About Us: Field & Stream
Field & Stream has been the soul of the outdoors for more than 125 years. Since 1895, we’ve taught a nation to hunt and fish, while leading the charge to conserve and fight for wildlife and wild places. The secret to our legacy and success is simple: Hunters and anglers love a great story—and nobody tells one better than Field & Stream.
After more than a century as one of the world’s most recognized and trusted print magazines, we transitioned into a premium, digital-only brand in 2021. We inform and inspire our audience through daily stories on Fielandstream.com, our social media channels, a digital magazine, newsletters, and video—all aimed at celebrating the outdoors through expert service journalism and great storytelling. Field & Stream is part of Recurrent Ventures.
Field & Stream Timeline
1895: Northwestern Field & Stream: A Journal of the Rifle, Gun, Rod and Camera is first published in St. Paul, Minnesota.
1896: John R. Burkhard buys the monthly journal, renames it Western Field & Stream, then simply Field & Stream, and in two years moves the operation to New York City.
1898: F&S calls for stricter game laws, an end to market hunting, and a “universal gun tax or license” to fund conservation causes.
1910: Field & Stream becomes the official organ of the Camp Fire Club, a sportsman’s society and conservation group whose members include Ernest Thompson Seton, Gifford Pinchot, Theodore Roosevelt, Carl Rungius, and Zane Grey.
1917: F&S offers a premium subscription that includes a “field comfort kit,” (including a pipe, tobacco, toothpaste, and chewing gum) to be sent to WWI soldiers in France.
1924: Ray P. Holland becomes editor-in-chief and forms the Field & Stream Conservation Council, which pushes for a national waterfowl refuge system funded by hunters through the purchase of duck stamps. In 1934, Congress passes the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, known as the Duck Stamp Act.
1942: In the wake of Pearl Harbor, F&S launches the “Give ’Em Guns” program, which pools cash donations from readers to buy M1 rifles for American soldiers.
1946: Field & Stream adopts the slogan, “America’s No. 1 Sportsman’s Magazine.”
1947: Rachel Carson, who will publish Silent Spring in 1962, reports on a “red tide” of microorganisms killing fish off Florida’s Gulf Coast in the pages of Field & Stream.
1955: For its 60th anniversary, F&S publishes “Fishing with Ike,” an account of fly fishing for trout with President Eisenhower, including a letter from Ike praising the outdoor sports.
1961: Field & Stream helps found the National Shooting Sports Foundation
1971: F&S launches the Environment Action Group, awarding readers with “Conservation Award” badges.
1995: Field & Stream celebrates its 100th Anniversary, with a circulation of almost 2 million.
2005: Editor-in-Chief Sid Evans launches the Heroes of Conservation awards program, recognizing ordinary sportsmen and -women who are going to extraordinary lengths to defend fish and wildlife habitat.
2009: Field & Stream wins the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, the magazine industry’s top honor.
2014: F&S does it again, winning its second National Magazine Award for General Excellence
2020: Recurrent Ventures acquires Field & Stream, helping the brand transition into a premium digital destination for hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts.
Our Leadership
Field & Stream is led by editor-in-chief, Colin Kearns. Since Kearns has been with the brand, F&S has been nominated for more than 10 National Magazine Awards. Collectively, our editors have hunted and fished throughout the U.S. and on six continents. Members of our staff have also contributed to numerous outdoor publications, served as experts in television appearances, and authored books on hunting, fishing, and the outdoors.
Field & Stream Masthead
Editor-in-Chief Colin Kearns
Design Director Russ Smith
Executive Editor Dave Hurteau
Senior Editor Matthew Every
News Editor Sage Marshall
Associate News Editor Travis Hall
Assistant Editor Ryan Chelius
Engagement Editor Derek Horner
Executive Editor, Commerce Amanda Oliver
Staff Writer, Commerice Meg Carney
—
Managing Editor, Digital Editions Jean McKenna
Photography Director John Toolan
Production Manager Glenn Orzepowski
Copy Editor S.B. Kleinman
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
General Manager Adam Morath
VP of Client Partnerships John Graney
Senior Client Partner Katie Logan
RECURRENT
Chief Executive Officer Alex Vargas
VP of Commerce Breton Fischetti
VP of Programmatic Scott Mulqueen
Head of Brand Alessandra De Benedetti
Director of Membership Operations RJ Cabral
Director of Communications Cathy Hebert
Our Writers
There are no great stories without great storytellers, which is why Field & Stream has always made a point of publishing the very best outdoor writers.
David E. Petzal
F&S rifles editor David E. Petzal celebrated his 50th year with Field & Stream in 2022. Now in his 80s and still very active, Petzal is widely regarded as the greatest living gun writer. Petzal’s knowledge of riflery is encyclopedic, and his writing style is all his own—curmudgeonly and erudite, with a wit that’s just shy of lethal.
Bill Heavey
Editor-at-large Bill Heavey has been a Field & Stream columnist for more than 20 years. As the brand’s resident “doofus” (his word), his columns are full of strange and delightful humor. But Heavey is more than a humorist. He has written four books about the outdoors, including If You Didn’t Bring Jerky, What Did I Just Eat?
