A new proposal in western Montana would protect roughly 130,000 acres of public land surrounding the Blackfoot River while improving habitat for elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, trout, and countless other species. The plan also has support from ranchers, outfitters, timber interests, mountain bikers, and OHV users—a rare reminder that conservation doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.

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Some careers become a life.

David E. Petzal walked through the doors of Field & Stream in 1972 thinking he’d found the job of a lifetime. Fifty-four years later, he looks back on the editors who taught him, the rifles that earned his respect, the hunts he still thinks about, and the magazine that became home.

It’s less a history lesson than a reminder that a life spent chasing good stories, good dogs, and wild places is time well spent.

Drop a “PETZAL” comment and we’ll DM you the full reflection essay that bottles up the job of a lifetime. ...

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Five years. One fish.

When Dylan Aldridge isn’t guiding clients for pike and smallmouth bass in New York’s Adirondacks, he’s chasing muskies. For more than five years, he’d been searching for the kind of fish that keeps you coming back. On June 17, stripping a 14-inch articulated streamer through a muddy, blown-out tributary, he finally connected.

“I felt a thunk and thought I was snagged on a tree,” Aldridge told Field & Stream. “I gave it two more strips and then felt a wide head shake. I could tell he was huge.”

His buddy slipped the net under the fish after a minute-and-a-half fight, and they quickly released it after taking a few photos and videos. Aldridge never took an official measurement, but he knows it was the fish of a lifetime.

Story by @travishallmedia feat. @dylanaldridge_ ...

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Turn back the clock. Cold ones. Old pages. Sunday well spent. Old School Sundays // The Archival Project with @yuenglingbeer ...

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Some rifles are built to shoot. Others become a life’s work.

Bill Slusser knew what he wanted to do at 11 years old, the first time he touched off a muzzleloader. Decades later, he builds no more than a handful of flintlocks each year, each one shaped by thousands of hours of hand engraving, metalwork, and patience. Collectors may lock them away, but Slusser insists every rifle is meant to do what it was built for: hunt. For him, the measure of success has never been money. It’s using the talent he believes he was given, one rifle at a time.

Story by Bill Heavey and photography by @christophertestani exclusively in the Field & Stream Journal, The Gun Dog Issue (Vol. 130, No. 2).

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They don’t call muskies the fish of 10,000 casts for nothing.

Since 1949, every true giant has been compared to the same handful of fish. The International Game Fish Association still recognizes Cal Johnson’s 67-pound, 8-ounce Wisconsin muskie as the all-tackle world record, while the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame stands behind Louis Spray’s larger fish from the same year. The debate has outlived generations of anglers.

The fish themselves are even harder to come by. Nobody has topped Johnson’s mark, and only Kenneth O’Brien has come close with a 65-pound Ontario giant in 1988. Look through the biggest muskies ever caught and another pattern starts to emerge: when summer gives way to fall and the water cools, that’s when the biggest predators in the lake finally make a mistake. ...

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The federal government has transferred a huge swath of public land to the state of Alaska. Here’s how it could impact hunters and anglers

Last February, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed an order that enabled a massive transfer of public lands to the state of Alaska. The land—1.4 million acres previously administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—was officially conveyed to the state in May. Now, both Alaskans and non-residents are wondering how the fast-moving ownership change will impact access along the famed Dalton Highway, known for caribou and moose hunting as well as world-class fishing for Arctic grayling and Dolly Varden.

Congress laid the groundwork for the state transfer in March 2025 when it used the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the area’s Resource Management Plan—the Central Yukon RMP. Before then, Congress had never used the CRA overturn a federal land management plan, which requires years of public comment, stakeholder input, and community engagement.

Drop an “ALASKA” for the full story by @travishallmedia. ...

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Walk into Tom’s Sporting Goods in Morristown, Tennessee and Radar’s got you.

Anybody who knows Tom’s knows Radar. He’s been standing at the front of that shop long enough that the two are basically the same thing. When you’re in his shop, he makes you feel like family. That’s not something you learn. That’s just who he is.

And then there’s the shop itself. Stripers and crappie up front, bass in the back. Hard baits on one side, soft baits on the other. A used-tackle section close to 2,000 lures deep — because Radar will buy just about anything you bring in. Organized chaos is the best way to put it. Tons and tons of tackle packed into every corner of the place, and somehow Radar knows where all of it is.

Places like Tom’s don’t get built. They grow. Slowly, over years, one regular at a time, one old lure traded in at a time, until one day you look around and realize there’s nothing else like it anywhere.

Swipe through for a look inside.

Read “Put Tom’s On Your Radar” by @andrewgreenefishing, photography by @naturedavee — exclusively in the Field & Stream Journal, the Traditions Issue; Volume 131, No. 1.

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Clay discs. Water droplets. Stationary targets. James Jean lined them all up and knocked them down one by one — not with a bow, but with a fishing pole. The same guy who built a following on impossible archery shots decided to see what else he could do with a completely different piece of gear. Turns out the answer is a lot. @jamesjeantrickshots ...

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A coalition of pro-hunting and angling groups in Colorado is working to codify the right to hunt and fish in the state’s constitution — and they’re closer than you might think. With nearly 100,000 signatures collected, they need 125,000 to get the measure on the November ballot.
The effort is backed by groups like HOWL for Wildlife, Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management, and the International Order of T. Roosevelt who argue that a constitutional amendment would protect hunting and fishing from future ballot initiatives that could restrict or ban the practices outright. Twenty-four states have already passed similar measures. Florida’s passed in November 2024.

Organizers say the window to sign is closing. If you’re a Colorado resident and want a say in whether hunting and fishing are protected in your state, now is the time to get involved.

Story by @travishallmedia ...

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At 71, he’s still perfecting a craft he started 36 years ago.

Dave Constantine didn’t pick up a carving knife until he was 35. Today, he’s one of the most decorated wildlife wood-carvers and custom call makers in America. His work has won just about every major award there is—including a National Wild Turkey Federation Grand National Champion of Champions title.

Field & Stream got a rare look inside Constantine’s workshop, where every carving begins as a sketch on paper before slowly emerging from wood through hundreds of careful hours of work. Some pieces take more than 300 hours to complete. Every feather, scale, and detail is carved and painted by hand. But this story isn’t really a story about trophies. It’s a story about mastery. About a man who can look at a block of wood and see a gobbler, a bluegill, or a duck call hiding inside it. A man who spends hundreds of hours on a single piece because some things can’t be rushed.

“It takes a long time to learn how to do this properly.”

And after more than three decades at the bench, Constantine still talks about the work with humility.

“I think of what I have as a gift—to have mastered these skills and be able to share my work with others.”

This Field & Stream exclusive, “The Philosopher’s Block”, is written by Colin Kearns @cmkearns and photographed by Ralph Smith @ralphsmithphoto in Volume 129 of the Field & Stream Journal.

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