This is the first shotgun on Beretta’s A400 platform in 20 gauge. It’s a light, light shooting gun that points well, making it ideal for long days in the uplands. To counteract the gun’s light weight, it’s available with Beretta’s Kickoff recoil red…
Go to New Shotgun: Beretta A400 Action 20 GaugeAuthor Archive
January 16th, 2013
New Shotgun: Beretta 692 Competitive Shotgun
This pretty O/U shotgun is replacing Beretta’s 682. It’s a serious competition gun that retails for about $4,500 (which is significantly less than other top-end competition guns from the likes of Perazzi and Krieghoff).
The receiver on this gun is …
January 7th, 2013
Putting Together an Effective and Portable Decoy Spread
The video below shows a behind the scenes look at a Field & Stream photo shoot. The photographers ran a time-lapse camera through the whole day, and this video compresses a seven-hour session into a minute and a half. We had to go to Des Moines to…
Go to Putting Together an Effective and Portable Decoy SpreadDecember 20th, 2012
Until Next Time
The last time we had a massacre, I said there would be another, and now we have that, and we will have more because we seem unable to solve any of our problems, whether it be the deficit or the fact that Miami Beach will be underwater by the end of thi…
Go to Until Next TimeDecember 17th, 2012
Hunting Tip: Get a Ride To and From Your Stands to Avoid Spooking Deer
Many of you savvy farmland hunters already know this tip, but for anyone who doesn’t, it’s an oldie and a goodie: Because farmland whitetails are accustomed to seeing pickup trucks in fields, they don’t freak out at the sight of on…
Go to Hunting Tip: Get a Ride To and From Your Stands to Avoid Spooking DeerDecember 17th, 2012
Gear Review: A Practical Ghillie Suit for Waterfowlers
I should have been easy to spot sitting at the water’s edge on a marsh stool, black shotgun in my lap. And, if I had only been wearing regular camo (right) I would have been easily recognizable as a duck hunter. In an Avery Killer Ghillie suit (…
Go to Gear Review: A Practical Ghillie Suit for WaterfowlersDecember 12th, 2012
Big Buck Alert: Massachusetts Record Should Fall, Twice; Ohio Giant Gets Bigger
Two big bucks taken less than 14 days apart are rewriting the Massachusetts record book this fall. On November 14, Dan Daigle put a 20-yard shot on the biggest buck ever to fall to an archery hunter in the Bay State, a 198-inch nontypical 16-pointer …
Go to Big Buck Alert: Massachusetts Record Should Fall, Twice; Ohio Giant Gets BiggerDecember 10th, 2012
The Brightest Flashlight Ever: Beam Sets Paper on Fire
A while ago I received a press release from some flashlight manufacturer billing their 1,000 lumen flashlight as “the world’s brightest.” Now, my own brightest flashlight is a mere 100 lumen Surefire which already seems incredibly, un…
Go to The Brightest Flashlight Ever: Beam Sets Paper on FireDecember 10th, 2012
Deer Hunting Tips: Don’t Ignore Rubs During the Rut—or Secondary Rut
If you’ve been following along you know that Bestul and I filmed these hunting video tips during the rut when he hosted me on a bowhunt in mid-November. And so, the point Scott is making here—that although bucks do largely abandone…
Go to Deer Hunting Tips: Don’t Ignore Rubs During the Rut—or Secondary RutDecember 3rd, 2012
Wisconsin Hunter Shoots “Extremely Rare” Pregnant Doe in November
The first shock for Wisconsin hunter Ben Johnson was the sheer size of the doe he shot. The second shock came when he started to field dress it.
“It was really tough getting that first incision made,” Johnson says. “When I finally d…
Go to Wisconsin Hunter Shoots “Extremely Rare” Pregnant Doe in NovemberSeptember 14th, 2012
Odd Advice From The Guy at the Gun Store
There used to be a song whose refrain went: “Oh, lay it on the ground, and spread it all around, it’ll make your garden grow.” This could be applied to much of the advice I hear given about guns. The most recent piece which can doubl…
Go to Odd Advice From The Guy at the Gun StoreAugust 28th, 2012
Closet Queens: Why Some Rifles are Hidden From Sight
by David E. Petzal
This unfortunate term (I rank it right alongside the truly loathsome “.257 Bob” for .257 Roberts.) arose on the Internet some years ago to describe a firearm that spends its time in a closet or safe, never to be used. Mo…
August 20th, 2012
Hunting Terms to Loathe: Ground Shrinkage, Hit Lists, and Lung Butter
by Dave Hurteau
I hate the term “ground shrinkage.” Never heard it? Just watch 10 minutes of outdoor television. It is said by morons who after climbing out of their treestands and walking up to the buck they just shot, realize in horror t…
August 20th, 2012
How Rifle Barrels Die
by David E. Petzal
Every time you pull the trigger, you squirt a flame of 3,000 to 5,000 degrees (Estimates vary wildly, but it’s pretty damned hot.) up your rifle’s barrel. And every time this happens, the barrel melts a little. It’…
July 30th, 2012
A Form 4473 for the Modern World
by David E. Petzal
Those of you who have filled out a Form 4473 since July 9th may have noticed a change in our beloved paper bulwark against crime and poor behavior. In addition to the checkoff box that asks your race, there is a new one that asks yo…
July 26th, 2012
Memories That Die
by David E. Petzal
I own three knives that belonged to friends of mine who are no longer here. One is a Randall Model 5, which Randall calls the Camp and Trail Knife. Bo Randall gave it to my friend Norm Strung in the early 1970s, and Norm carried i…
Go to Memories That DieJuly 23rd, 2012
My Thoughts on the Aurora, CO Shooting
by David E. Petzal
So now it is Aurora. Another homicidal geek has gotten his 15 minutes of fame via mass murder.
