I admit I got annoyed with the 6mm Creedmoor. Why? The same reason I got annoyed with the 6.5 Creedmoor when it came out. For a while, the relatively new caliber was everywhere. If I read an article in a magazine, it was about how the 6.5 ...
Why the Pump Action Shotgun Still Reigns Supreme
My first shotgun was a Remington Model 870 pump-action with a black synthetic stock and forearm. I used and abused that pump action shotgun for 15 years. It was dropped in lakes, tossed (unloaded) in the back of trucks, dropped, and rarely cleaned. ...
Saddle Hunting and Hunting Saddles: A No BS Beginner’s Guide
Public land whitetail hunting is nothing new. However, in recent years, it has exploded in popularity. But why? There are a few major reasons, but there's one big solution that is allowing hunters to be more nimble and get to where they need to be to ...
The 350 Legend: The Best Straight-Wall Hunter Ever?
I'm the kind of hunter who gets jacked when a new Wildcat cartridge is released, and with the 350 Legend, it was the name that got me. I hear "legend" and think of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson, and so on, and I was in from the ...
17 HMR: The Ultimate Rimfire Cartridge?
Prepare yourself — I'm about to make a case for the 17 HMR, and .22 loyalists may not like it. Like many reading this, the first rifle round I ever sent downrange came out of the barrel of a .22 lever action. That Winchester rifle was a single-shot, ...
450 Bushmaster: A Semi-Auto Hunting Powerhouse
I've always been a bolt-action rifle guy and, admittingly was a semi-auto curmudgeon regarding big-game hunting rifles. Then, during the late winter of 2020, a trip to the Lone Star State with some of my best hunting amigos altered my mindset. That’s ...
Whitetail Institute: The Staying Power of the Food Plot King
Think back to when you were a young, full-of-piss-and-vinegar whitetail hunter. Now, think of all you've learned about this fascinating game animal over the years and how you've adapted your hunting techniques to help you be more ...
Mule Deer vs Whitetail Deer: Learn the Differences, Slay Bucks
Hunters often say they prefer one species of deer over another, but for most, the reason for their preference is simply based on where they live. It’s not so much a mule deer vs whitetail deer debate or choice. It’s about what species to which ...
Be Ready to Strike During the Whitetail Deer Rut
I love the rut. If you're a whitetail fanatic, how can you not? North winds blow, and heavy antlers abuse trees. Pawed earth can be found under licking branches, and leaves stained yellow, red, orange, and purple cling desperately to every ...
Swamp Bucks: Plan to Bowhunt Deer in Florida This Summer
When the sun started to peek over the horizon and rays of light teased the land to life, I found myself sitting in a treestand anchored to a palm tree. The heat mixed with over 90% humidity was already too much, and as I wiped the sweat away from my ...
Whitetail Property Tweaks: Low-Effort Improvements That Yield Big Results
I cut my bowhunting teeth chasing plains muleys. In my tiny slice of southeastern Colorado heaven, you'd be a fool not to. Then, in 2012, I went to Illinois on a whitetail hunt. I was blessed to bowhunt a fantastic piece of dirt and the whitetail rut ...
Hunting the Mountain-Dwelling Merriam Turkey
A nomadic wanderer with a beefy body and tail feathers with tips painted white, the Merriam turkey inhabits some of the most awe-inspiring places on earth and is a must-hunt wild turkey species. You’ve probably read or heard tales spun about ...
The Many Sounds of the North American Wild Turkey
While giving a seminar on public-land turkey hunting, a gentleman asked me, "What's so great about hunting a big, black-feathered bird? He'd never hunted turkeys before. The ivory on his necklace, ring, and belt buckle, along with a hat branded with ...
Getting Gobblers: Hunting the Rio Grande Turkey
The Rio Grande turkey is a hard-gobbling aggressive subspecies of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) that inhabits a wide range of habitats. If I had to choose one wild turkey subspecies to hunt for the rest of my days, the Rio Grande would top my ...
What Do Wild Turkeys Eat? Find the Food, Find the Birds
Every subspecies of wild turkey has different behaviors. They all populate a variety of landscapes, live in different weather, and are hunted by different predators — all of which shape their overall behavior. One thing every wild turkey has in ...
The Osceola Turkey: Only in Florida!
