About Us: Outdoor Life

The cover art on the January 1898 issue of Outdoor Life.
Cover art from the first issue of Outdoor Life, published in January 1898.

Outdoor Life has been the go-to publication of America’s diehard hunters, shooters, and anglers since 1898. Our stories are written by hunters, for hunters. We value experience in the field, at the range, and on the water above all else. Our mission is to deliver stories about success in the field, cutting-edge gear, and adventures in far-off wildernesses and close-to-home woodlots. We inspire America’s outdoorsmen and women to chase the critters they’re passionate about and fight for the wild places they love. 

In 2021, OL became a digital-only publication. We’ve quickly expanded our audience and our coverage beyond hunting, fishing and shooting. We’re now diving into off-roading and ATVs, backpacking, hiking, and camping with the same expertise we’ve brought for more than a century. Outdoor Life is part of Recurrent Ventures.

Outdoor Life Leadership 

Outdoor Life is led by editor-in-chief Alex Robinson and an ace team of editors who live in every region of the country and specialize in a variety of outdoor pursuits. Our staff members have won National Magazine Awards, shooting matches, archery competitions, and bass fishing tournaments (and we’ve brought home middle-of-the-pack finishes in ultra-marathons).

Masthead

Editor-in-Chief Alex Robinson

Executive Editor Natalie Krebs

Shooting Editor, Senior Deputy Editor John B. Snow

Staff Writer Tyler Freel

News Editor Dac Collins

Staff Writer, News Katie Hill

Executive Gear Editor Scott Einsmann

Assistant Gear Editor Ashley Thess

Staff Writer Laura Lancaster

Engagement Editor Derek Horner

BUSINESS OPERATIONS

VP, General Manager Adam Morath

VP, Client Partnerships John Graney

Senior Client Partner Katie Logan

Senior Manager, Audience Development Paul Sarconi

Senior Manager, Subscriptions Asher Considine



RECURRENT

Chief Executive Officer Andrew Perlman

SVP, Finance and Accounting Alan Weissbrod

SVP, Technology Dave Marks

VP, Marketing Alessandra De Benedetti

VP, Commerce Breton Fischetti

Director, Communications Cathy Hebert

Outdoor Life Contributors

OL’s writers cover everything from panfishing tactics to breaking news on national public-lands legislation. When they’re not writing and reporting, they are hunting and fishing. 

Andrew McKean

Hunting and Conservation editor Andrew McKean has been OL’s investigative reporter, traveling big-game hunter, and resident wordsmith for more than a decade. In that time, he’s written books, interviewed Interior secretaries, and killed more than one very big buck.     

Christine Peterson

Based in southeast Wyoming, Christine Peterson covers national climate and environment issues, wildlife policy, and fly fishing adventures for Outdoor Life. She’s also about the closest thing we have to a marriage counselor.   

Beka Garris

Beka Garris is a diehard traditional bowhunter, small-game hunter, and unabashed #huntingmama. She offers a sharp, down-to-earth perspective on a variety of outdoor topics from her home in Ohio.

Joe Cermele

As OL’s fishing editor, Cermele chases (and writes about) anything that swims. He specializes in brown trout and striped bass in his home waters of New Jersey. When he has to, Cermele will even fish for largemouth bass.

Pete Robbins

Pete Robbins has covered tournament bass fishing for over a decade and caught fish from Africa to Alaska. He specializes in detailed fishing gear reviews and the latest innovations in the bass industry. In addition to his writing career, Robbins serves as a board member for the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. 

Cliff Cadet

A native New Yorker, Cliff Cadet is relatively new to bowhunting. He brings a smart new perspective, sharp wit, and hilarious anecdotes to OutdoorLife.com. He’s a retired Marine and current UPS employee. 

Bob McNally

A longtime outdoor writer, Bob McNally covers the weirdest, wildest, and biggest stories in hunting and fishing for OL. If you catch a state-record bass or shoot a giant buck, you can bet that McNally will be giving you a call to get the story. 

Two mountain goat hunters walk a ridge.
The author hikes behind expert mountain guide Lucas Mullen along a steep ridge system. John Whipple

Editorial Standards

Outdoor Life stories are assigned, edited, fact-checked, and proofread by experienced journalists. We provide accurate reporting and detailed how-to information.

Our editors and contributors are true experts in their fields. We train for competitive shooting matches, we trek into the backcountry, we hunt on public lands, and we manage habitat on our own private ground. More importantly, we interview and profile the leading outdoorsmen and women around the world to ensure that we’re bringing our readers the most authoritative and cutting-edge information available.

Product Reviews 

For more than a century, Outdoor Life has been providing readers with in-depth coverage and reviews on firearms, optics, archery equipment, fishing tackle, and much more. We field test each and every product before we write about it. We evaluate every product fairly and shrewdly. Advertising dollars do not impact our product reviews as they do with other outdoor titles. 

Gun test team at Gunsite.
The OL gun test team at Gunsite Academy. Tanner Denton

For an example of our gear testing standards, look to our annual Gun Test, which is regarded as the best in the industry. Our published accuracy results are the averages of the best ten 5-shot groups for each rifle. While it is fun to highlight some of the smallest groups in the test — and we will do that — this 10-group average is much more meaningful with respect to a rifle’s true in-the-field performance. Beyond this, the guns are panel scored by a team of 5 experienced shooters. So when we award a gun with our Editor’s Choice honor, you know that it’s a truly outstanding product.

Sustainability

Outdoor Life has always led the way on the conservation and public lands issues that are most important to sportsmen and women. We’ve interviewed presidents, legislators, and federal land managers about how their policies and actions impact the lands that our readers love. We will always hold those in power accountable for protecting our public lands and wildlife. And we continue to lead the way today by investigating how climate change, wildfires, and drought are impacting wildlands.

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 our 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.