While sheep hunting, you are in truly rough country and I had no trouble getting distances from objects and structures that I normally would not be able to get them from. The Leupold RX-2800 proved itself a valuable and effective tool for hunting.
The role of hunting in Colorado has been a good one. The state has some of the largest and healthiest herds in the country.
It is Dove Season! And that means it is also time for having fresh game on the table. Dove can be a little tricky to cook. It is very lean, small and can be very “gamey”.
A couple of months earlier, Jones and I were on the phone talking about two of our favorite things–hunting and shooting. Jones told me about a friend with a ranch located in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio, and the guy was having problems with hogs and had given Jones an open invitation to come out and kill as many as he wanted.
In 1945, Roy Weatherby introduced three cartridges that became synonymous with speed. That has always been Weatherby’s calling card: high velocity equals flat trajectory, and they’ve stuck with that concept.
If a hunter isn’t comfortable with his setup, the hunt is much less likely to succeed. Here’s how to pick the right tool for your next elk hunt.
While generally skeptical of celebrity-endorsed products, I’ve used the sticks on two hunts now, and they’re versatile and well-made.
Amid the daydreaming, l work through the process of preparation, planning, and practice. Executing this process with efficiency and attentiveness will often be the difference between a successful or unsuccessful season of stacking fur. Throughout this article, I’ll touch on several key points in relation to this process. I’ll discuss how I use my time now to prepare, plan and practice for a winning season of calling and (hopefully) shooting coyotes!
Choosing the right mouth diaphragm is a daunting task, just as important as choosing the right boots or best arrow. Here are a few things to consider.
Sometimes we let the non-important things get in the way of the reasons that we enjoy hunting and we have to remind ourselves to have fun!
States around the country have begun to implement policies designed to stop the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a 100% fatal neurological disorder affecting whitetail deer, moose, and elk.
A federal judge has suspended the first grizzly bear hunt in the lower 48 states since 1991, effectively blocking the Trump administration’s decision to remove the mammal from the endangered species list in the Yellowstone National Park area.
This week, we got a chance to look at a Savage 10 GRS, which boasts a Berserk stock, suppressor-ready barrel and runs off Magpul AICS style magazines.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is reporting that an experienced bear hunter was mauled by his prey and hospitalized.
On August 11 a friend of mine from back East texted me and I responded that I was deer hunting. “Boddington,” he came back, “it’s August…around here we call that poaching!” On the surface, it seems crazy. Here on the Central Coast, August temperatures soar above 100 degrees and wildfires are headline news. Even so, it’s deer season! The “coast zone” rifle deer season opens the second Saturday in August. This year opening day was the 11th; it could open as early as August 8…but never later than the 14th. This is the earliest rifle deer season in the Lower 48!
But, why I really love shotguns is because they are so versatile. Seriously, if you can find me any other gun that you can shoot a quail with at 15 yards and also shoot a whitetail with at 150, I will be very impressed. Not to mention all the different gauges, styles and brands.
Long-range hunting continues to gain in popularity. But just because you want to go long doesn’t mean dropping in bullets at 1,000 yards. Most deer hunters, for example, take their shots at 100 yards or less. Yet, if those same hunters could extend their range to 400 yards? Their chances at filling their tags would go up greatly.
There are only so many ways to get your favorite deer slayer from Point A to Point B and hunters should decide what the goal is before they pick a method. Is it a short jaunt in the dark to a treestand? A hurried march after work into camp? A slow, methodical still- hunt to a rendezvous with a hunting partner?
I love to look at Professional Hunter’s firearms; they show the rigors of day-to-day hunting life and are often beat nearly to death. While we all have our safe queens, I appreciate those beat up, well-hunted guns that invariably have a story to tell, be it that one shot that even surprised the owner, of those hair-raising tales of dangerous game at close quarters.
With a little creativity and practice, our hunting gear and/or Mother Nature can provide the same stability at a moment’s notice as the most versatile bipod sold.
Two things are certain in life: the changing of the seasons and hunters being out there when it’s happening. We can anticipate, prepare, and come out on top or get turned back to the truck early, defeated. Use these 7 tips to stay one step ahead of Mother Nature and her varying moods this year:
I have had some people ask me about my preferred setup for terminating whistle pigs, so today I am going to discuss just that.
