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The .30-06 Just Plain Works
By John Barsness
Many of us know intellectually that the .30-06 is a good all-around big game cartridge, but explanations are not experience.
The .30-06 was the most common chambering for big game rifles when I started hunting in Montana in the mid-1960s, though some hunters thought it was unnecessarily powerful. My father did, which is the reason I took my first ... READ MORE
The Overlooked .22 WMR
By J. Wayne Fears
Often misunderstood, the .22 Mag is a serious stopper of small game up to 20 pounds. I never told my hunting companions the caliber of the Henry lever-action rifle I was carrying. They just assumed it was a .22 Long Rifle. We were on a mission for a church wild game supper. Thanks to its many members who were hunters, the church had a wide variety ... READ MORE
Sure Cures for Wrong-Eye Dominance
By Ralph M. Lermayer
There is a surprisingly large number of people with eye complications, the kind of problems that make the act of shooting a rifle awkward or near impossible. The most commonly affected shooters are those who are right-handed but left-eye dominant. Although these shooters instinctively mount a rifle or shotgun to the right shoulder, their left eye i... READ MORE
The .30-06 Cartridge Family
By Ron Spomer
Offspring of the .30-06 are popular and effective, just like their Ma. Most hunters know that the .30-06 Springfield, now 105 years old, has proven to be one of the most versatile hunting cartridges in the world. It’s been used to take everything from elfin squirrels to enormous elephants. Many hunters might not know that the .30-06 has also ... READ MORE
The Unappreciated .260 Remington
By Jon R. Sundra
Although 6.5s have been dominating long-range shooting, hunters still think of the .260 Rem as a kid’s cartridge. I’ve read a number of articles in which the author, believing a particular rifle or cartridge deserves to be more popular than it is, uses Rodney Dangerfield’s line about getting no respect. It’s far from origina... READ MORE
The Forgotten .264 Win Mag
By Richard Mann
This 50-year-old round has .270 Win power and even better long-range performance. For the most part, the .264 Winchester Magnum has gone the way of the pet rock, but as a young hunter growing up in West Virginia, I always wanted a rifle in this caliber. Visions of traveling to Montana to hunt mule deer in the wide open spaces made the .264 seem lik... READ MORE
This Thing Called Eye Relief
By Ralph M. Lermayer
Perhaps no part of a riflescope’s specifications is less understood than eye relief. Many hunters don’t have a clue what their pet scope’s eye relief is, nor do they care. As long as they can bring Ol’ Betsy to the shoulder and instantly find hair in the scope, it’s perfect.
Eye relief is the distance from the rear le... READ MORE
Troubles with Choke Tubes
By John Barsness
All sorts of things prevent shotgun chokes from doing what we expect of them.
Two pheasant hunters stood together, looking down at a creek bottom. A stiff November wind bent the willows and cattails along the creek, places where roosters might hide. The taller hunter turned to his companion and said, “I’m changing to full choke. That w... READ MORE
The .25-06: Deadly on Deer
By Russell Thornberry
In the hands of an experienced hunter, the quarter bore shines. One thing I’ve learned over the years as a hunter and writer is that hunters seldom agree about which rifles and cartridges are best, particularly those used for deer hunting. The truth is, no one caliber can do it all across the whitetail’s vast range: open prairies,... READ MORE
How to Read a Ballistics Chart
By Ron Spomer
All those columns, numbers and abbreviations become clear as you explore. The majority of hunters are not ballistics experts. Nor do they have to be. Some of the most successful hunters know nothing more about rifles than which cartridge to shoot through it, usually to deadly effect. Many of us, however, become curious, sometimes fascinated by bal... READ MORE
Barrel Fluting: What Does It Do?
By Jon R. Sundra
Fluting makes a barrel distinctive, but there are other benefits, too. Photo: Fluting usually does not extend the entire length of the barrel. One of the most distinctive options available to anyone contemplating the purchase of a rifle is a fluted barrel. It can be a sporter-weight hunting rifle or a varminter. It doesn’t matter. Fluting set... READ MORE
Shotgun Choke Designations
By John Haviland
Other factors besides choke constriction influence pattern size, and only through testing can you learn how a load performs in your gun. Just because your shotgun choke is labeled modified doesn’t mean it will shoot a modified pattern. Modern barrels contain longer forcing cones and chokes that treat shot tenderly to keep it flying straight. ... READ MORE
Which .22 Centerfire?
By John Haviland
It’s hard not to like cartridges with names like Swift, Hornet and Fireball. Here’s what they do best in the field. Photo: The .22-250 Rem and .220 Swift have the reach when shots are long. There really are only a few popular .22-caliber centerfire cartridges, and each one covers only a certain range of bullet velocities. That makes try... READ MORE
Are You Using Too Much Scope?
By Clair Rees
Winter was setting in along the Utah-Colorado border. It was two days before Thanksgiving, and I was slogging slowly through a foot of snow blanketing the Dolores Triangle. I’d drawn a late-season permit for the area. Hunting had been spotty here during Utah’s 10-day October deer season, when only “so-so” bucks were in resid... READ MORE
The .308 Family
By Ron Spomer
Offspring of the .308 are accurate, compact and easy to shoot. Rifle cartridges may be inanimate, but they do have families. One of the more prolific is the .308 Winchester family, a well-rounded line of nicely balanced cartridges that are fast, powerful, easy to shoot and justifiably popular. The clan currently consists of the .243 Winchester, .26... READ MORE