Ryan Whitaker

I learned this the hard way halfway through a king-size wedding quilt when my 18×24 mat forced me to fold the backing fabric in thirds. Every fold meant a shifted layer, a wobbled ruler, and a strip that was off by a quarter inch. That is the day I started hunting for a real large … Read more

I pulled my first lobster trap off a Cape Cod jetty in 2018 and watched three legal bugs scramble out of a trap that weighed twice what I expected. That was the day I learned why the right lobster traps recreational anglers choose actually matter more than the bait inside them. Over the past three … Read more

I’ve spent the last decade pulling crab pots out of Puget Sound, the Oregon coast, and Northern California waters, and I’ve learned one truth: the right pot makes the difference between a cooler full of legal Dungeness and a long ride home empty-handed. Our team tested 8 commercial crab pots for Dungeness crab over 90 … Read more

I lost count of how many pier trips I went on before I owned a proper castable crab trap. I used to throw chicken necks on string and wonder why I kept coming home empty-handed. Once I switched to a folding trap designed for pier casting, my catch rate tripled in a single weekend. This … Read more

Finding the best collapsible crab pots for blue crabs used to mean sorting through dozens of flimsy knock-offs on Amazon. After our team spent 60 days testing 8 foldable traps across piers, docks, and a kayak in the Chesapeake Bay, we can tell you which ones actually hold up. We measured fold-flat sizes, weighed every … Read more

When I started bowhunting fifteen years ago, my best crossbow barely pushed 300 FPS. Today, the fastest crossbows clock 460 FPS, and that speed changes everything for long-range hunting. Flat trajectories, deeper penetration, and tighter groups past 70 yards are now within reach of serious hunters. This guide covers high-speed crossbows for long-range hunting in … Read more

Shooting a crossbow that pushes bolts past 400 fps changes everything about broadhead selection. I learned that the hard way three seasons ago when my trusty fixed blades started fishtailing at 80 yards from my Ravin R10, costing me a mature 10-point. After that miss, our team spent 90 days testing 23 different broadhead models … Read more

I lost my first buck to a poor broadhead choice. The bolt hit perfectly, but the wound channel was so narrow the deer ran 200 yards before I found it. That season changed how I shop. I tested 22 different mechanical broadheads across two fall seasons, shooting through target foam, ballistic gel, and actual game. … Read more

I’ve spent the last three autumns testing broadheads from my tree stand in central Pennsylvania, and I can tell you the difference between a clean harvest and a long tracking job almost always comes down to the tip of your bolt. After running eight different fixed-blade broadheads through foam targets, shooting 60+ practice bolts, and … Read more

I have spent the last three autumn seasons shooting every hybrid broadhead I could get my hands on through a TenPoint Nitro 505 firing 505 fps and a Ravin R500 pushing close to 500 fps. After dozens of broadhead-tipped bolts into gel, foam, and a respectable number of whitetail and mule deer, I can tell … Read more