by Felicity Grant
Outdoor Life magazine is one of the oldest outdoor-focused magazines published in the U.S. Launched in 1898, founder and editor-in-chief J.A. McGuire meant for the magazine to be a magazine for and written by sportsmen. A subscription to Outdoor Life magazine is the perfect holiday gift for outdoor enthusiasts. Outdoor Life magazine is known as "The Sportsman's Source" and "The Source for Hunting and Fishing Adventure;" it covers all aspects of hunting, fishing, camping and outdoor survival. Currently recent features include destination hunting, game cooking, DIY projects and the second annual "25 Men and Women Who Have Changed the Face of Hunting and Fishing" awards. Outdoor Life also frequently lists hunting and fishing tips and quizzes as well as testing new outdoor gear, keeping it and their readers on top of their game.
Through the years Outdoor Life editorial material has followed its readers' interests in new technologies like aviation and motor vehicles while staying true to its original purpose of covering the outdoor sportsman. In its first issue Outdoor Life ran stories on a variety of topics including a moose hunt in Alaska. Original columns included "Photography," "Trap and Target" and "In the Game and Field."
Outdoor Life magazine has the distinction of being an innovator in magazine publishing. In 1903, Outdoor Life magazine printed the first photograph on the cover in black and white. A few years later, in 1906 the first color cover appeared on the magazine. Outdoor Life has also had some impressive contributors in the field of outdoor sportsmen including American author Ernest Hemingway, who accompanied Outdoor Life writers on a marlin fishing trip to Cuba in 1935; President Teddy Roosevelt; adventure writer Zane Grey; aviator Amelia Earhart; actor Clark Gable and baseball legend Babe Ruth.
Part of the mission of the outdoor magazine is to promote and champion conservation. In 1923 the magazine established the Outdoor Life Conservation Award to those who "accomplish the greatest good for the sportsmen's cause in the United States," said McGuire. To date former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is the most famous recipient.
By 1934 Outdoor Life magazine had established itself as a remarkable magazine and so moved from its original location in Denver to New York City, where its headquarters remain today. Field & Stream magazine is also owned by Bonnier publications.
In 1946 Outdoor Life magazine established the Outdoor Life Conservation Pledge. Thousands of readers have taken the pledge including former President Harry Truman and former Vice President Al Gore. The pledge, which reads: "I pledge to protect and conserve the natural resources of America. I promise to educate future generations so they may become caretakers of our water, air, land and wildlife," runs in every issue of the magazine in the letters section.
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