Amidst all the breast-beating, recriminations, and yowls for gun control, ammo control, and tactical equipment control, there are a numb…
July 17th, 2012
Camouflage Follies
by David E. Petzal
It’s just been announced that the Army is giving up on its Universal Camouflage Pattern, after pissing away $5 billion on uniforms, packs, and other gear that say “Here I am. Shoot me.”* This is one further reminde…
July 2nd, 2012
Bullets, Optics and Ammo: Putting the Power to Prairie Dogs
by David E. Petzal
This past week, having not done so for quite some time, I went to Wyoming to put down a possible prairie dog rebellion. It was some of the best shooting I’ve had, and I got to use some very good equipment as well.
My gun was…
Go to Bullets, Optics and Ammo: Putting the Power to Prairie DogsJune 26th, 2012
Gun Nuts TV Season 3: Turkey Fever – How To Keep Cool and Make the Shot
by Phil Bourjaily
Season III of “The Gun Nuts” debuts tomorrow night on the Outdoor Channel at 7:30 p.m. EST and 11:30 p.m., and again at 3 a.m. We’ve changed the show a little–all, I think, for the better. One of the new segment…
Go to Gun Nuts TV Season 3: Turkey Fever – How To Keep Cool and Make the ShotJune 11th, 2012
Book Review: ‘Guns and Hunting’ by Finn Aagaard
By David E. Petzal
Right at the top of the list of people I wish were still among us is Finn Aagaard, who departed for happier hunting grounds 12 years ago. He was a neat guy, and one of the very few of our profession who is defying Jim Carmichel&rsq…
Go to Book Review: ‘Guns and Hunting’ by Finn AagaardJune 8th, 2012
Gun Nut Target Contest: Shoot the Magazine, Win a S&W Rifle!
by Phil Bourjaily
Our popular “We (Heart) Guns” target contest is back for the third year. The idea is simple: Shoot the special target insert in the July issue—or download a PDF of the target. First shoot it with a gun. Then shoot …
Go to Gun Nut Target Contest: Shoot the Magazine, Win a S&W Rifle!June 4th, 2012
Good Shotguns: Franchi Affinity
by Phil Bourjaily
Franchi’s Affinity is a reboot of the Franchi line of inertia semiautos that bear an eerie resemblance to Benelli inertia semiautos. That is not unexpected, as Benelli is Franchi’s parent company. If you think of the Bene…
May 22nd, 2012
Rifle Recoil: Oh, Mommy, My Shoulder!
by David E. Petzal
As a number of you pointed out in my post on the Forbes Rifle, light rifles kick more than heavy rifles of the same caliber. But weight is only part of the equation, and recoil is a highly subjective matter.
In the case of NULAs, …
May 10th, 2012
Gun Test: Rock River Arms LAR-15 Fred Eichler Series Predator
by David E. Petzal
Here’s a good reason not to be a coyote, or any other objectionable form of animal life. Mr. Eichler, who is a varmint hunter of note, has collaborated with Rock River Arms to produce a totally cool MSR with all the right be…
Go to Gun Test: Rock River Arms LAR-15 Fred Eichler Series PredatorMay 10th, 2012
Gun Test: Rock River Arms LAR-15 Fred Eichler Series Predator
by David E. Petzal
Here’s a good reason not to be a coyote, or any other objectionable form of animal life. Mr. Eichler, who is a varmint hunter of note, has collaborated with Rock River Arms to produce a totally cool MSR with all the right be…
Go to Gun Test: Rock River Arms LAR-15 Fred Eichler Series PredatorMay 8th, 2012
Good Gun Book: ‘Shooter’s Bible Guide to Optics’
by David E. Petzal
Optics, like everything else in our world, are in a state of turmoil. On the one hand, you can now pay close to $4,000 for a riflescope or a spotting scope and $3,000 plus for a binocular, while on the other hand there are riflesco…
Go to Good Gun Book: ‘Shooter’s Bible Guide to Optics’May 7th, 2012
Shotgun Tip: Raise the Comb on Your Field Gun for Trap
by Phil Bourjaily
I have posted this picture before but it gets a repost for good reason. It’s spring, and for many of you summer trap league is right around the corner. A lot of hunters shoot league trap with their field guns purely for fun an…
Go to Shotgun Tip: Raise the Comb on Your Field Gun for TrapMay 4th, 2012
More on Preppers
by David E. Petzal If you’d really like to depress yourself some evening, watch “Doomsday Preppers” on the National Geographic Channel. The show details the plans of normal, well adjusted people to cope with the aftermath of fiscal c…
Go to More on PreppersApril 30th, 2012
How the Public Sees Hunters
by Phil Bourjaily
There is a small percentage of the U.S. population that hunts, and a small percentage that hates hunting. While many of us believe the general public looks on at hunters with disapproval, the truth is, most of them rarely think about…