I am heartened by this year’s entries. In addition to fabulous photographs, almost all of you delivered exceptional narratives of your hunts. We used your very words wherever possible because it’s an honor to see you all rise to such an occasion as sharing a special moment with your fellow hunters. You now know a little bit about what drives an outdoor writer. —J. Scott Olmsted, Editor in Chief
On July 17 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a proposed rulemaking change on the Federal Register that, if approved, would allow western states to better manage their grizzly bear population. Despite their burgeoning population the big bruins remain on the “endangered” list under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a fact that has paralyzed regional conservation efforts, impacted other wildlife populations and dramatically increased human/bear conflicts.
One out of every four hunters who hunted the 2025 season will not hunt in 2026. That startling statistic was arrived at by Southwick Associates after conducting a survey of 28,447 hunters in 20 states.
The Boone and Crockett Club recently launched Big Game Records Live 2.0, a major evolution of its digital platform that transforms the world’s oldest big game records database into an interactive analytics tool for hunters.
On June 26 the 2026-2027 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, aka Duck Stamp, went on sale. The fact it raises about $40 million for conservation annually gets the headlines, but there are underpublicized benefits for making the $25 purchase—even non-hunters.
With whitetail populations in some areas exceeding management goals, many states are offering special seasons, extra tags, and other incentives to entice hunters to get out there early and more often. States also offer early opportunities for many other big-game species; in fact, there are so many opportunities that it can be difficult to even keep up with your own state, whereas early seasons across state boundaries can easily be missed out on.
Meet Connor Dietrich. Connor is a 13-year-old honor student, football player and band member from Quincy, Ill. He is, for his age, a veteran hunter and angler. This year, he had his first pheasant hunt, and it was one to remember.