Clayton Stark, Stark Outdoors

09/26/2026

I don’t need to spend five grand to shoot an arrow any more than I need to buy a finished dog to have a good one. I’ve always preferred reliability and simplicity. Give me a longbow, a good arrow, a good hound and the time to learn how to get the most out of all of them. I’d rather do the work myself, learn from the mistakes along the way, and become better because of it. There’s a lot of satisfaction in knowing the end result wasn’t something you bought. It’s something you built.

09/25/2026

Someday, these will be the good old days. We spend a lot of time looking back at old photographs and wishing life could still be that simple. Old houses, kids running around outside, dogs in the yard, meals around the table and families spending their time together. But maybe the good old days aren’t something we lost. Maybe they’re something we’re responsible for creating right now. Take your kids hunting and fishing. Teach them where their food comes from. Eat supper together. Let them get dirty. Teach them to work with their hands, respect their neighbors and appreciate what they have. Make the memories now that they’ll spend the rest of their lives looking back on. The good old days are only gone if we stop making them.

09/24/2026

Today is my dad’s 80th birthday. He’s a Vietnam veteran, a father, a grandfather, and the man responsible for so much of who I am today. Long before Stark Outdoors, I was just a kid following my dad into the woods, learning lessons I didn’t even realize I was being taught. Today I get to watch my own children spend time beside him and learn some of those same things. That’s something I’ll never take for granted. This picture means more to me than the buck ever could. Three generations together, sharing a love for the outdoors that has been passed down through our family and hopefully will continue long after us. Happy 80th Birthday, Dad. I’m thankful for every hunt, every lesson, every story, and every day we still get together. I love you.

09/23/2026

We’ve all been there. The dogs get deep and there’s no cell phone service. When you need to get in contact with your truck man, or woman you need to have these radios. https://rockytalkie.pxf.io/9VdQrY

09/23/2026

For years he has watched me get ready for deer season. This year he’s coming with me. We’ve spent a lot of afternoons in the backyard shooting bows, working on form and talking about hunting, but Saturday morning will be different. Ohio’s archery season opens and for the first time my son will be sitting beside me. Whether we see a deer or never draw the bow doesn’t really matter to me. I want him to experience the quiet walk in before daylight, watching the woods wake up, learning when to move and when to sit still, and everything else that comes with spending a morning in the woods together. I’ve spent a lot of my life looking forward to opening morning. This one is special. He can’t wait to get his first deer.

09/22/2026

There is nothing quite like the first day of fall. Cool mornings with a little fog hanging over the fields. The smell of leaves beginning to change. Golden evening light stretching across the countryside. Windows open, flannels coming back out, and that first cool breeze that lets you know summer is finally behind us. Before long the woods will be covered in red, orange and yellow, crops will be coming off the fields, and every walk outside will have that unmistakable sound and smell that only comes this time of year. My favorite time of year is finally here. What is it about fall that you look forward to the most?

09/21/2026

It’s always good to have a good shooting partner. We’ve been spending plenty of evenings behind the bows lately, getting ready for my favorite time of year. It won’t be long before the whitetails are on the move, the leaves are changing, and the raccoons are scrambling when they hear ole Blue blow up the night. Fall is almost here, and we’re ready for it.

09/21/2026

You either understand this or you don’t. There is something about standing in the dark listening to a hound work that is hard to explain to someone who has never experienced it. After enough nights together you know his voice, you know when something changes, you know when he’s struggling and you know when he’s figured it out, all without ever seeing him. That relationship isn’t built in one hunt or one season. It’s built one night at a time, following the same dog through good nights, bad nights and everything in between. Some of my favorite memories in the woods have been made standing somewhere just like this, listening to a good hound do what he was born to do.

09/18/2026

The Stark Outdoors Podcast is officially back. After a lot of work building the all new Stark Outdoors Studio, I’m excited to finally relaunch the podcast with both video and audio episodes. Moving forward I’ll be sitting down with guests right here in the studio, along with remote conversations with well known hunters and people from across the outdoor industry all over the country. The goal is simple, to have good conversations with interesting people from every corner of the outdoor world and share the stories and experiences that make this community what it is. Episode 1 with Sam Holcomb of Field & Stream Pack Provisions just went live on Patreon. Members can watch or listen to the full episode early and completely commercial free right now. This is just the beginning, and I’m excited to see where we take The Stark Outdoors Podcast from here.

The Stark Outdoors Podcast Episode 1 | Sam Holcomb, Field & Stream Pack Provisions (Commercial Free Version) by Clayton Stark, Stark Outdoors on Patreon. Join Clayton Stark, Stark Outdoors's community for exclusive content and updates.

09/18/2026

Teaching my kids to hunt has never just been about the hunt itself. I want them to understand where their food comes from and what it means to take responsibility for putting food on the table. I want them to grow up eating wild game, helping prepare it, understanding that nothing should be wasted, and appreciating the work that happens long before a meal ever reaches their plate. Hunting gives us time together, teaches patience and responsibility, connects them to the land, and provides our family with some of the best food we could ask for. Those are lessons I want them to carry into their own families someday.