
Hal Blood is a Maine Master Guide based out of Jackman, Maine. After serving in the Marine Corps, Hal went into the lobstering business, before finally achieving his dream of opening a guide business in northern Maine in 1989. Hal ran Cedar Ridge Outfitters from 1989 to 2013. He founded Big Woods Bucks in 2007 with his business partner and first client Chris Dalti, with a mission of educating about big woods hunting through entertainment. In 2013, Hal sold Cedar Ridge Outfitters, and in 2014 he took a position as Head of Continuous Improvement of Firearms with Remington Arms. In 2019, Hal reopened his guiding business as Big Woods Outfitters.
Hal is considered one of the pre-eminent experts on tracking deer in the snow and still-hunting in the Big Woods. In 2024, he was named by Field and Stream as one of the "25 Greatest Whitetail Hunters of All Time". Hal has been featured on MeatEater and Outdoor Life. Hal has written three books on hunting in the Big Woods - "Hunting Big Woods Bucks" Volumes 1 & 2 (2004), and "Tracking Big Woods Bucks" (2017). He has given hundreds of seminars on Big Woods hunting at shows across the northeast, published dozens of articles on hunting, and produced numerous hunting films and educational videos on the Big Woods Bucks YouTube channel, as well as co-hosting the television show "Big Woods Adventures" which aired regionally in the northeast from 2010 to 2011. Hal has hunted whitetail deer in Montana, Ontario, the Upper Midwest, and the Adirondack Mountains of New York, as well as elk in Colorado. He lives in Jackman, Maine, with his wife Debbie and his two dogs, Maggie and Sophie.