Fishing
The $340 Setup That Lost to a Kid’s Paw Patrol Rod
I spent $340 on a St. Croix rod last spring. Watched seventeen hours of YouTube videos about reading river seams. Memorized the hatch chart…
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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
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Gear
Two Years of Shooting Off a Sock Full of Rice
I shot a three-shot group at 200 yards two years ago that measured just under…
Wild Food
Great-Grandfather’s Leather Folder, Recipe No. 2: Skunk (Read This Twice)
I almost skipped this one. The leather folder fell open to a page with “READ…
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Field Stories
Twenty Yards From a Bear, and the Bow Stays Down
I found the bear by accident. That’s the first thing I need you to understand before the rest of this…
Hunting
Sixteen Hours of Pavement for a Hog That Never Showed
My buddy Dale had been telling me for two years to come down to Texas and shoot some pigs. “They’re…
Wild Food
How to Tell If Deer Meat Is Spoiled: A Hunter’s No-BS Guide
Every hunting season, someone opens their freezer, pulls out a package of venison, and hesitates. It doesn’t smell quite right.…
Gear
Seventy-Nine Dollars, Two Lost Animals
I paid $79 for my first hunting tripod. That should tell you everything you need to know about how this…
Hunting
The Buck That Walked Under a Sleeping Hunter
I didn’t plan to fall asleep. Nobody ever does. But there I was, 16 feet up a white oak in…
Wild Food
Great-Grandfather’s Leather Folder, Recipe No. 1: Squirrel Stew
A few winters ago I was cleaning out my grandmother’s attic — the kind of job you put off for…
Fishing
Hooking the Biggest Catfish of Your Life and Losing It at the Bank. Here Is What Went Wrong.
I don’t know how long I fought that fish. Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty. Long enough for the sun to drop…
Hunting
Field Dressing Your First Deer Alone in the Dark. It Goes Exactly How You Think.
I killed my first deer on public land in western Nebraska, 45 minutes before sunset, with nobody within three miles…
Field Skills
Why Deer Disappear From Your Trail Cameras Before Opening Day
Your summer buck vanished from trail cameras right before opening day. The deer probably did not leave. Your camera simply…