HUNTING

SWAT Leather You Varmint!

In the Garden of Eden, it is written, Adam and Eve wore “garments of skin.” Hide-scraping tools confirm leather dates to early hominids, who learned how to flesh and preserve it, transforming...

Kalahari Safari

Just hearing the word Safari conjures visions of deepest, darkest Africa in all her splendor.

Browning Automatic 5

In my last two shotgun columns I wrote about John Browning’s first two shotgun designs: the lever-action Winchester 1887 and the Winchester pump-action 1897.

Cast Bullets in .44 Magnum...

There are several factors involved when choosing a cast bullet for use in the .44 Magnum levergun. First is Overall Length (OAL). If the bullet makes the loaded round too long, it will not feed...

Norma Now Offers Ammunition For Pistols And Revolvers

Veteran owned Riton Optics expands their elite MOD 7 series of riflescopes with two new models.

New Ammo Offerings from Sierra

It is widely known Sierra makes some of the best bullets for handloaders anywhere on the landscape. After all, they’ve been doing it for over 70 years.

Weatherby Mark V...

No. You don’t need .264 bullets to hit steel plates three sheep pastures yonder, or to topple a deer. It just seems this way.

Round-Nosed Reverence

Today’s advancements in bullet technology provide sleek, sexy, needle-nosed projectiles with ballistic coefficients north of .500, intended for ranges...

Kronos Semi-Automatic Rifle

Before the emergence of numerous AR-platform hunting rifles in serious large-game calibers, the universe for semi-auto hunters was pretty small.

Federal Custom Shop

Have you thought about taking your shooting to new heights by handloading your own ammunition — but didn’t? Me too. Handloading is a highly rewarding...

SHOT Show Sights: Show Day 2

A daily photo dump of the best sights from the range and show floor of the 2020 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

SHOT Show Sights: Range Day

A daily photo dump of the best sights from the range and show floor of the 2020 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

Ruger 'Go Wild' Camo...

Yeah, I said it. Even “girls” can use a .300 WM — and so can senior “boys,” other shooters in general, youngsters and anyone else who hates to be...

Viridian Delivers Quality...

Arriving on the scene with cutting edge technology back in 2006, Viridian Weapon Technologies has since become a top name in laser sights and lights.

The .270 Winchester

The .270 Winchester cartridge was introduced in 1925. A case could be made for it as the most successful American hunting cartridge of the 20th century.

Pump-Action Rifles

Pump shotguns continue their popularity but I wonder what happened to the pump rifle?

Marlin Model 94 CSBL

I’ve been using rifle-caliber Marlin lever guns — .30-30, .35 Remington, .45-70 — most of my life and I confess to being a little late to the...

Federal Launches New...

The Federal Custom Shop is an all-new way to deliver your preference of the perfect centerfire rifle or shotgun load built by ammunition experts.

GUNS 2019 Gift Guide

Yep, it’s time to start thinking about all the good little boys and girls in your life and what they’d like to see on Christmas morning so here are 10...

Mossberg Patriot Synthetic...

The Mossberg Patriot Synthetic could be called the 21st Century Semi-Classic Affordable because it combines classic features with some modern touches, both...

Ravin R26 Crossbow

It would be difficult not to see the rise in popularity of crossbows today. From television advertisements on outdoor channels to magazine ads, crossbows...

WMR or HMR?

The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire was introduced 60 years ago as I write this. Currently it’s offered in more different bullet weights and designs, and in...

Spyderco Bow River

Spyderco is best known for their dazzling array of folders, but they put out some stellar fixed-blades as well — from slick outdoor field knives to wicked...

Savage Arms Model 110 High...

If you haven’t noticed, Savage Arms continues to offer new and improved variations of existing models. The company is never satisfied with the status quo

Meopta Optika6 Scope...

Fall hunting seasons are just over the horizon and the weeks remaining allow time for serious hunters to put new glass on their rifles, get zeroed and start...

The Essential Optic

Our eyes need light to see. Light has properties of particles and rays. As early as A.D. 1100 Arab scientist Alhazen described the behavior of reflected...

What Every Precision...

Some years ago in a nowhere corner of South Dakota, I was on a prairie dog shoot and the notion of going prone on unfamiliar grass was no small...

