“alliant”

For a hunter’s first rifle, one naturally chooses among the myriad center-fire cartridges and the arms that chamber them. But, is that the best option? Probably not.

Having celebrated its 100^th birthday in 2020, the .300 Savage remains a sound choice as a big-game cartridge—especially in the woods of the Eastern United States.

If you’re looking for the bespoke experience culminating in a rifle which would undoubtedly become a family heirloom, look no further than Todd Ramirez’s Custom Shop LLC.

The Super Redhawk has long been known as a durable, dependable DA/SA revolver for the handgun hunter or backcountry defender. Now the platform has expanded into the light-shooting varminting realm with .22 Hornet.

Introduced in 1965, the .350 Remington Magnum could be considered the original short magnum. Using the belted Holland & Holland case responsible for so many excellent designs from the 40s, 50s and 60s, but shortened to be wedged into a short-action magazine, the .350 Magnum would mimic the performance of the .35 Whelen.

The first of the Nosler proprietary cartridges, the 26 Nosler remains a flat-shooting, hard-hitting choice for hunting open country. Being a 6.5mm cartridge, it will use the high ballistic coefficient projectiles which retain their energy downrange, resist the effects of a crosswind and offer a flat trajectory.

There are a few times when a company gets a cartridge design right the first time around; Holland & Holland certainly got it right in 1925 with the .300 H&H Magnum.

The goal was to build a magnum-class cartridge in a small package, and Weatherby has done just that with its 6.5 Weatherby RPM, featuring a rebated rim, large body diameter, low body taper and 35-degree shoulder.

Introduced in 2008, the .416 Ruger is the only commercially produced cartridge in that .416-inch bore diameter designed to fit in a long-action receiver, making it an ideal choice for dangerous game.