Thanks for visiting my hunting, fishing and shooting site. You might be wondering why I decided to work the term Lo-fi into the title of a blog that’s mostly about things that go bang and my usually futile attempts to turn wild fish and forest critters into delicious meals. After all, Lo-fi is a term to describe music, often of the loud, ragged, garage-rock variety. This is true, but Lo-fi is also a style, attitude, and philosophy that can be applied to more than just music.

A Lo-fi band will often make loud, unrefined, music, play inexpensive instruments, record their own work on the cheap by using stuff bought at a yard sale, and have a grand old time doing it. Similarly, the Lo-fi outdoorsman will often have to set afield with inexpensive and secondhand guns and gear, find free places nearby to hunt and fish (as opposed to paying for guided hunts in exotic locations), will likely have an odd or unique approach to his or her pursuits, and will have to make-do and improvise constantly. Just like a Lo-fi band has to figure out how to crank out rock ‘n’ roll on $100 guitars and a four-track recorder from 1973, the Lo-fi outdoorsman often has to make a good day afield with a beat up old shotgun or fishing rod and $20 for gas.

That’s not to say I’ll never write about higher end guns and outdoor gear – after all I’m not going to pass up a chance to own a fine firearm or fishing reel if such an opportunity presents itself. That being said, a majority of the tests and reviews mentioned on this site will focus on products that can be had by the average working stiff.

My hope is that this blog will appeal to those of you who, like me, love the whole hunting, fishing, and shooting thing, have almost no budget for it all, and prefer a DIY approach to their pursuits.

Now that my preachy and perhaps overly verbose introduction is out of the way, here’s some of what you’ll find in the bi-weekly editions of this publication.

• Non-scientific ballistics tests: An odd hobby of mine is firing bullets and shot into soft test media (gel, wax, clay, etc.) and seeing what happens. My tests aren’t on par with what a research lab can do, but the resulting write-ups and photos are usually fairly interesting.
• Product reviews: When I can afford a new toy (say a new shotgun or ice auger) I’ll try it out and give an unbiased review. The focus will be on the kind of stuff us broke folk can afford.
• How-to articles: At least on the rare occasions I figure out how to complete a task without it all going tragically and expensively awry.
• Chronicles of my outdoor (mis) adventures: True, most of them end in failure, but failure is usually a far more interesting read than success.
• Anything else I think is cool: It could be an article on self-sufficiency, ways to boost home energy efficiency, boat building, or wild game recipes. Variety is always good.
• Monthly prize giveaways: In a shameless attempt to boost traffic to my site I’ll be holding one drawing per month for some kind of prize (probably just gift cards because they mail easily).

Here’s what you won’t find on this site.

• Politics: One of the best ways to make good people start hating each other is to start a political discussion.
• Doomsday prepper negativity: If you want gloom, doom, and constant discussion of the end times, watch the History Channel on a Sunday.
• Zombies: Don’t get me wrong, I love a good zombie apocalypse story, but the whole thing is a little overdone at this point.

Without any further ado, please enjoy the site. (18)