The .45 Auto Rim

What do you do when you find yourself at war without either the needed weapons nor the ability to produce them as fast as you need them? The answer? Improvise.

Turkey Takedown Technology

There’s no field sport better than turkey hunting to introduce new hunters to the skills needed to pursue big game. Keen of sight and omnivorous in his food

Ruger African 9.3x62

As time ticks by, common guns lose their shine and we want something different. Something to put the green-eyed monster in friends’ eyes, making them wish...

Remington Model 31

It’s steep and rocky in southern Idaho — and today it was cold. I hadn’t gotten 100 yards from the truck when I was already out of breath. “Why do I...

Brownells BRN-10

Eugene Stoner’s AR-10 was the culmination of an idea so radical it wasn’t accepted — at first. Too many cooks spoiled the broth along the way, yet...

Advanced Tactical Ordnance...

Between 2006 and 2011 the feral hog population in America grew by 20 percent per year. Conservatively, they cause about 1.5 billion dollars’ worth of...

Eight Great Straights

The cutlery industry has been shifting toward an increase in hunting and sporting knives the past two years due in large part to the more firearms-friendly...

Best Elk Cartridge?

Until you’re fortunate enough to shoot at an elk, the cartridge in your rifle matters no more than the size of your boots. As elk can be devilishly hard...

Guns Of The Guides

Curled up in our favorite easy chair, perhaps sipping a distilled beverage, an outdoor show flickers on the flat screen featuring Alaska’s coastal brown...

Rifle Gear 101

After weeks of research, you bought your first rifle. Along with scope, bases and rings and ammunition, it took a fairly serious financial outlay but...

Mossberg Pumpgun Packages

The shotgun is the most versatile firearm system ever developed. It can serve as a shotgun, an accurate big-bore rifle, a handgun and even as a flare gun.

Spot X Satellite Messenger

If you’ve spent any time in wild places, away from the ever-present cellular phone networks, you’ve had moments when you sorely wanted to communicate...

Leupold LTO-Tracker 2 HD

You might say I’ve got a pretty strong background in thermal imaging. Before ascending the GUNS throne (a tasteful beige leather recliner) to become the...

.22 Rimfires? No Thanks!

It was many years ago, but I can still remember the immortal line from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges! We...

Open Country

A few years ago my wife and I enjoyed a Dall sheep hunt in the Northwest Territories so much we hated to leave. The only drawback for this dyed-in-the-wool...

Holster History

Imagine, if you will, this discussion between some opinionated old shootists sitting around the celestial campfire:

Mistakes Hunters Make

Guides and professional hunters see a lot of hunters. One question I like to ask them is, “What are the most common shooting mistakes you see clients...

6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum

When Weatherby announced the 6.5-.300 cartridge in 2016 you just knew it was going to be the biggest, fastest, flattest-shooting 6.5 on the planet.

T/C’s 6.5 Creedmoor Compass

With their acquisition of Thompson/Center Arms, Smith & Wesson is back in the bolt-action sporting rifle business following their brief flirtations with HVA...

A Tale of Two Turkeys

It was springtime in the Mississippi Delta, and the obligatory floodwaters had swollen the mighty Mississippi River well beyond its banks. The farmland on...

A Minimalist Varmint Rifle

The perfect minimalist varminting combination might not actually exist as a factory option but the CZ 527 Varmint Model in .17 Hornet comes very close....

The Perfect Deer Rifle

Like John Taffin’s quest for the “Perfect Packin’ Pistol,” my own quest has been for a “Perfect Deer Rifle.” Except my term is so lame, lacking...

Nuthin’ But Blue Sky

For lots of folks, Labor Day is hunting season. It’s not hard to figure out why. In terms of logistics, dove areas are relatively accessible, and the hit...

Long Range Hunter

It seems Savage is always building a better mousetrap. Over the years their Model 110 series has undergone steady enhancements such as the addition of the...

Sticker Shock!

Here’s a non-gun case in point: I wanted a reliable, durable chainsaw to clean up trees downed by the wind and turn them into firewood. Most of the trees...

Vortek StrikerFire LDR

Coupled with the TAC2 trigger system, Traditions’s Vortek StrikerFire LDR will make you wonder if you’re shooting a centerfire rifle. Ignition is that...

6.5 Creedmoor Beware!

A red sun was kissing Namibia’s dunes when the wildebeest ghosted past one-quarter mile away. Last chance. Bush to bush, I reeled them in to iron sight...

