sucks the life out of local communities while intensifying systemic poverty, disease, and hopelessness. For the Soli community in Zambia’s Lower Luano Game ...
Banded Birds: Why Leg Bands are More Than Mere Hunting Trophies
For serious waterfowlers, few things are more exhilarating than your retriever returning to the blind with a bird bearing bling on its landing gear. Taking banded birds is a rare thing; it’s the waterfowler’s equivalent of dropping a 150-class ...
Hunting Big Air and Big Game: Meet Olympic Gold Medal Skier David Wise
Freestyle skiing and big game hunting are rarely mentioned in the same conversation — unless you’re chatting with two-time Olympic gold medalist David Wise. The 31-year-old Nevada native has been in the field hunting for wild game as long as he’s ...
Ducks and Coffee: Three Days in Oklahoma With FowlCo Outfitters
Watching the horizon turn from darkness to a mixture of piercing pinks and oranges reminds me of sunrises over the Carolinas’ intercoastal waterway. The way the nearly-neon colors push the night’s cloud coverage away to reveal a sky so brilliantly ...
Cold Weather Duck Hunting Gear That Will Keep You Warm and Shooting
After a long, cold boat ride, we broke ice in the hole. Then, my host dropped me, outfitted in waders, by an oak tree in waist-deep water. “Don’t fall in,” he said as I was halfway out of the boat. “It’s 45 minutes to the ramp. You’ll be dead ...
AK Caribou Herd Decline Could Shut Out Nonresident Hunters
The Western Arctic Caribou herd in Alaska has shrunk by an estimated 23% over the past couple of years. For Alaskan communities that depend on an abundant caribou herd for their very existence, this is a major wake-up call that says better management ...
PA Hunting Clubs Sue Game Commission Over Warrantless Searches
Pitch Pine Hunting Club member Jon Mikesell and his buddies were sitting on the porch enjoying the peace and quiet of the Allegheny Mountains when they were approached by a man who told them he’d been watching them from a hiding place on the property ...
Montana Deer Season Extended to Combat CWD, Booming Population
Whitetail hunters in the Big Sky Country have received an early Christmas present: the Montana deer season has been extended through Feb. 15, 2022, in several southwestern districts. This is good news for hunters who ate tag soup during the ...
Mississippi Duck Hunting Victory: Public Land Buffer Zone Rejected
Public land hunters scored a victory last week when the Mississippi Wildlife Commission withdrew a proposal that would have eliminated 40 acres of prime waterfowl country. Partially located in the Malmaison Wildlife Management Area of ...
Opinion: Unfollowing Hunting Social Media Will Make Hunting Better
If this content looks familiar, it’s because we posted this Matt Rinella op-ed two weeks ahead of time. Our intention was to drop it timed to the MeatEater podcast, embedded below, where Matt and Steve get into the value of social media in hunting. ...
Chuck Adams, Archery Legend, and His New World Record Sitka Buck
The history of archery hunting has a short but highly venerated list of practitioners. Names like Howard Hill, Fred Bear, Saxton Pope, Art Young, Ishi, and “Chief” Compton populate it, and Chuck Adams is definitely included among them. He’s the last ...
After 40-Year Wait, Maine Hunter Draws Moose Permit, Bags Grand Slam
Ronald Argraves Sr. has been waiting patiently the past 40 years for a Maine moose permit. At 73 years old, he knew his odds were not getting any better with each passing season. But, after all that waiting, the Castle Hill resident finally ...
Oklahoma Gov. Ends Native American Hunting, Fishing License Agreement
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is under fire for canceling agreements between the state and the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations over hunting and fishing licenses because “all Oklahomans should receive equal treatment under the law.” Tribal leaders in ...
Fred Koontz, Controversial Washington Fish and Wildlife Official, Resigns
Less than 12 months after being appointed to a six-year term on the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, Fred Koontz has resigned because he says the commission is “currently stuck in a politicized quagmire.” Gov. Jay Inslee ...
Yellowstone Grizzlies Closer to Delisting: WY, MT Approve Revised MOA
UPDATE – Dec. 15: The Montana Fish and Game Commission unanimously endorsed the revised tri-state Memorandum of Agreement for Yellowstone grizzlies at its Dec. 14 meeting. Montana has now joined Wyoming, which had already approved the agreement, in ...
Tennessee Tornado Kills 2 Hunters, 3rd Missing, Others Aid Rescue Efforts
Winter waterfowl hunters are no strangers to lousy weather. Unfortunately, the weather turned deadly this past weekend in many places throughout the South and Midwest, including in Tiptonville, Tennessee, a premier duck hunting destination, as ...