People
Ben Long
Ben Long is a father, conservationist and outdoorsman in Kalispell, Montana. His writing appears in Outdoor Life, Bugle and he is the founding editor of Backcountry Journal.
Recent Posts
Hunting
How Not to Die While Solo Hunting
My friend Jack is a tough retired Montana logger who hunts like a cougar. Sure, he enjoys his hunting buddies. But for decades now, each hunting season, he disappears alone into the high country with a simple kit of dried food and a rifle after bighorn and elk. Often, he returns with game. Always...
Ben LongJan 22, 2025
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Hunting
Why Do We Hunt?
Dawn in November: cold, dark, and wet. I know I’m going to get soaked, but I’m chomping at the bit to do what I love best—track whitetail bucks through an inch of fresh snow through the big woods of northwestern Montana. But let’s face it. Most normal people are still in bed, about to eat a...
Ben LongDec 20, 2024
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Hunting
Giving Thanks for the Sacred Stories of the Hunt
The signature Thanksgiving tradition dish is elk slow-roasted in coffee and whiskey. It will be served with a side dish of hunting stories. Some of the stories will be old and polished like a riverstone. Others are like new flakes off a block of obsidian. Either way, the tales are as nourishing as...
Ben LongNov 28, 2024
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Wildlife Management
Enjoy Tequila? Thank a Bat
Halloween is bat season. And tequila season. And the two are connected. Whether you take it straight up, in a margarita, or, like Danielle Prewett, use it to flavor your turkey tacos, if you enjoy tequila, you are in debt to a bat. Hunters and anglers understand that the earth is the source of all...
Ben LongOct 31, 2024
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