Keith McCafferty
Award-winning novelist Keith McCafferty has been one of Field & Stream’s top writers since the 1980s. He has been the health and safety columnist, the outdoor skills columnist, and the survival columnist, yet none-the-less has managed to get lost in the woods in four different states. McCafferty is a two-time National Magazine Award finalist for stories published in Field & Stream.
T. Edward Nickens
T. Edward Nickens has covered hunting, fishing, and the outdoors for more than 35 years. His work has appeared in Field & Stream for more than two decades, and includes features, columns, five F&S books, and the anthology, The Last Wild Road. He lives in Raleigh and Morehead City, North Carolina, with his wife, dog, a part-time cat, the occasional sightings of two grown children, 13 fly rods, five canoes, two kayaks, two powerboats, and an indeterminate number of duck and goose decoys.
Will Brantley
Will Brantly has been writing for Field & Stream for more than 16 years and has been the brand’s hunting editor since 2015. Brantley pens features, how-to stories, commentary, gear reviews, and a regular Hunting column for F&S.
Scott Bestul
Whitetails editor Scott Bestul sold his first feature story to Field & Stream more than 25 years ago and has been a prolific contributor. Along with his regular whitetails column, Bestul writes how-to features, narrative stories, and big-buck galleries, as well as deer-related news and gear coverage. As a noted whitetail expert, he is a regular speaker at deer-hunting seminars and co-author of The Total Deer Hunter Manual and The Total Bowhunting Manual.
Phil Bourjaily
Phil Bourjaily has been Field & Stream’s shotguns editor for more than 25 years. He is the brand’s resident expert and go-to writer on anything to do with shotguns, from gun reviews and shooting instruction to upland, waterfowl, and turkey hunting. With David E. Petzal, Bourjaily is the co-author of The Total Gun Manual.
Richard Mann
Born and raised in West Virginia, shooting editor Richard Mann has hunted big game all over the world. Mann has been contributing to F&S since 2015, covering guns, ammunition, ballistics, and hunting. He has a background as a military and law enforcement firearms instructor and has helped develop rifle and pistol training courses for Gunsite Academy. Mann has authored several books, appeared on the Discovery Channel, and was the executive producer for “WildCraft: South Africa” on Amazon Prime. In 2019, he was given the Bill McRea Lifetime Achievement Award for his writings.
Editorial Standards
At Field & Stream, the only thing we value more than great writing is our readers’ trust. Both require strict editorial standards. Every F&S story you read has been carefully reviewed, fact-checked, and proofread by our editors to meet the highest standards. Our mission is to provide accurate information and reporting that is a pleasure to read.
Our editors and contributors are all recognized as outdoor-industry experts, and we routinely work with the country’s top outfitters, guides, and pros to give our audience the most cutting-edge and authoritative information. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers, so our audience knows they can trust what they read from Field & Stream. This is especially true when it comes to our gear coverage: When Field & Streams gives a new rifle, bow, rod, or reel the coveted Editors’ Choice or Best Value Awards, that recognition comes as a result of rigorous testing, careful review, and honest reporting.
Product Reviews
For more than 125 years, Field & Stream has been providing readers with honest and authentic coverage of outdoor gear. You can count on F&S to keep you up to date on the best new gear. And when we write about a product—whether it’s a bass lure or a backpack—we cover the good and the bad, so you know exactly what to expect before you decide to make a purchase.
Field & Stream prides itself on evaluating a wide variety of outdoor gear. If you can take a product into the woods or on the water, odds are good that we’ve put it through the wringer at some point during hunting or fishing season. We have long provided readers with in-depth reviews of the best rifles, shotguns, handguns, bows, fishing gear, watercraft, and more.
Sustainability
Since 1895, Field & Stream has been committed to conservation and fighting to protect wildlife and wild places. Today, we are still one of the movement’s leading voices. We keep readers informed on the latest and most important conservation news. We hold legislators accountable on policy that affects habitat, the environment, and wildlife. And, in our gear coverage, we are constantly looking to highlight new sustainably-made products or recognize brands that give back to the environment.
Field & Stream in the Press
The great stories, award-winning journalism, and industry-leading product coverage Field & Stream consistently produces hardly go unnoticed. F&S editors and contributors have been seen and heard on CNN, Fox News, ESPN, The Weather Channel, NPR, America Outdoors Radio, Sportsman’s Spotlight, and Backcountry Hunters & Anglers “Podcast and Blast.” The brand’s work has also been recognized by the American Society of Magazine Editors, the Society of Publication Designers, Folio, as well as outlets such as AdWeek, Newsweek, and Outsider.
About Recurrent Ventures
Recurrent Ventures is a digital media company that delivers mission-driven content for passionate audiences. Whether it’s news, a buyer’s guide, a recipe, or travel inspiration, we put meaningful connections first. The strength of our brands comes from the power of their audiences, and we don’t take that for granted. With social responsibility at the center of our storytelling, our trusted brands meet people where they are and grow with them. Recurrent is committed to sustainability and editorial integrity across a diverse portfolio of media brands.