Craig Boddington

Craig Boddington is a multi-media outdoor journalist, TV show host,[1] author and retired Marine.

Craig Boddington
Born
Craig Boddington

1952
Kansas
Alma materUniversity of Kansas
Occupation(s)Hunter, writer, Marine, TV show host, firearms expert
Years active1979-present
Websitecraigboddington.com

Boddington has been described as "one of the country's foremost authorities on African safari hunting" by ESPN,[2] "one of the most prolific writers in the outdoor genre" by Petersen's Hunting,[3] and "one of the most experienced hunters of his generation" by Outdoor Channel.[4]

Boddington has written over 5,000 magazine articles and 30 books on hunting and firearms, and he has hosted six outdoor TV series.

Biography

Craig Boddington was born in Kansas in 1952. His early big-game experience included pronghorn and mule deer in Wyoming, whitetail and mule deer in Kansas, and mule deer in Colorado.[4] A notable portion of his early years was dedicated to Boy Scout activities. At the age of 14, he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, followed by earning a Silver Palm on his Eagle at 16. At the age of 17, he became the youngest person to serve as activities director at his regional Boy Scout camp. Boddington attended the University of Kansas on a NROTC scholarship and graduated with a degree in English and a regular commission in the United States Marine Corps.[5] He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.[6]

He retired from the USMC Reserves in 2005 with the rank of colonel after service in the Gulf War in 1991 and Kuwait in 2001.[7]

Career

Whilst at college, Boddington began writing and continued while on active duty. In 1978, he left active service and worked as a hunting consultant/booking agent for International Hunting Consultants based in Santa Monica. In 1979, he joined Petersen Publishing Company, where he served as associate editor for Guns & Ammo,[3] editor for Guns & Ammo Speciality Publications,[8] field editor for American Blade,[9] executive editor at Petersen's Hunting magazine and editor of Petersen's Hunting magazine from 1983 to 1994.[10] His current position with Intermedia Outdoors (formerly Petersen's) is Executive Field Editor, Intermedia Outdoor Group, including Guns & Ammo, Petersen's Hunting, and RifleShooter. He is a member of Gander Mountain's Elite Pro-Staff and also serves as a consultant to SureFire LLC.[11] In 2014, Craig Boddington Endorsed Outfitters was established, an online platform featuring ethical and big game international hunt providers.[12]

Craig Boddington and his daughter Brittany

Boddington has written over 4000 published magazine articles on hunting and firearms.[13] He is the author of 28 books and has been published in England, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Germany, Spain, and the United States.[14] He is a regular contributor to Sports Afield magazine and Fair Chase, the Boone & Crockett Club's magazine. He is an editor at Safari magazine.[8] His writing frequently includes technical firearms subjects and evaluation of firearms, optics, and ammunition.

Boddington has made appearances in more than 500 television episodes on Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel.[15] He served as host of Dallas Safari Club's Tracks Across Africa on Outdoor Channel[2] and co-hosted Hornady's The Boddington Experience alongside his daughter Brittany on the Sportsman Channel,[1] and is also co-host of Guns & Ammo TV and Petersen’s Hunting Adventures.[16] He has been a featured speaker for numerous shows and organizations, including for the NRA's Great American Hunters Tour,[17] International Sportsmen's Expositions, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, and Dallas Safari Club,[18] and in many hunting videotapes, such as Boddington on Buffalo and Boddington on Elephant.[19]

Boddington has hunted on all continents except Antarctica.[5] His first international hunt was in British Columbia in 1973 and his first safari to Africa occurred in 1977. He completed Africa's Big Five game of elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, and buffalo in 1986 and hunted all nine principal spiral-horned antelopes. Boddington is one of two hunters reported to have taken all of these species twice. He holds the Capra Super 30; Ovis Super 20, two North American grand slams, and the North American Super Slam from Grand Slam/Ovis.[20]

