Wilderness Drum > Wilderness Magazines > Skills and Tools

Close proximity to a natural environment – being in Nature – alters all of us in ways which remain pretty much unexplored, even undescribed in our culture. I am suggesting that these ways in which such a closeness affects us, from dreams to more subtle and less describable phenomena, are real, and that we should stop thinking, with our inflated human egos, that all the influence is the other ways around. We might try to shift our thinking in this direction so that we stop blithely improving the natural world around us, and begin to learn, as Aboriginal people have, what Nature in her subtle but powerful manner has to teach us about how to live.

—Sharon Butala

There are a lot of magazines out there, and there is after all no substitute for the great pleasure of finding a well-stocked magazine store and just browsing. There seem to me to be four classes of magazine – those you don’t read at all; those you read standing up in a bookstore; those you buy at the bookstore to read at home; and those you subscribe to. The magazines on this page are, I think, at least worth reading standing up, and some are worth subscribing to. They are the ones I have found most useful for information, tips, tricks, ideas, and stories relating to wilderness survival, skills, tools, and independent living. If you disagree, or if you have any suggestions for additions to the list, please let me know. I have given, where available, a link to the home subscription page for each magazine; but note that all of them are available for subscription, sometimes at a deep discount, from a variety of magazine subscription services on the Web.

Backpacker Yes, I know. It’s a yuppie rag filled with ads for expensive gear. Still, the gear reviews are often helpful, at least because they let you know the criteria you can use in judging a class of products; and there are articles providing information for all kinds of hiking and camping trips, with foldout maps and really impressive color photography. The magazine also provides information on political developments of interest to hikers and campers. Click here to subscribe.

Backwoods Home Interspersed with strongly worded and firmly held political opinions are articles on all aspects of homesteading, self-sufficiency, and living off the grid. The articles are thorough, detailed, and invariably based on the author’s own experience. The politics are conservative, libertarian, antiauthoritarian, and in favor of gun rights and self-sufficiency; regardless of your politics, the articles are filled with useful and practical information. Click here to subscribe.

Backwoodsman This is a bimonthly publication dedicated to the preservation of Old Frontier living, primitive hunting and fishing, tool and weapons lore, and wilderness survival. Each issue is filled with information, projects, and adventure associated with this unique period of North American history. Issues contain information on such topics as how to build shelters, canoes, firearms, and bows and arrows; how to fabricate clothing, tools, and other gear necessary for life on the frontier; survival techniques, fire-building, and cooking; primitive hunting and fishing; and Native American lore. The articles are not by professional writers, but, by and large, by knowledgeable enthusiasts, and both the knowledge and enthusiasm overcome any lack of polish. Click here to subscribe.

Blacksmith’s Journal Subtitled A Monthly Journal of Illustrated Techniques, this magazine provides information about blacksmithing techniques, tools, and forged ironwork. It is edited, published, and illustrated by Jerry Hoffmann, a blacksmith specializing in designing, building, and installing architectural hardware – fireplace doors and screens, door and cabinet hardware, furniture, gates, railings, and patio furniture. Articles cover shop equipment, anvils, arc welding, and shop tips, and fully illustrated smithing projects range from fences to kitchen utensils, spiral stairs to towel racks, hinges to window grills. There is no other magazine like it. Click here to subscribe.

Blade This magazine is less focused on real working knives than is Tactical Knives, discussed below, and there is more coverage of collectible and art knives. Still, if you are yearning for a second magazine about knives, this is your best bet. Articles cover knife-making techniques, new product introductions, histories, field tests, and knife maker profiles. There are question-and-answer columns and a national event calendar. Click here to subscribe.

Bowhunter Each issue provides coverage of bowhunting locations across North America as well as expert advice from the great bowhunters. The magazine also features annual deer, elk, turkey, and bear forecasts, plus new annual gear guides covering equipment, new products, calls, lures, and tree stands. While the focus is not primarily on primitive or traditional archery, there are occasionally useful articles, and, of course, the general bowhunting information can be very helpful. Click here to subscribe.

Bulletin of Primitive Technology This periodical is produced by the Society of Primitive Technology, and it is the single best general source for information on primitive skills, experimental archeology, and stone-age living. From drums to moccasins, from atlatls to wild food foraging, from primitive shelters to clay pottery, the magazine provides descriptions, instructions, experiments, reconstructions, and personal experiences.  Click here to subscribe.

Field and Stream More than a hundred years old, Field and Stream is surely the grandaddy of all the outdoor sportsman’s magazines. Each issue contains articles on hunting, fishing, and conservation news, as well as sometimes first-rate fiction. There are magazines that are more focused, but if you are going to subscribe to just one hunting and fishing magazine, this is the one. Click here to subscribe.

Fur Fish Game Monthly While there are others, this is the best and most highly regarded all-around magazine on trapping, fishing, and hunting, directed at the professional who makes a living in the outdoors. Published monthly since 1925, each issue covers guns, fishing, trapping, conservation, dogs, and camping, and provides tips on equipment, skin and meat preparation, and marketing advice if you're a professional or are thinking about trapping or hunting for profit. This  comprehensive and authoritative magazine contains useful information on taking game, fish, and birds of every sort.

