Steven Rinella

“I got interested in writing at a early age, and wanted to be an outdoor writer. And was trained to, encouraged to write what I knew about, and so I naturally began writing about what I knew most about, which was the outdoors.”

“It's not a big leap mentally to see the extension from gardening and farmer's markets to hunting local foods. I think that's going to be a big part of hunting in the future is going to be that mentality.”

“Conversations around fishing tend to be easier than around hunting, they don't have eyelashes.”

“I take pride in owning gadgets that other people don't even know exist until I whip them out.”

“Today, you want to be as fair to the animal as possible by diminished suffering and waste. If you have to shoot an animal more than once, you're losing that much more meat.”

“I welcome any opportunity to cook game for the uninitiated. They always, and I mean always, come away from the meal with a positive impression of hunting. I can't say that the skulls and antlers hanging in my living room have the same impact on people.”

“If I could be attacked by a grizzly and not be killed, or maimed in a way that made women afraid of me, I'd like that.”

“I derive more satisfaction from my dinner table than I do from my professional life - and I have a great job.”

“Squirrel was a thing people ate where I lived. It was part of the culinary lexicon.”

“When I was growing up, we always ate the heart of a deer soon after killing it. My mom cooked it very simply: sliced thin, dredged in seasoned flour, and then fried in a skillet. My dad always complained if we put ketchup on venison loin, but he didn't mind if we dipped our slices of heart in it.”

“Like many hunters, I dream of one day getting a grizzly bear. Yet I've passed up numerous opportunities to legally kill grizzlies, both in Alaska and Canada, where their numbers are plentiful. Even though I hunt for all of my meat, I have opted instead to relish being close to these remarkable animals.”

“I prefer to hunt where I understand the conservation history and the complexities of what's happening on the ground.”

“New Yorkers are extremely varied, of course, but we are generally sharing an urban and civilized experience.”

“I have done some overseas hunting, including in New Zealand and with Amerindians in the jungles of South America. In those cases, I was able to personally enjoy as well as share the meat from my kills.”

“Getting published was like God stamping you 'acceptable,' and all of a sudden you can start writing for other places.”

“Faced with economic and climatic uncertainties, more and more people are discovering something that outdoor adventurers have known for a long time: when times get tough, it's nice to know you've got a stash of indestructible food within easy reach.”

“I want my kids to know that they're at an eye-to-eye level with nature. They are not terribly removed from it. They're a component of it. Their actions have impact on it. And they have to have a relationship where it's an interactive, hands-on, very responsible relationship.”

“I became a father in May 2010 with the birth of my son, Jim. Like many fathers before me, holding my boy in my arms brought back memories of my own dad.”

“Part of being comfortable outside is doing a better job of risk assessment and being prepared.”

“Sometimes, sitting around, I'll realize that I've been silently mouthing the words 'nomadic hunter' over and over again to myself.”