Winchester's Model 94 Sporter

The Winchester Model 94 and .30-30 cartridge are so tightly linked in shooters’ minds, some think .30-30 means Winchester 94. But both were born under...

Handguns In Africa

The early morning mist evaporated quickly as the sun beat down on the Zambezi River. As we launched the boat, two women were washing their clothes in the...

The Magnification

The hole looked the same after the second shot as after the first. Identical after a third. How could this be? At 24X, the crosswire had gyrated like a fly...

Triggering A TurnAround

In the 60+ years I’ve been shooting (hey, I started at a single-digit age) triggers on sporting rifles have gone from pretty good, to adequate, to abysmal.

Mossberg 930 Snow Goose

“My heart knows what the wild goose knows, I must go where the wild goose goes. Wild goose, brother goose, which is best? A wanderin’ foot or a heart at...

Browning Eclipse Varmint ...

Many varmints I’ve taken have been “pop-up” targets of opportunity. The gun I used just happened to be the one closest to hand — not necessarily a...

Kephart Revival!

One of the early pioneers of modern day Bushcrafting was Horace Kephart, an American outdoorsman who wrote extensively about camping in the wild in the late...

Big Gun, Little Gun

In 1955, Smith & Wesson introduced the .357 Combat Magnum which would become the Model 19 two years later when the company went to a model-numbering system....

Hunting 101

An even dozen is what we have here. Twelve sure-fire tips to help ensure your adventure in the hunting field ends up happy, instead of … well …...

Winchester’s SX4

Now in its 4th generation, Winchester’s new SX4 autoloader is the culmination of design efforts dating back to 1974’s SX1.

An Engineering Marvel

Introduced in 1936 and reigning as America’s premier centerfire rifle until discontinued, the pre-’64 Winchester Model 70 was advertised as the...

The Mighty Model 71

Introduced in 1936 along with the Model 70, the M71, an improved version of the Model 1886, was in production from 1936 to 1958 with 47,254 made over a span...

.22 Centerfire Vs. Big Game

At the 2015 Safari Club International convention, my friend Phil Shoemaker — an Alaskan Master Guide known for finding big brown bears — introduced me...

Big Bore For Big Boars

At the risk of enraging millions of American deer hunters, I will boldly state my favorite big-game quarry is wild boar.

I Like Big Bores

What sucks wind faster than a corrupt mayor answering the door to a 60 Minutes camera crew? A big-bore airgun, that’s what.

“Triple Deuce”

It was a head turner as well as the first new, commercial cartridge introduced after World War II, and interestingly enough it was purely a varmint...

Pushing The Precision Envelope

It was a freezing cold December morning as I sat in a deer blind wondering if I’d lost my mind. With temperatures below zero, I wasn’t having much fun....

Airguns for Hunting?

Modern airguns aren’t much like your childhood Daisy Red Ryder. Whether break-action, pump, or pre-charged pneumatic, today’s airguns are marvels of...

Packrat Confessions

The technical appellation is Neotoma lepida. The debris piles they construct are called middens. Some can be the size of an institutional refrigerator and...

Ruger’s M77 Hawkeye...

Although I’m long past the age of finding pleasure in having a heavy recoiling rifle bounce off my shoulder, I still want something capable of taking...

Ruger’s M77 Hawkeye...

Although I’m long past the age of finding pleasure in having a heavy recoiling rifle bounce off my shoulder, I still want something capable of taking...

Duck Shot: Being Lead-Free...

When the US banned lead shot for all waterfowl hunting in 1991, many duck hunters quit, some because they worried about “steel” shot ruining older...

A Briny Blast

If sea duck hunting isn’t on your lifetime bucket list, add it this year. Hunting the common eider while clinging to seaweed-and-barnacle covered granite...

The Golden Era Of...

Evolution of the shooting sports has been progressing for hundreds of years, but the most recent innovations have taken ballistic performance far above what...

A Shotgun In Your Holster

Well, not quite, but handgun shotshells have come a long way and have greatly expanded the utility of that handgun on your hip. I’m sure creative...

Caribou Encore

With an upcoming caribou hunt in Canada, I had to decide on a rifle to make the trip. Since Canada doesn’t allow handgun hunting, a long gun would have to...