“big game”

Having hunted with a handgun across the globe over the last five decades, contributor Dick Williams shares his top five big-game handgun hunting cartridges.

Just what goes into building the ultimate Western big-game rig? Here are a few components to consider.

With respect to overall performance and ammunition availability, here are the five best all-around cartridges for North American big-game species.

A common item of discussion among big-game hunters is proper bullet placement. All of us agree a vital area must be the target, but that includes several options, and while neck shots can be extremely effective, they can also fail miserably.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is arguably the most popular rifle cartridge of the 21st century, but how does it perform on big game? These detailed accounts include pertinent information such as shot angle, distance, projectile used and more.

An ideal optics setup for Western big-game hunting includes a binocular, spotting scope, rangefinder and riflescope. Here’s how to choose the best of each for your needs.  

That new hunter you've been tutoring may be in love with a lever-action rifle. Alternately, he may think he absolutely needs a .30-caliber magnum to "cover all the bases." But it's up to you to talk him into making a reasonable purchase when it comes to his first big-game rig.

Every hunter can belly up to the table where the stakes are America’s most coveted big-game tags.