Gun World There are a lot of gun magazines out there, but I believe that this monthly journal provides the best general coverage of the field. Subtitled The Journal of Hunting and Firearms Performance, each issue covers gun ownership primarily from the perspective of hunters and target shooters, but includes features on gun use for self-defense and innovations in police and military armament, as well as news on current and proposed legislation affecting gun owners. If you are going to subscribe to just one general all-around gun magazine, this is probably your best bet. Click here to subscribe.

Mother Earth News This magazine is – you will forgive me – the mother of all the rural, self-sufficiency, off-the-grid magazines. It has a vaguely hippie, huggy, down-home feel to it, and the articles deal with every aspect of modern living on the land. Each issue contains practical information about home building, growing your own food, using sustainable energy, raising livestock, choosing green products, and generally doing more with less. If you want, say, to know how to build a wood-fired earth oven, sow oats or barley to protect your garden soil, keep your chainsaw sharp, or build a log-splitting table, this is the place to go. Click here to subscribe.

Muzzleloader This is probably the best traditional muzzleloading magazine available. It is primarily for historical reenactors and black powder enthusiasts, but there is much in each issue that is of value to those interested in wilderness and primitive skills. It features articles on hunting, shooting, gunsmithing, living history, Indian lore, the history of the colonial period of North American history, and daily life on the frontier, as well as book and product reviews. The covers are always examples from the best artists depicting colonial and frontier life. Click here to subscribe.

Outdoor Photographer If you like to take photographs in the wilderness, then much in this magazine, published ten times a year, will be of value – advice to improve your photography, evaluations of the latest equipment, portfolios of outstanding photography, and articles written by the world's leading landscape, wildlife, sports, and travel photographers. This is the only magazine I know specifically devoted to outdoor photography. Click here to subscribe.

Outside  There is no doubt that this is the magazine for articles about the outdoors, written by some of the best writers in the business. During more than twenty years of publication, it has featured such writers as Edward Abbey, Thomas McGuane, E. Annie Proulx, Jon Krakauer, and Jane Smiley, and has been the first to publish such significant stories as Jon Krakauer’s account of the May 1996 Mount Everest climbing expedition, in which twelve fellow climbers died during a snow storm. Skip over the annoying ads directed at wannabe yuppies and read the stories. Click here to subscribe.

Paddler There are more specialized magazines, but, for all-around canoeing, kayaking, and rafting coverage, this magazine, put out by the American Canoe Association, is probably the best. It comes out six times a year, with articles on places to paddle, tips for skill enhancement, gear reviews, coverage of environmental issues, industry updates, and profiles of leading paddlers. Coverage includes upcoming legislation that affects the interests of paddlers, debates between canoers and kayakers about whose sport is hairier, and reviews of boats and boat designs. Click here to subscribe.

Pottery Making Illustrated There is, as far as I know, no magazine devoted to primitive pottery. But this magazine is a comprehensive resource of materials and techniques for potters of all kinds – amateur or professional, student or teacher – and there is sure to be something of interest in each issue.The magazine provides well illustrated and easy-to-understand information on handbuilding, throwing, glazing, and firing techniques, as well as step-by-step projects and information on tools, equipment, and safety. Recent articles have covered ceramic mask making, inexpensive glaze bases, smoke firing, making tiles, and small-scale pit firing. Click here to subscribe.

Primitive Archer This is the only magazine devoted exclusively to the field of primitive archery. Each issue has practical how-to articles, hunting tips, and stories for both beginners and experienced bowyers. Past articles have dealt, for example, with all-bamboo laminated bows, the Mongolian iron arrowhead, bow design basics, how to prepare arrow feathers, the secret of great nocks, archery in Bhutan, and caribou hunting in Alaska. There is no place else you can get information like this. Click here to subscribe.

Tactical Knives Although the term tactical may imply combat use, here the term is much broader: a tactical knife is a hardworking, solidly constructed, dependable, useful knife – the sort of knife you would want to carry in the wilderness. Thus the magazine covers and reviews knives for hunting, hiking, canoeing, and wilderness survival, as well as for street defense, law enforcement, and military combat. The magazine reviews dozens of knives in each issue, both those by a particular maker and those for a particular use, along with stories and articles on various aspects of tactical knife use and experience. Click here to subscribe.

Trapper and Predator Caller This magazine contains news, in-depth features, and how-to tips on trapping, the art of predator calling, and animal damage control – all of which could turn out to be useful if you ever have to trap for food in a wilderness survival situation. Contributors include the top names in the fur and animal control business. The magazine features regular columns and departments on hide tanning, fur markets, trapping tricks, and answers to reader questions, as well as news from state trapping associations nationwide.

Whispering Wind This magazine is devoted primarily to Native North American crafts, particularly the regalia used at powwows, and to that end is deeply interested, among other things, in the reconstruction of historical costume from old photographs and museum pieces. For example, the magazine has frequent articles on the crafting of moccasins in different styles. For me, the most important function of the magazine, apart from patterns and ideas, is to remind me that so-called “primitive” crafts can still be made to be beautiful as well as functional. Click here to subscribe.

Wilderness Way Subtitled Primitive Skills and Earth Wisdom, this magazine has covered such skills as friction fires, primitive shelters, plant cordage, atlatls, birch canoes, tipis, medicinal plants, flint knapping, animal tracking, falconry, primitive weaponry, and wild edible foods. Less scholarly than The Bulletin of Primitive Technology and with more of a wilderness survival focus, it has frequent contributions from some of the best survival experts in the country, including Tom Elpel and Christopher Nyerges. Click here to subscribe.

Back to the top