Hunting Gear

Hunting Bullet Buyer's Guide

Selecting the right ammunition for your hunting trip was pretty straightforward decades ago. It seemed that there were fewer calibers to choose from, and a bullet was a bullet in those days. Today you’ll find myriad options on the ammo shelves at your favorite sporting goods store, and discussion of ammunition can often sound like a college lesson in aerodynamics if you don’t speak the language.

Knife Buyer's Guide

Whether you’re hunting, camping, butchering or just going about your everyday business, the right knife makes life much easier. But which knife is the right one? Simply typing in the word “knife” into an Internet search and hitting enter pulls up an overwhelming amount of options. Heck, even narrowing it down and typing something as specific as “skinning knife” leaves you with seemingly countless choices. But don’t worry – this buyer’s guide will help you whittle down the choices so you can pick the exact knife you need.

Jim Shockey's Essential Gear

Every once in a long while, a product comes along that revolutionizes the process of hunting – the compound bow, in-line muzzleloader, trail cameras and now the Havalon family of knives. I can vividly remember the first time I handled each of these revolutionary hunting products (each was more of an epiphany than a product), but especially the first time I held a Havalon.

Spotting Scope Buyer's Guide

Spotting scopes are, in essence, telescopes with a shorter focal length, designed for terrestrial observations beyond the effective range of typical binoculars. They enable hunters to locate and evaluate game from a great distance, without being detected. Spotting scopes also give hunters the ability to determine if an animal is worthy of pursuit.

Spotting scopes come in both fixed and variable focal lengths. The variable models are more flexible, enabling wide areas to be scanned with shorter focal lengths and then examined in greater detail at maximum zoom.

Binoculars Buyer's Guide

One of the handiest things to have in the outdoors is a quality pair of binoculars. Whether you are hiking, viewing wildlife, hunting, or even at a sporting event, binoculars can bring the outdoors a little closer to you. Binoculars help you survey the terrain ahead, scout for and view wildlife without spooking them, or just enjoy a piece of nature up close that you may have otherwise missed.