“model 21”

In Oregon’s Coast Range last year, the author pursued the state’s rarest deer: the Columbian whitetail. The hunt marked a rare double bonus, as far as he was concerned: a chance to hunt a species he’d never hunted in a state he’d never hunted.

Upwards of 60,000 axis deer inhabit the island of Molokai. That combined with the fact the island is one of the least visited in the Hawaiian chain makes it a fabulous winter getaway.

Stuttgart, Ark., and its environs are known for flooded-timber duck hunting. But the region offers so much more to waterfowlers who venture from beneath the canopy.

These five riflescopes offer big-game hunters great value at a budget-friendly price.

Leupold’s VX-3HD riflescopes are lightweight, rugged and well balanced, and included in the line may be the best value for a hunter looking to cover all the bases: the 4.5-14x40mm. With its 30mm main tube, this scope offers a wider range of elevation adjustment than its 1-inch counterparts, as well as better light transmission.

It was 150 years ago that the name “Winchester” was first stamped on a rifle. But Winchester’s narrative began well before that, and it is a tale tied to the American West, to the wars of the 20th century, to big personalities such as John Browning and John Olin, and to the manufacture of billions of cartridges and millions of rifles and shotguns beloved by generations of Americans.