--- title: "27 Vintage Outdoor Life Bear Covers From 1943 to 1970" description: "This gallery is part of our collection of nearly every bear cover ever published in Outdoor Life magazine, which includes illustrations that range from running black bears with hounds to freak grizzly attacks to odd-looking polar bears." date: "2017-09-19" modified: "2017-09-19" authors: - name: "Natalie Krebs" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/natalie-krebs/" url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/27-vintage-outdoor-life-bear-covers-from-1943-to-1970/" categories: - "Bear Hunting" - "Hunting" - "Predator Hunting" --- # 27 Vintage Outdoor Life Bear Covers From 1943 to 1970 ![1961 november cover outdoor life magazine]() *Outdoor Life* This gallery is the second gallery in our collection of nearly every OL bear cover ever published, which includes illustrations that range from running black bears with hounds to freak grizzly attacks to odd-looking polar bears. You can find the earliest bear covers (from 1900 to 1939) right here. You can find the next installment of covers, from 1972 to 1988, right here. (And in case you're wondering why there's a gap between 1939 and 1943, it's because we didn't run any bear covers from 1940 to 1942.) This roundup happens to contain my personal favorite cover out of all the OL covers, from the November 1961 issue. The composition is striking: the handsome bull elk in the foreground has clearly just hit the ground; the hunter on horseback who killed him is framed inside his antlers, rifle in hand as he rides to confront the grizzly who also seeks to claim the carcass. "Outdoor Life" is arranged boldly around the massive hump of the bear's back. The warm fall colors and misty indigo mountains in the back complete the scene. In fact, I like this image so much that I framed it not once, but twice: It hangs both in my cubicle at the OL headquarters and over my kitchen table in my Brooklyn apartment (aka the home office). A handful of bear covers are probably missing from this round up, due to spotty records where we scanned issues with torn covers (and the fact that it's easy to overlook a single cover among a thousand). So if I've forgotten any that you remember, or your own personal favorite, be sure to let me know. ![January 1943 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *January 1943 Outdoor Life* ![march 1943 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *March 1943 Outdoor Life* ![December 1943 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *December 1943 Outdoor Life* ![November 1994 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *November 1944 Outdoor Life* ![January 1955 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *January 1955 Outdoor Life* ![September 1955 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *September 1955 Outdoor Life* ![February 1956 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *February 1956 Outdoor Life* ![]() ***Every Issue. Ever.*** ![December 1956 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *December 1956 Outdoor Life* ![February 1957 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *February 1957 Outdoor Life* ![November 1958 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *November 1958 Outdoor Life* ![September 1959 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *September 1959 Outdoor Life* ![February 1960 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *February 1960 Outdoor Life* ![September 1960 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *September 1960 Outdoor Life* ![November 1961 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *November 1961 Outdoor Life* ![August 1962 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *August 1962 Outdoor Life* ![September 1962 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *September 1962 Outdoor Life* ![September 1963 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *September 1963 Outdoor Life* ![August 1964 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *August 1964 Outdoor Life* ![February 1965 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *February 1965 Outdoor Life* ![January 1966 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *January 1966 Outdoor Life* ![August 1966 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *August 1966 Outdoor Life* ![September 1967 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *September 1967 Outdoor Life* ![December 1967 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *December 1967 Outdoor Life* ![August 1968 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *August 1968 Outdoor Life* ![November 1969 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *November 1969 Outdoor Life* ![December 1970 Cover of Outdoor Life]() *December 1970 Outdoor Life* ## Author Natalie Krebs is the Executive Editor of *Outdoor Life*, where she tackles everything from reporting digital features to producing podcast episodes. Originally from Missouri, she currently lives in northwest Arkansas with her bird dog, Hatchet. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [LinkedIn]()