Fishing the Bahamas: Six Keys to a Smart Crossing

Running the Gulf Stream to fish the Bahamas rewards planning far more than it rewards luck. The crossing itself throws steep seas and shifting current at you. On the far side, the fishing changes with tide, water clarity, and predators that can end a hot bite in minutes. Anglers who arrive prepar...

By James Chen •

How Often Do Wolves Actually Attack People?

The odds of a wild, healthy wolf attacking you in North America are close to nothing. A widely cited 2002 study of wolf-human interactions covering Alaska and Canada, home to more than 60,000 wolves, turned up no records of people killed by wild wolves across the entire twentieth century. In that...

By James Chen •

The Dueling Roots of the Old West Gunfighter

The lone gunman squaring off in a dusty street, hand hovering over a low-slung holster, is one of the most durable images in American gear culture. Its origin lies not on the frontier but in the East, in a formal ritual imported from Europe and practiced for decades by prominent men in the young ...

By James Chen •

Ikonick Energetics Opens State-of-the-Art Primer Manufacturing Facility

New South Florida campus projected to manufacture approximately 1 billion primers annually and create more than 200 jobs. Stuart, Fla. (September 2026) – Ikonick Energetics today officially opened its new primer manufacturing facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in South Florida, marking a m...

By Eric G •

Minnesota Pheasant Index Jumps 20% Before Oct. 10 Opener

Pheasant hunters heading into the Minnesota pheasant opener this fall have reason for optimism. Released September 8 by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the state’s August roadside survey clocked the statewide pheasant index at 90 birds for every 100 miles surveyed, up from 75...

By James Chen •

Ayoob: The Guns of Cormac McCarthy

When I plucked the September-October issue of Smithsonian magazine out of my P.O. Box, the first article I turned to was “The Secret Life of Cormac McCarthy” by Richard Grant. As I skimmed it, a pull-quote leaped out at me: “He never left the house without a book. He never left the house wi...

By Massad Ayoob •

Field-to-Table Squirrel: Recipes Worth the Effort

Squirrel meat lands somewhere between rabbit and chicken in both flavor and texture, and the flavor stays mild rather than gamey. That quality makes it one of the best game meats for winning over picky eaters: in soups, stews, and casseroles, it substitutes for chicken so cleanly that most people...

By James Chen •
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