Burris recently announced their brand-new Oracle rangefinding bow sight, a one-of-a-kind device that provides both the exact distance to the target and exact point of aim. We got our sweaty little fingers on it at this year’s NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits, and it looks like it could be a game-changer.
I still remember the moment. A package arrived at my remote home amidst the rough, high-elevation mule deer and elk habitat of my youth, dropped casually on the porch by the United Parcel Service driver. We lifted it, my brother and I, to a place of honor on the kitchen table, and carefully removed the contents from the packaging. Dashing to the back porch we pointed the new marvel at a distant hillside and exclaimed with glee at the result. It was the first laser rangefinder we owned, and it changed our hunting and shooting lives.
By now, most hunters have their own “secret recipe” for venison chili. Sometimes, though, I think those secret recipes can be confused with boring – especially if it’s the same way you’ve been fixing chili for years.
Instead, look to trying one of these three unique dishes, which are probably unlike anything else in your cookbook. They’re sure to bring a different flavor, and maybe inspire you to change up that old secret formula.
Turkey hunting gear can make or break a hunt. With gobblers having some of the best vision in the animal kingdom, and ears that can pick up details that humans can’t fathom, it’s imperative that hunters have the right equipment to get the job done.
Here is some of my favorite gear for 2018, which helped me harvest five turkeys just last season.
As Vortex’s entry level rangefinder, the Impact 850 outperforms its price point. As someone who does a variety of hunting, I look for diversity in my gear. I want equipment that’s going to function whether it’s spring or fall, archery season or gun season, and good conditions or poor. When it comes to a rangefinder, I’ll be looking for optics that can function for bowhunting deer, shotgun hunting turkey, and rifle hunting elk.
Talk to a hunter about eating antelope and you’ll get a wide range of responses, from complaining that it’s foul and tastes of sage to praising it with the highest of compliments. It’s one of the few cuts of wild game that inspires such debate.
Personally, I love antelope, and have a hard time understanding the complaints from those who don’t.
It’s incredibly lean, with fewer calories than a wild turkey and less fat than a whitetail. This is a common criticism from hunters, but it should be noted that other ungulates like elk and moose are even leaner than a speed goat. Sure, it’s no slab of grass-fed beef, but it’s no vegetable, either.
Sure Shot uses a different style of architecture in how a call is built, going back to the companies first patent, for a double reed call held together by rivets. Starting in 1959, they won pretty much every calling contest in the world for a decade straight. Since that first duck call, they have expanded into many styles of predator calls, and continue to be used by hunters around the world today.
Eberlestock has long been known amongst civilians for hunting packs, establishing a reputation for hell and back reliability. Arguably, no pack company has done more… Read More »Eberlestock Packs: Ideal for Hunting & the Military — SHOT Show 2018
Keith released a statement explaining that he and his taxidermist did a necropsy of the deer’s skull, notably the brain cavity and found no loss of bone.
The mere mention of the word obtains my undivided attention; it is the concept of a hunting adventure in the wild places of Africa, and is undoubtedly my happy thought. The word safari is taken from the KiSwahili dialect of East Africa, and it simply means ‘journey.’ It represents the challenge of shooting a big-bore rifle and being in an environment where there are animals large enough to take your life with ease. The CZ 550 rifle is, in and of itself, a journey, in that it has its roots in the Czechoslovakian Brno ZKK 602 rifle, and has come a long way to get to the current inception. That ZKK 602 is still revered among those who enjoy the big bore bolt-action rifles; the action is considered as rock-solid and reliable as a Mauser 98.
When you’re planning a hunting trip there are few very important considerations — what gun are you going to take? What does the weather look like? How much will the tags cost? Equally as important as what firearm you’re going to take is what binos will you take? For a mid-range 8X binos, the Vortex Viper HD 8×42 are hard to beat.
Here are some top gift ideas for the hunter and backcountry adventurer in your life. With candy canes and gum drops dancing in your head, it’s never too early to start scheming and dreaming of Christmas.
