Magazines Set Sights on Hunters and Fishermen

Despite the ready availability of pre-killed meat and fish, hunting and fishing are as popular as ever. In California alone, more than 2 million people go fishing and about 700,000 go hunting each year.

More than 100 specialty magazines are on the market, covering everything from walleye and musky fishing to turkey, pheasant and fox hunting. Excluding large membership-only publications such as the National Rifle Assn.’s American Hunter, here’s a sampler of a dozen.

General Sporting

Sports Afield

* Number of issues a year: 10

* Established: 1887

* Circulation: 450,000

* Cover price: $2.50

* Subscriptions: (800) 234-3537

Founded more than 100 years ago by writer Claude King, this granddaddy of sporting publications was acquired by Hearst Magazines in 1953. This attractive magazine boasts writers such as Hunter S. Thompson, P.J. O’Rourke and Richard Ford, winner of the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Recent features: “Pure Fish” (real fly-fishing maniacs aren’t in pursuit of efficiency); “Caribou School” (you can’t become a complete hunter until you’ve stalked across the tundra).

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Gray’s Sporting Journal

* Number of issues a year: 7

* Established: 1975

* Circulation: 30,000

* Cover price: $6.95

* Subscriptions: (800) 458-4010

Started by Ed and Becky Gray, a New England couple who wanted a literate alternative to other hunting and fishing magazines, this elegant and sophisticated publication was sold in 1991 to Morris Communications, a Georgia-based publisher that kept the magazine’s original arty format. With luscious reproductions of paintings on the front and back, the story-focused book contains gorgeous photographic journals, fiction and nonfiction, poetry, book reviews and recipes for dishes like stir-fry sardines and Sichuan fried pheasant.

Recent features: “Luxon’s Muit” (stalking a wounded leopard); “That Wildwood Summer” (lake trout and a tale of lost innocence).

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Field & Stream

* Number of issues a year: 12

* Established: 1895

* Circulation: 2 million

* Cover price: $2.95

* Subscriptions: (800) 289-0639

This 101-year-old magazine--initially called Northwestern Field and Stream: A Journal of the Rifle, Gun, Rod and Camera--was started on a shoestring by a Minnesota sportsman. The magazine now covers hunting and fishing in four regionalized editions, with a focus on lifestyle and conservation.

Recent features: “The See-More Glasses” (colored shooting lenses brighten your view); “Mixed Blessing” (first-person about fishing Oregon’s Umpqua River).

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Outdoor Life

* Number of issues a year: 12

* Established: 1898

* Circulation: 1.5 million

* Cover price: $2.95

* Subscriptions: (800) 365-1580

Called “the sportsman’s authority since 1898,” it’s a bit more hard-core than Field & Stream (both are published by Times Mirror Co.), with more focus on service and big adventure hunts.

Recent features: “Calls That Collect” (the wild turkey has 30 distinct calls); “Smallmouth on the Fly” (trout snobs can’t be bothered, but this fish hits on top and fights right into the net).

Hunting

Bugle

* Number of issues a year: 4

* Established: 1984

* Circulation: 200,000

* Cover price: $4.50

* Subscriptions: (800) CALL-ELK

This attractive magazine is published by the 100,000-member Montana-based Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to conserving, restoring and enhancing habitat for elk and other wildlife. Printed on recycled paper, it nicely covers hunting, natural history, wildlife education and conservation education. Check out the great photographs and special sections for children and women.

Recent features: “A Hunter’s Heart” (spurned by strangers because he carried a bow, a hunter looks inward); “Stirring Up Solutions in the Devil’s Kitchen” (ranchers and wildlife advocates find common ground in Montana).

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Bowhunter

* Number of issues a year: 8

* Established: 1971

* Circulation: 200,000

* Cover price: $3.50

* Subscriptions: (800) 435-9610

Founded a quarter century ago by bowhunter and writer M.R. James, this magazine is published by Cowles Enthusiast Media. It covers bowhunting of every animal, from small quails and pheasants to giant kodiak and polar bears, in six regular issues plus two special issues (white-tailed deer and big game).

