Field Skills
Three Hundred Yards Is Not a Reason to Buy a Magnum
I spent most of last March convincing myself I needed a new rifle. Not because there was anything wrong with the one I had.…
Read the story
Stories by
Field Hunter
Field Hunter is the Field Honest house byline for real field narratives shaped by the editorial desk. Stories may come from our own experience, friends and contributors, or reader submissions. First-person voice preserves the source narrator's perspective; the byline does not claim that one person lived every story.
152 published stories
Latest in the field
Stories worth your time
Wild Food
Great-Grandfather’s Leather Folder, Recipe No. 5: Raccoon Roast
The folder’s got a grease stain now that wasn’t there before, right over the corner…
Field Stories
Before the Hollywood Buck, There Was a Deer Named King
Before the Hollywood Buck there was another deer. A big one, people said. The kind…
Continue exploring
More from this section
Wild Food
Great-Grandfather’s Leather Folder, Recipe No. 4: Snapping Turtle Soup
The leather folder is starting to smell like river mud, which tells you how far along we are. Amos never…
Gear
The Stove Died on Night One
I bought the best backpacking stove on the market and never used it once. When I finally took it on…
Wild Food
YouTube Does Not Hold the Knife With You
The first deer I shot, I butchered in my garage with a YouTube video playing on a laptop balanced on…
Field Skills
Forty Pounds of Pack for a Three-Hour Sit
The first time I walked into the deer woods by myself, I carried 42 pounds of gear. I know this…
Gear
From a 38-Pound Pack to a Knife and a Granola Bar
The first year I hunted, my pack weighed 38 pounds. I know this because I weigh everything now. Back then…
Wild Food
Great-Grandfather’s Leather Folder, Recipe No. 3: Possum and Sweet Potatoes
Amos had opinions about possums. He wrote them into the margins like he was arguing with himself. Recipe No. 3…
Field Skills
A Bucket, a Rope, and a Fake Exit From the Stand
Last season, opening week, I hunted the same oak flat six mornings in a row. It was the kind of…
Field Skills
You Heard It Hit. Now Find It.
The doe came out of the treeline at about 60 yards, quartering away. I had my .308, a soft-point load…
Wild Food
You’re 1,200 Miles From the Nearest Icebox. Now Keep the Meat From Rotting.
You wake up because a mosquito is drinking from the corner of your mouth. Late June, 1843. The canvas glows…