Bolt-Action

The Big Five, or Dangerous Seven, or whatever you prefer to call the collective of African game animals that can easily end your life certainly gets the lion’s share (pun fully intended) of the spotlight, but the plains game, or more properly put, the antelope species, are much more abundant and affordable. Much has been written about the proper guns and cartridges for African hunting, but it seems there is still considerable confusion about what is needed to effectively hunt the lighter African game.

Since its introduction in 2007, the 6.5 Creedmoor has taken off like wildfire and Thompson Center (T/C) has delivered a rifle chambered in 6.5 that will go head to head with rifles a few weight classes above it. Thompson Center is one of the oldest names in American hunting. They’re known primarily for their muzzle loading guns that are without peer.

It seems like Savage rifles garner a love hate relationship with much of the shooting population. Some people love them because they’re an affordable rifle with features and a level of performance that hits well above their price point. Savage rifles are known for shooting exceptionally well while possessing a great adjustable trigger and a barrel nut system that makes barrel swaps relatively easy.

The active pursuit of dangerous game is far and away my favorite style of hunting. The gear required for hunting dangerous game — specifically the rifle — must be rock solid, as with failure comes the potential for loss of life.

Ashbury Precision Ordnance is now offering a lightweight, modern Remington Model 700 built on their accuratized Saber chassis that features AR components.

I am a firm believer that it should be within the reach of every person to own a ludicrously fast car, a stupidly powerful handgun and a magnum rifle that could take a T-rex off its feet at 1,000 yards. Savage has made that attainable. Enter the Savage 110 BA Stealth. It delivers high performance at a fraction of its .338 Lapua competitors.

Not that long ago if you had asked me to find a rifle with a street price under $1,000 that had a fully adjustable stock with a detachable magazine system, was suppressor capable, was compatible with some Remington 700 parts, and had a 1 MOA guarantee, I would’ve said no way. However, Bergara USA has delivered just such a rifle in the form of their B-14 Hunting/Match Rifle.

Things have changed at Winchester since the mid-19th century, the New Haven, Connecticut plant is no more, and ownership of the company has changed as well. One thing has remained though: Winchester rifles are synonymous with reliability. There have been many different models, and many variations on a particular model. Herein, I’m tackling the Winchester XPR rifle, a modern bolt-action designed to handle it all, at a price that won’t see you sleeping on the couch.

Normally, I am a buy American kind of guy. I drive a Ford truck, I drink Coors, and go out of my way to buy work boots made in the USA. Sometimes, however, we want something a little bit exotic. And the Finnish Tikka T3X TAC A1 is quite possibly the most impressive rifle I have ever picked up. And I have shot a couple rifles in my day.