Recent features: “Treasures of Spring” (bowhunting turkey and fish); “Entry-Level for Everybody” (bow reviews).

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Deer & Deer Hunting

* Number of issues a year: 8

* Established: 1977

* Circulation: 145,000

* Cover price: $2.98

* Subscriptions: (800) 258-0929

Started by two avid deer hunters, this publication was acquired by Krause Publications, publisher of Trapper & Predator Caller, Turkey & Turkey Hunting and Wisconsin Outdoor Journal. The science-focused magazine finances graduate-level research and includes technical how-to’s and sophisticated articles by top deer biologists and other scientists.

Recent features: “Dad” (Susan C. Lanius writes about hunting with her father); “Deer Research: Why Sex Ratios Vary in Whitetails.”

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Varmint Masters

* Number of issues a year: 4

* Established: 1995

* Circulation: 90,000

* Cover price: $2.95

* Subscriptions: (800) 329-4868, Ext. 377; or (800) 366-0676, Ext. 377.

The Soldier of Fortune of hunting magazines, this hard-core newcomer is from Thicket Publishing and covers hunting of all animals considered to be destructive to crops or livestock, including coyotes, bobcats, foxes, groundhogs, prairie dogs, crows, beavers, woodchucks and wolves.

Check out those varmint hunting boots, electronic callers and night vision rifles.

Recent features: “Ten Top Spots for Prairie Dogs” (five are in Montana); “Javelina: Desert Varmint Extraordinaire” (Ellie Mae bow hunts these “ornery, odorous” pig-like mammals).

Fishing

In-Fisherman

* Number of issues a year: 7

* Established: 1975

* Circulation: 350,000

* Cover price: $3.99

* Subscriptions: (800) 441-1740

This journal of freshwater fishing comes from In-Fisherman Inc., a large fishing communications network started in 1974 by brothers Al and Ron Lindner. The multimedia network--which publishes Walleye In-Sider, Walleye Guide and Catfish Guide plus videos and books--also produces TV and radio shows about fishing and hosts tournaments.

Recent features: “State of the Walleye Union” (the recent revolution in walleye fishing); “Football Jigs for Hawg Bass” (secret revealed of potent option for bass in deep water.)

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Sport Fishing

* Number of issues a year: 9

* Established: 1986

* Circulation: 125,000

* Cover price: $2.95

* Subscriptions: (800) 879-0483

This informative and attractive “magazine of saltwater fishing” covers everything from in-shore lagoon to off-shore blue marlin fishing. From Florida-based World Publications, publisher also of Marlin magazine, it’s jampacked with how-to’s, equipment tests and destinations.

Recent features: “Santa Monica: Bay of Opportunity” (California’s urban coast offers something for every angler); “Ballyhoo Basics” (primer for selecting, handling and rigging baits).

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Big Game Fishing Journal

* Number of issues a year: 4

* Established: 1994

* Circulation: 25,000

* Cover price: $4.95

* Subscriptions: (800) 82-SIGNUP

An instruction manual for the big game fisherman, this quarterly was started by fisherman and writer Gary Caputi and his partner, Len Belcaro. It covers tuna, billfish, sharks and other large prey, and limits advertising to 35% to allow space for lengthy educational features written primarily by charter captains, tournament fishermen and other industry experts.

Recent features: “Shark Sense” (top shark scientist discusses the sensory perception of sharks as applied to sports fishing); “Catch and Release Tuna” (leading biologists tell how to increase tuna survival rate).

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Fly Fisherman

* Number of issues a year: 6

* Established: 1969

* Circulation: 156,000

* Cover price: $3.95

* Subscriptions: (800) 829-3340

Conceived by avid fly fisherman Don Zahner while talking to buddies in his trailer along Montana’s Big Hole River, this magazine was bought about 15 years ago by Cowles Enthusiast Media. Called “the leading magazine of fly fishing,” it covers the newest fishing techniques, the latest flies and the best fly-fishing destinations.

Recent features: “California’s Trinity River” (an overlooked dry-line steelhead stream with big sea-run browns); “Western Spring” (the important spring hatches and how to match them).