Moose were the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. Cold water was at the forefront, cold water and the fact that I was falling. Yup, you guessed it – falling into said cold water. Good gear for a hardcore backcountry hunt is paramount to success and survival. Clothing is no exception, and should be given serious consideration.
Learn how to mount a scope. If your equipment fails you on the shot of a lifetime, don’t let it be the fault of an over-glorified Walmart greeter.
On the minds of hunters all year long, the rut is a magical time to be in the woods. And although every day spent afield is a good one, mark these dates on the calendar as some of the best for 2017.
The whitetail deer has to be our most popular big game animal in the Continental Forty-Eight, yet the settings in which we hunt them, and the means with which we hunt them has got to be the most diverse ever. Entire volumes have been written on what makes up the consummate deer gun, and while I’m not going to attempt to define that within this article, I would like to talk about some ideas to optimize your existing deer rifle, or perhaps to choose a different rifle in order to try a different means of deer hunting.
Traveling to hunt is something I feel everyone should do at least once; it represents an adventure that can quickly make a hunter feel years, if not decades, younger. An unseen valley, an exotic species, perhaps the need for a different rifle or cartridge, it all adds a flair to the sport we love so much. Now, depending on where you call home, the destinations I’m about to list may or may not seem like an exotic place to hunt, but here are ten places that I’ve either fallen in love with or plan to in the near future.
There’s a lot of science behind creating the perfect venison cheese steak, from thinly sliced meat to slowly cooked onions. Venison sandwiches can be a thing of beauty, but they can also be a nightmare. There’s a fine line between the two when it comes to deer, and it’s usually crossed when the lean meat goes from tender to leather.
For deer hunters that have grown restless in their home state, finding a new area to hunt can be maddening. Instead of dropping your money on an expensive lease, though, look to one of these seven states as a potential public land whitetail destination.
Times change, and technology changes along with it. We hunters have an irrefutable connection with the past; we discuss our favorite cartridges — often with opinions based upon the experiences of our forefathers — and we long for the opportunity to recreate those hunts made famous in the hunting literature we adore so much. However, I feel that if our hunting heroes of yesteryear could’ve had the opportunity to use those tools that we now have available, they’d embrace them immediately. And among all the improvements we’ve seen in the last half century, I rate modern bullet development at the top of the list.
Legendary custom builder Ed Brown just unveiled their new hotness, a hunting- and competition-ready longslide 1911 chambered for 10mm Auto.
FLIR has expanded its product line with the ThermoSight Pro Series thermal weapons sights. These sights attach to a MIL-STD/1913 picatinny rail, and would be perfect for hunting feral hogs or predators at night.
Ashbury Precision Ordnance is now offering a lightweight, modern Remington Model 700 built on their accuratized Saber chassis that features AR components.
Like many North American hunters, I’ve never practiced shooting at moving game. My local range isn’t outfitted with moving targets, and my experience hunting deer has only given me two or three chances to harvest a walking or running animal.
I decided to make a Kydex cheek riser and install it on my rifle. I could have ordered one, but making it myself allowed me to customize it to my rifle. Plus, it’s way more fun.
In the video above, Clay walks you through how to go full gangster with your plain Jane 10/22. As you’ll see, it’s really simple to do.
New for 2017 is Kimber’s Subalpine Mountain Rifle, available with a Gore Optifade camo finish. Kimber also teamed up with Leupold to make matching scopes.
Primos’ new Gen 3 Trigger Sticks offer several improvements on the older generation, making an already excellent product even better.
The Dieback Thigh Rig minimalist hunting pack is for when your pockets aren’t big enough — and a fanny pack isn’t happening.
After a long battle, Pennsylvania recently passed new legislation allowing hunters to hunt with semi-automatic guns. The black rifle has gone mainstream.
The Remington 783 Scoped rifle and scope package might provide an answer to that dilemma of those looking for a good rifle at a great price. For less than $400, shooters get a quality rifle along with scope rings and a scope—everything they need to get deer season off to a good start. And, it comes with the scope and rings installed and boresighted.
Fall is here, your kids are back in school, and many of you are getting ready to hunt, and while you might enjoy that quiet time in the woods by yourself, I’m going to suggest that you shake things up a bit this year and let the kids come along to hunting camp.
