Bolt-Action

There is no doubt that Browning has become the first name in American hunting. So when I had a wolf hunt come up last month, they were the first place I turned. The best thing about going to Browning is that you don’t walk away with just a rifle. Your walk away with a magnificent rifle.

The whitetail deer has to be our most popular big game animal in the Continental Forty-Eight, yet the settings in which we hunt them, and the means with which we hunt them has got to be the most diverse ever.  Entire volumes have been written on what makes up the consummate deer gun, and while I’m not going to attempt to define that within this article, I would like to talk about some ideas to optimize your existing deer rifle, or perhaps to choose a different rifle in order to try a different means of deer hunting.

Long range shooting is an expensive endeavor. A good rifle, nice scope and ancillary gear can easily set a marksman back several thousand dollars. Shooters on a budget, or those who want to get in a lot of training repetitions, may pick up a rifle that mimics their main long-range rifle relative to weight and feel, but that uses a less expensive round.

The one rifle to have if you could only have one. Ruger nailed it. Their new Gunsite Scout Rifle in .450 Bushmaster is a fantastic all-around firearm, offering the power to take down large game and the maneuverability to carry in the thickest brush.

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.