J. Scott Rupp has announced his retirement from Outdoor Sportsman Group (OSG) after a 40-year career of editing outdoor and shooting magazines. At various times during his OSG tenure, Rupp served as editor in chief for RifleShooter and Handguns magazines, as well as for Petersen's Hunting and Guns & Ammo, and at one point he served as editorial director over Northwoods Group publications – Pennsylvania Sportsman, New York Sportsman and Michigan Hunting & Fishing.
A former member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, in 1986 Rupp earned a journalism degree from Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), where he was copy editor of the school's The Eastern Progress newspaper as well as an All-American shooter for the EKU rifle team.
Upon graduation he was hired by the National Rifle Association as assistant editor for American Marksman and American Rifleman magazines, rising to the position of American Rifleman associate editor in his five-year tenure and specializing in coverage of national and international shooting competitions.
In 1991, Rupp moved back to his home state of Pennsylvania to work for the state's storied Game Commission, serving as assistant editor for Pennsylvania Game News as well as editing and designing a book documenting the agency's 100-year history.
In 1995, Rupp was hired as editorial director of Northwoods Group, continuing that role when Northwoods was purchased by Petersen Publishing Company, and in 1999 he was named editor of Petersen's Hunting – a position he held for six-plus years. After a brief stint as editor in chief of Guns & Ammo, in 2007 he took over the same role for RifleShooter and Handguns magazines.
Rupp also worked in television for close to two decades, serving as executive producer and co-host for Handguns and Ruger Inside & Out, and he also produced Personal Defense.
In addition to his editing role, Rupp is an active writer and photographer, penning hundreds of hunting and shooting articles – something he plans to continue in retirement as a freelancer.
"Working with Scott all of these years has been a true pleasure," said VP Shooting Group Publisher Chris Agnes. "He's a consummate professional and we'll miss his sharp eye and steady editorial aim, but his handling of the brands leaves us in good stead."
"We know this isn't goodbye," said Outdoor Sportsman Group President and CEO Michael Carney, "because we fully expect to see Scott's byline in future print and digital content. However, we wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement and thank him for his outstanding, decades-long efforts on behalf of OSG's hunting and shooting brands."
About Outdoor Sportsman Group Publishing: As a premier destination for the most avid outdoors enthusiasts, Outdoor Sportsman Group's publishing division is widely recognized for its strong special-interest multichannel brands, including Guns & Ammo, Game & Fish, Petersen's HUNTING, In-Fisherman and 9 other leading magazines that reach more than 22 million readers. Outdoor Sportsman Group's network of websites, including BassFan.com, Rifleshooter.com, Outdoorchannel.com, Sportsmanchannel.com and MyOutdoorTV.com, attracts millions of annual unique visitors, and OSG produces hundreds of TV episodes of original branded hunting, sport shooting and fishing programming that airs on Outdoor Sportsman Group's broadcast entities. Visit http://outdoorsg.com for more information.