Introduced earlier this year as the company’s first-ever semi-auto shotgun, the Stevens S1200 is powered using a very smooth, fast Benelli-esque inertia recoil system but comes with a very unBenelli-esque price—starting at well under $600, for a semi-auto shotgun.
The Traditions Mountain Rifle is a Hawken style traditional sidelock muzzleloader with a double tenon wedge system. It is deadly accurate with roundballs, and is absolutely gorgeous for the $520 price. If you have always wanted a traditional style muzzleloader, this new entry to the Traditions stable is probably the one.
The Traditions Lady Whitetail is a limited edition Pursuit G4 in a special pink Hotleaf camo. Built for the female shooter, or anyone who loves pink camo, my range test showed the gun to be reliable and accurate. At $515, this is yet another great value from Traditions Firearms.
While Hollywood gave screen stars Winchester rifles, many real-life heroes carried Marlin rifles. According to the company’s website, Annie Oakley, Captain Hardy, and William “Buffalo Bill” Cody all used Marlin rifles. And, today’s 1895GBL carries on the tradition of providing great lever-actions to consumers.
Want to get a rebate to save some money on a great rimfire rifle? Then take a look at this full review of the impressive Savage A17 autoloading rifle in .17 HMR, a handy little shooter that packs a lot of performance in at a great (and now even better) price.
Hunting a new kind of game for the first time can be intimidating. No matter how much you read and research, the most valuable knowledge can only be gained in the field. Waterfowl hunting always seemed like a big mystery to me; that is, until a few weeks ago.
With deer season just around the corner, I thought that now would be a good time to review the Kimber Hunter, which is their entry level deer rifle of a very high end line. If you are a regular here at GunsAmerica, you’ve probably seen the ad for the rifle running on our homepage, and they sent me a review rifle a few months ago. Now that summer is pretty much behind us, it’s time to start thinking new deer rifle, and if you have the budget, the $885 MSRP Kimber Hunter is an option you should seek out. Most people think 1911 when they think of Kimber, but the company started with rifles, and it is still a core component of Kimber Firearms today. The Hunter is the same action as the $1,400 Kimber rifles. If are have been looking for an upgrade this deer season, please watch the video.
A father and son go on a once-in-a-lifetime safari in South Africa and live out a dream hunt. Their story told in pictures, video and words.
Editor’s note: This article is a freelance submission from Ryan O’Neil, an avid hunter from Western, N.Y. You want an in-your-face, front-and-center, feet-down-beat-down, goose hunt?… Read More »Top Five Tips for Hunting Waterfowl
In this day and age of short magnums, super-short magnums, long cartridges, fat cartridges and everything in between, it seems logical that some of our tried-and-true favorites may have become obsolete. So, is there still a place for the “old” .30-’06?
Now is a great time to pick up your hunting rifle for hunting season at a great price, and Savage Arms has some outstanding rebate programs going right now!
Benelli has done with the Ethos what many companies have attempted but just couldn’t quite achieve—they ‘ve figured out how to bring truly high-end features to a firearm the average man or woman can afford. And that my friend, is no small feat.
Changing the stock on your bolt action rifle isn’t a difficult project. But if you’re like me, the prospect of taking a screwdriver to any part of your $600 gun can induce spontaneous trembling and cold sweats.
The new SWR Radius from SilencerCo is a highly capable rail-mounted rangefinder that gives lightning-fast distance ranging information out to a mile.
Primary Arms has a new higher-end series of riflescopes called the Platinum Series. The Platinum series is a big departure from their increasingly popular budget optics but that doesn’t make it any less of a value.
The Longslide 10mm 1911 from Republic Forge makes for not only great close-range performance but can also be pushed out to 100 yards distance due to its power and accuracy.
The Stoeger P3000 Pump-action Shotgun. If you need a waterfowl, hunting slug gun, or home defense shotgun, and are constrained by budget, this is a great way to pick up a brand new one for less than 300 bucks.
The 11/111 Hog Hunter’s popularity has been driven in part by the growing prevalence of feral pigs in the United States.
“Buy it. Try it. Use it. Abuse it.” And, “If you are not happy with your purchase, send it back to us for a full credit of your purchase good toward any other Factor Product.”
