Are Outdoor Magazines Dying?

Field & Stream, once a permanent fixture in any outdoorsman’s home, halted its print editions in 2020 and shifted entirely online. Yet, four years later, the timeless issues have resurfaced as oversized bi-yearly journals, giving fans at least something to hold, flip through, and treasure. But gone are the monthly magazines that once arrived like clockwork.

Several other beloved publications have followed the same path. Outdoor Life ceased printing in 2021 and transitioned to an all-online platform. North American Whitetail is now fully digital. Some magazines have disappeared altogether. American Angler printed its final issue in 2020. Others, like Sports Afield, have scaled back to quarterly releases.

I won’t lie- there’s a tiny surge of serotonin when a physical outdoor magazine lands in my mailbox, followed by a quiet joy as I thumb through the pages. But moments like that are rare now. My mailbox remains empty of outdoor content most months and days of the year.

So… is the outdoor magazine dead? In many ways, yes- at least in the sense of a monthly edition delivered to your door or picked off the shelf. And if we’re being honest, the odds of returning to the “glory days” of outdoor print don’t look promising.

The world hasn’t been kind to the printing industry:

1. Print costs have skyrocketed: Ink, paper, and distribution have become the most expensive part of the product.
2. Advertisers moved online: Brands that once sustained these magazines now invest almost entirely in digital marketing.
3. Content consumption shifted: Younger generations look first to videos, podcasts, and social media.
4. Instant information culture: Reading an article takes time- searching a physical magazine takes even longer. Digital content gives answers instantly.
5. Subscriptions declined: Between 2000 and 2020, subscriptions to physical magazines dropped nearly 40%.

With all of this, it’s hard to argue that the traditional outdoor magazine will ever fully return. It’s a sad thought- but it also makes me cherish the few physical publications I still receive. I hold onto a small glimmer of hope that titles like Field & Stream will continue sending something tangible, even if just twice a year. I’m proud to include outdoor magazines- like this November 1945 edition of The American Rifleman- in the Outdoorsman’s Archive as a way to preserve a fading platform for photography, art, writing, and so much more.

This holiday season, consider gifting a physical subscription to a young outdoorsman. If nothing else, it helps keep the joy of these magazines alive for as long as we still can.