“deer rifles”

While BSA’s Contender series may not wow us with optical brilliance, they provide reliable shot placement and endurance at a great price.

When customizing a firearm, it’s important to have a clear objective—are you trying to improve accuracy or aesthetics, shave weight or all of the above?

Tag along during a spot-and-stalk for a magnificent pronghorn in New Mexico.

I’m just guessing, mind you, but I believe the first American deer rifle was the Model 94 Winchester. To be sure, a lot of deer fell to Model 73s, Marlins, Trapdoor Springfields and flintlocks, but the first sporting deer rifle was the 94. Since that iconic rifle there have been a whole lot more.

The deer rifle remains the quintessential tool of the American deer hunter. Close your eyes and think about deer hunters and you’ll picture a figure cloaked in camo, with a bright orange hat and a rifle slung over his or her shoulder. Here are five rifles—a few classics, a few destined to be—that will serve their owners well when the time comes to take the venison from the field to the fridge.

When it comes to selecting a rifle, there's almost no end to the options available. Which models are the best on the market today? Check out Keith Wood's Top 10.

Right now, there’s a guy on a stool in a gun shop arguing over what the “best home defense gun” is. Whether he’s right or wrong isn’t relevant—the best gun for home defense is the gun you have when you need it.

Red dot optics have steadily won over members of the hunting community in recent years, landing atop many a turkey gun and a growing number of deer rifles, among others. News from Trijicon indicates that there'll be another contender in the market very shortly in the form of the company's new Miniature Rifle Optic, or MRO.

Always a leader in generational deer rifles—see the Model 94 lever-action, pre-’64 Model 70 “Rifleman’s Rifle” and the later, push-feed version of the Model 70—Winchester has jumped into the fray with its new XPR.