Author Biography
Aram von Benedikt grew up in southern Utah, running wild through the desert canyons and high mountains that form the region. Horses, cattle, guns, bows, and ropes were his early teachers, in conjunction with several thousand books that replaced a TV in his home. He studied one winter at Brigham Young University, then chose to return to the School of the Wilderness to further his education. He owned and operated his own small outfitting business in Utah for ten years, before working as wildlife manager for a 386,000-acre low-fence ranch in West Texas for two years. After experiencing an epiphany that raising his kids and being self-sufficient was more important than money, he moved home to Utah to do just that. He now resides in his hometown with his wife, Trina, and five young children, in a log house that he built with his own hands. Aram has hunted and guided from Arizona to Montana, and for everything from javelina to moose. He's hunted extensively with rifle, traditional muzzleloader, and bow, among other things harvesting a Henry Mountains Bison with a longbow, and the largest bull elk ever killed (402 gross) with a Flintlock rifle. He builds his own saddles, bows, arrows, longrifles, and buckskins, and trains his own horses. He fell into the outdoor writing profession accidentally, when an editor got the impression that he had authentic experience and ability, and enough skill with the English language to make himself understood--sort of. It's now competing with his kids and beef cows for attention. Since it was founded in 1898, Outdoor Life magazine has provided backcountry hunting and fishing hints, survival tips, wilderness skills, gear reports, and other essential information for hands-on outdoor enthusiasts. Each issue delivers the best advice in sportsmanship as well as thrilling truelife tales, detailed gear reviews, insider hunting, shooting, and fishing hints, and much more to nearly 1 million readers. Its survival-themed Website also covers disaster preparedness and the skills you need to thrive anywhere from the backcountry to the urban jungles
