Field & Stream Features Woman on Cover for the First Time in 30 Years
OutdoorHub 04.14.14
Field & Stream debuted its May “What’s Next” issue today, featuring hunting celebrity and TV host Eva Shockey on the cover. Shockey, who stands with her trademark bow, is only the second woman ever to appear solo in a photograph on the cover of the 119-year-old magazine. The “What’s Next” issue offers expert opinions on what the future holds for hunting and fishing. Field & Stream’s May issue is available on newsstands and on the iPad this week.
Shockey, the costar of Jim Shockey’s Hunting Adventures on Outdoor Channel, offers her predictions on what the future holds for hunting and the 3.35 million women currently participating in the sport for an interview featured in the issue. Female hunters’ ranks grew by 10 percent from 2008 to 2012, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and Shockey predicts the numbers will continue to rise. She cites growth in sales to women at major retailers like Bass Pro Shops and the number of media outlets highlighting hunting and women in the outdoors as positive indicators. Shockey thinks the increase will lead to another first in the near future: the first-ever hunting show hosted exclusively by a woman.
“The steady and growing number of women who are becoming hunters is really transformative for the outdoor sports,” said Anthony Licata, editorial director of Field & Stream. “As a spokeswoman for that change, Eva was a clear choice for the cover of our ‘What’s Next’ issue.”
Shockey is only the second woman whose photograph has appeared solo on the magazine’s cover. The first was Queen Elizabeth, who was featured with her hunting dogs in a January 1976 image, and there have been a handful of women who appeared in groups with men on the cover. From the magazine’s launch in 1895 until 1972, the publication featured illustrated covers, which frequently portrayed women, especially prior to the World Wars. Once the magazine made the shift to photography, its cover focused primarily on outdoor settings, wildlife, and hunting and fishing gear as opposed to people, which is a theme that largely continues today. Editorially the magazine has supported outdoorswomen with a series of regular columns and blogs, starting in the 1890s and continuing today.
The May issue of Field & Stream also features a number of other forward-looking predictions for the world of hunting and fishing, including expected growth in another segment: urban hipsters, suburban locavores, homesteaders, and others who have come to care where their food comes from—as outdoorsmen always have. These groups are flocking to hunting, and the magazine predicts this trend will continue. On the conservation front, Field & Stream editor-at-large Kirk Deeter predicts that the potentially catastrophic Pebble Mine, proposed for Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, will die under pressure from citizens and the government, marking a major win for outdoorsmen looking to protect the world’s most prolific wild salmon and trout fishery. An increase in the use of drones, crossbows, and modern sporting rifles is also expected. The issue also details 100 new and most-improved hotspots for hunting and fishing in every state.
