The Best Outdoors Magazine

As part of my subscription deal with Outdoor Life, I receive Field and Stream as well for a total of $25.00 yearly.(12 issues) I have spent countless hours reading Field and Stream, while Mrs. Toiletoctopus peruses through National Geographic and Smithsonian.(She's definetly my sophisticated and better half) I like Outdoor Life, but Field and Stream is by far my favorite publication. I am thrilled when it arrives in my mailbox, as each issue is filled with a plethora of information regarding outdoor activities.

The writers of Field and Stream are amazing. I don't know if there's award for outdoor authors, but if there is, they totally deserve it. I would love to go fishing or hunting with any of them someday. From their articles, you can tell that they are truly passionate about the outdoors, and in promoting conservation to allow future generations to enjoy nature. I really like how they describe a lot of current issues affecting todays outdoors people, and how to prevent further damage to the environment with little steps that we all can pitch in on.

Although there are a few double issues of Field and Stream ocassionally, the usual publication has four to five feature articles. Since it is now spring, the current issue places a lot of emphasis on bass fishing and spring gobblers. These articles are a fine resource for novices and experts alike, and plenty of their techniques have helped me in the field. There are even easy to understand diagrams and pictures, to help illustrate concepts for various activites. As the seasons change, the summer and fall issues should start focus on deer hunting, and how to effectively harvest them.

In addition to these fine articles, there are columns in each issue focusing on certain outdoors aspects. These include subjects such as Rifles, Shotguns, Fishing Tackle, Conservation Practices, Camping, First Aid, Cooking Recipes, etc. There's even a forum for answering questions, which is my version of Dear Abby. (I would love to ask Abby about camo patterns, but I'm sure she'd give me the usual advice-dump him/her) I love how the columns on rifles and shotguns cover related products, such as bullets, recoil pads, scopes, hearing/eye protection, etc. There are also field tests, and this involves guns, camping/hunting/fishing equipment. They don't seem to have any particular biases favoring certain manufacturers, and I really enjoyed this month's lantern review. It showed an image of each lantern, and the positive and negative aspects of each one. I have found their reviews to be accurate as well.

Since manufacturers are a major revenue source for Field and Stream, there are the usual advertisements.(Firearms, Scent Control, Clothing, Outfitters, Chewing Tobacco, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Louis Vitton) There aren't as many as in Outdoor Life or other related publications, which makes it easier to find the articles inside. I do like their advertising section for outfitters, as they are listed by region/international location. The pictures in each issue are breathtaking, as Field and Stream gives National Geographic a run for their money involving outdoor shots.I cannot believe some of their action shots, especially the ones involving a leaping bass or flying goose. I've actually dreamed of being outside on even the most frigid of days, after looking at some of these pictures.

I like Field and Stream a lot, and consider it to be the best outdoor magazine. They have been around for a long time, and always have plenty of excellent advice and information packed in each issue. Their level of creativity is unrivaled, and I fully recommend them. The prices of their subscription vary, but make sure you check the subscribe cards in their issues for the Outdoor Life/Field and Stream combo. This is the best deal I have seen, and I will be extending my subscription again.