The Osceola turkey, also known as the Florida turkey, is unique, and that uniqueness isn’t due to coloration, build, or vocal nature. What makes the Osceola a super-special bird is its location. There are many go-to states for Merriam, Rio Grande, ...
Eastern Turkeys: The Loudest and Most Paranoid Birds of All
Other than the deep, guttural bugle of a bull elk, nothing rattles my bones and sends chills running up and down my spine like the gobble of Eastern turkeys. God gave these birds remarkable voice boxes, and they know how to use them. If you've been ...
Turkey Hunting Gear: New Stuff You Just Have to Have for the Spring
Turkey hunting is a gear-heavy habit, and I love it. Over the years, I’ve amassed more than enough turkey tackle to take on birds anywhere in North America. Each spring, however, I seem to find an item or three — new gear releases or old ones I ...
Build an Indoor Archery Range in Your Basement and Shoot Year-Round
My obsession had resulted in a collection of holes punched into various parts of our home. The need to bend the limbs back was constant. My bride and I were dirt poor and fresh-out-of-college newlyweds. I worked as a teacher and my wife as a ...
Axis Deer Hunting in Texas Should Be on Your Bowhunting Bucket List
Bowhunters are finaglers. We’re always scheming, thinking outside the box, and looking for ways to extend our hunting season by going on one more adventure. You know it’s true. If you’re looking for a summer big-game getaway, look no further than the ...
Shed Hunting Tips From the Nebraska Whitetail Master
Diehard whitetail hunters eat, breathe, and sleep all things deer hunting, 24/7/365. In many locales across North America, deer seasons are over; and hunters in places where there are still a few more days on the deer-hunting calendar are burning the ...
Shed Hunting Tips From Connor Clark: How to Rule the West
The annual antler drop — a remarkable few months when antlered critters drop their headgear — is a time period that’s as eagerly anticipated as the mule deer and elk ruts. For many shed hunters, the time of year is all about family and friends; large ...
Goose Hunting: Kill Late-Season Public Land Canada Geese
I cut my hunting teeth decoying Canada geese in the ag fields that surrounded my Coorado home. Not including the frostbite, and not having the right gear (which always sucks), I can't think of any better way to have spent my high school and college ...
Coyote Calling: Match Prey Sounds To Kill More ‘Yotes
When I first started coyote calling some 15 years ago, my go-to was the Superjack distress call on my Johnny Stewart electronic caller, and it was money. I'd turn it on — softly at first — then boost the volume for a few minutes. Then, I'd hit the ...
Coyote Hunting: Intense Scouting and Planning Pay Off
There was a time when one could head to the prairie, turn on a fairly low-quality e-caller, and bring in song dogs at full tilt before blasting them in the face. Hell, it didn’t even have to be an e-caller. As a young man on the plains, I got coyotes ...
Get in Bow Shape: A 21-Day Archery Lesson Plan
Are you hitting high, low, or burying carbon in the dirt? Yup, I’ve been there. Shaking so bad that you struggle to bring your pin down on a patch of brown hair, and when you do, you jab the release like a prizefighter? I was president of that camp ...
Bowhunting Gear: How to Diagnose and Fix Your Setup in the Offseason
Fall is now a memory. For many reading this, it was an epic season of close encounters with a few blood-soaked arrows. For others, fall was, as it can often be, a season on the brink. Some of you want to delete the past few months from your memory ...
Colorado Elk Hunting: Herds Are Thriving on the Plains Once Again
In the early 1980s, hunting areas along the state of Colorado’s eastern plains provided equal opportunity for upland, waterfowl, mule deer, and pronghorn. Whitetails were a bit of a rarity. Rifle and bowhunters would bump into a heavy-horned brute if ...
5 Sleeper Public Land Whitetail States You Don’t Want to Miss in October
When it comes to chasing whitetail with a bow, October is where it’s at. Many states open archery season on Oct. 1, and the early states with openers in September see a marked decline in hunters afield when Gametober rolls around. So pack the truck, ...
Texas Elk Hunting is Brimming With Free-Range Opportunities
It was the third afternoon of my first-ever elk hunt. Young and full of piss and vinegar, there was no mountain too steep or terrain too rough. I had no clue what I was doing. All I knew was I had a rifle in my hand, it was sighted-in (sort of), and ...
