“caribou”

In November 2012, Blake Gettys was tending his trap line in Alaska when a grizzly attacked him. Now, the victim and his storyteller examine the event in detail to determine what, if anything, could have gone better.

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.

A detailed look at ballistic coefficient and how it applies to the hunter’s choice of projectile.

Developed in 1976 by Ken Waters as a wildcat cartridge, the 7-30 Waters is based on the .30-30 Winchester necked down to 7mm to improve velocity and trajectory, with a significant drop off in felt recoil. In 1984, Winchester began to produce rifles chambered for cartridge, legitimizing Waters’ dream, and establishing it as a commercial cartridge.

Among those cartridges which are considered the bare minimum for an all-around choice—and that includes the African heavyweights—the 9.3x62mm Mauser and .375 H&H Magnum are undoubtedly two of the best. Which comes out on top? Contributor Philip Massaro examines the pros and cons of each.

If the .338 Winchester Magnum puts an exclamation point on the end of the hunting sentence, the .340 Weatherby Magnum highlights and italicizes the paragraph. After all, that’s what the Weatherby cartridges were designed to do, and the .340 Weatherby does it well.

Be it a bucket list hunt in a land of giants, an anniversary escape with a loved one, a quick scouting trip turned big-buck showdown or the culmination of a trophy slam, American Hunter readers searched for and found opportunity near and far this past year.

Here’s a look at some of the best long-range hunting scopes on the market.

Here’s a closer look at some of the best hunting rifles introduced this year.