“allen”

Benjamin Franklin once wrote that the bald eagle “is a bird of bad moral character” while the wild turkey “is in comparison a much more respectable bird.” Historians like to point to this opinion as an example of Franklin’s original thinking and eccentric rationale, but he was hardly alone in such reasoning. Ben simply paraphrased the feelings of every turkey hunter from Alabama.

The 146th National Rifle Association Annual Meetings and Exhibits Sponsored by MidwayUSA is scheduled for April 27-30, 2017, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Tens of thousands of NRA members and Second Amendment supporters are expected to attend the four-day celebration of freedom. With 15 acres of guns and gear, this year's event will be the biggest NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits ever.

Here are 2017’s best new compound bows, in no particular order.

Never heard of Tract Optics? We can fix that.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has reached its 10,000th lifetime conservation project. An ongoing aspen restoration effort in Oregon pushed the organization over the hump earlier this summer.

Associate Editor Jon Draper waited years to build his own Ruger 10/22.

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.

With more states opening archery seasons to crossbows, thousands of hunters are taking them afield for the first time. But without dad and grandpa there to give advice gleaned over generations—today’s crossbows are unlike any other hunting tool and are far more advanced than those of just a decade ago—techniques and tricks must be developed via experience. So instead of learning the hard way, simply get it here now.

The evolution of sighting aids dates back to the first crude, iron sights on the matchlock firearms of the 16th century, and has morphed into the high-tech telescopic sights we all love. Laser sights—such as those produced by Crimson Trace—are an amazing tool.