Published books
  • America—The Men And Their Guns That Made Her Great. Petersen Publishing Company. 1981. ISBN 978-0822730224.
  • Campfires And Game Trails. Winchester Press. 1985. ISBN 978-0832903878.
  • From Mt. Kenya To The Cape—Ten Years Of African Hunting. Safari Press. 1987. ISBN 978-1571573537.
  • Deer Hunting Coast To Coast. Safari Press. 1989. ISBN 978-0940143463.
  • Shots At Big Game. Stackpole Books. 1989. ISBN 978-0940143890.
  • Safari Rifles. Safari Press. 1991. ISBN 978-0940143487.
  • Hunter's Handbook. Mallard Press. 1992. ISBN 978-0792454618.
  • American Hunting Rifles. Safari Press. 1995. ISBN 978-1571572233.
  • Whitetail Medicine. The Derrydale Press. 1995. ISBN 978-1564161567.
  • Where Lions Roar: Ten More Years of African Hunting. Safari Press. 1997. ISBN 978-1571570697.
  • Make It Accurate. Safari Press. 1999. ISBN 978-1571571502.
  • The African Experience. Safari Press. 2001. ISBN 978-1571572523.
  • Search For The Spiral Horn. Safari Press. 2002. ISBN 978-1571571359.
  • African Hunter II. Safari Press. 2004. ISBN 978-1571573094.
  • Fair Chase In North America. Boone and Crockett Club. 2004. ISBN 978-0940864474.
  • The Perfect Shot. Safari Press. 2005. ISBN 978-1571572677.
  • Life On Safari. Mission Trails. 2005. ISBN 978-0976414209.
  • Buffalo!. Safari Press. 2005. ISBN 978-1571571977.
  • Leopard. Mission Trails. 2007. ISBN 978-0976414292.
  • Safari Rifles II. Safari Press. 2008. ISBN 978-1571573292.
  • Big Game Argentina. Patagonia Press. 2009. ISBN 978-9872151195.
  • Tracks Across Africa. Safari Press. 2010. ISBN 978-1571572875.
  • Elephant!: The Renaissance of Hunting the African Elephant. Safari Press. 2011. ISBN 978-1571573919.
  • American Hunting Rifles II. Safari Press. 2013. ISBN 978-1571574374.
  • Hunting: What Youth Need to Know. Conklin Foundation. 2014. ISBN 978-0986072406.
  • Deadly Encounters. Safari Press. 2015. ISBN 978-1571574459.
  • Accurate Rifle and Rifleman. Safari Press. 2016. ISBN 978-1571574695.
  • From Cape to Kasserine. Safari Press. 2017. ISBN 978-1571575265.
  • Buffalo II!: More Lessons Learned. Safari Press. 2019. ISBN 978-1571575319.
  • Favorite Rifles and Cartridges. Safari Press. 2021. ISBN 978-1571575098.

Awards
  • Inaugural Recipient of Peter Hathaway Capstick Literary Award from Safari Club International, 1997.
  • Shooting Sports Writer of the Year Award, Outdoor Writers Association of America, 1999.
  • Recipient of Leupold “Jack Slack Writer of the Year” Award, 2005.
  • Safari Club International's CJ McElroy Award, 2008.
  • Chancellor Foundation "Conservationist of the Year", 2008.
  • Conklin Award, 2009.
  • Zeiss Writer of the Year, 2010.
  • JJ Malek Golden Award, 2010.
  • Weatherby Award, 2017.

References
  1. "Hornady's The Boddington Experience". Sportsman Channel. 2014-12-17. Archived from the original on 2016-12-24. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
  2. "Q&A with Craig Boddington". ESPN.com. 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  3. Burkhead, Lynn (2019-02-12). "Shockey Follows Boddington in Claiming 2018 Weatherby Award - Petersen's Hunting". Petersen's Hunting. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  4. "Hunting Adventures TV". Outdoor Channel Plus. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  5. "Hunting Adventures TV - Craig Boddington". Outdoor Channel Plus. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  6. "Craig Boddington". The Sportsman Channel.
  7. Jacobson, Jake (1 July 2013). Alaska Hunting: Earthworms to Elephants. Publication Consultants. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-59433-405-4.
  8. "Boddington Wins 2017 Weatherby Award | Sports Afield". Sports Afield. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  9. Boddington, Craig (1979). "The key to his hammer-forged blade". American Blade. 6 (2): 20.
  10. "Craig Boddington". The Sportsman Channel.
  11. "About | Craig Boddington". craigboddington.com. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
  12. Kuglin, Tom (2015-11-08). "'Every hunter wants an adventure': Helena company taps hunting authority Craig Boddington for outfitter recommendations". The Independent Record. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  13. "Boddington Wins 2017 Weatherby Award | Sports Afield". Sports Afield. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  14. Robb, Bob; Bethge, Gerald (1 January 2001). Elk Hunting: Techniques and Strategies of the World's Greatest Hunters. Globe Pequot Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-58574-180-9.
  15. Burkhead, Lynn (2019-02-12). "Shockey Follows Boddington in Claiming 2018 Weatherby Award - Petersen's Hunting". Petersen's Hunting. Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  16. "KENNY BAYLISS: This big-time hunter is also proficient writer, TV host". Terre Haute Tribune-Star. 2016-04-16. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  17. "Anne Arundel resident gets Md.'s top deer". Baltimore Sun. 1993-12-19. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  18. Daily, Sporting Classics (2018-01-03). "Come See Sporting Classics at the 2018 Dallas Safari Club Convention". Sporting Classics Daily. Archived from the original on 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  19. Young, Gayne (2015-11-20). "Ivory Hunters". Sporting Classics Daily. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  20. Olmsted, J. Scott. "An Official Journal Of The NRA | American Hunter Contributor Craig Boddington Named as Weatherby Award Recipient". American Hunter. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
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