Ares Defense is getting ready to roll out an updated lineup of SCR with new Kryptek, Muddy Girl and Vista camo finishes on the stocks and handguards.
White River Knife & Tool has been successful because they’ve mastered both areas, they make reasonably priced knives that have an attractive and distinguishable artistry.
Mossberg had a couple of new shotguns to show off at SHOT Show 2016. These were all built on the tried and true 930 platform. One is a new compition gun that bares Jerry Miculek’s name and the other is a winter themed hunting shotgun. Both of these new lines are pretty cool and one of them is down right cold.
I’m sorry that I didn’t get this out quicker for those of you who have deer season kicking in this week in your state. This product, the Walker Game Ear, shocked me when I got to test it this summer, and I had in mind that I should run the story before deer season, because it is an absolute secret weapon. If you haven’t tried these things, they have super sensitive microphones embedded in them, so they not only protect your ears from your eventual gunshots, they also allow you to hear like…well, a deer.
Over and under shotguns have been around for quite some time and have changed relatively little over the decades. Cosmetically, the Benelli 828U looks like a slightly more space age take on the classic double, but the under the hood features are what stand out as the unique elements of this shotgun.
Tired of all of the kerfuffle about the diminutive GLOCK 43? Had your fill of all of the hype about single-stack stopping power? Want a polymer pistol capable of stopping a Grizzly? Check out the GLOCK 40. This beast is big, capacity is not an issue, and it shoots the 10mm, which–when loaded right–is impressive. So how does the G40 handle?
The Savage M-11 Trophy Hunter XP is a ready-to-go hunting solution that helps simplify the learning curve. It comes preconfigured with a bore-sighted Nikon 3-9x optic with a ballistic drop compensation reticle. Take it out of the box, add ammo, and shoot. It couldn’t be easier.
Many people don’t understand that hunting provides so many benefits, not only in bringing people together, but also in conservation. Natalie Foster meets with NRA Women’s Leadership Forum Co-Chair and Diana award winner Suzie Brewster and Nicole Reeve of Driven TV to discuss the reasons we hunt.
The folks at Winchester have a pretty cool new “app” for showing shot patterns for turkey loads. These are not computer modeled guesstimates of what the pattern should look like in an ideal world. Winchester took the time to shoot all of the different shells and shot weights through a variety of different chokes to give an idea of how they should perform. This is a Winchester app so all of the shells are theirs.
Turkey season is right around the corner. Although you don’t have to have a shotgun that is dedicated to turkey hunting there are a few options that will help. Turkeys have great eyesight, they see a lot better than we can. Cammo for the hunter is a must for hunting turkeys. I don’t think it is a must for your shotgun, but it can’t hurt. At the very least you want one that is not going to shine and sparkle in the sun like vampires in tween movies. I prefer an optic or rifle sights on a turkey shotgun. These guns with the proper chokes are capable of taking a turkey out to 40 yards or a bit more. The head on a turkey is small and the bead found on typical shotguns really doesn’t cut it. We want a bit more precision here.
With so many first time gun owners out there are bound to be a whole bunch of first time hunters as well. Wild hogs are available to hunt year round, and because they have a short gestation cycle, there are almost no bounds to their numbers. Corn feeders can bring wild hogs in to a specific location at fairly reliable regular times, and the wild-caught meat is not gamy at all. Most would agree that especially corn fed wild hog is much better than feedlot commercial pork. This is a photo essay on how to butcher your own wild hog.
Britney Starr gives us some bird hunting basics. It’s always good to be reminded of ways to remain safe when you’re out in the field.
Last year GLOCK was downsizing. The .380 GLOCK 42 is a force to contend with, but it doesn’t compare to the new GLOCK 40. If you are think bigger is better (and we’re talking much bigger) check out this behemoth from SHOT Show 2015.
This Beretta 692 Sporting model shown here is the first one of its type to hit US shores. It’s got the B-Fast comb system for near-infinite adjustment and extra long barrels (32-inch) preferred by many trap shooters. Just to be clear, this is not a dedicated trap gun – it’s well suited for skeet and sporting clays. It just offers features that make it suitable for trap as well. Let’s take a closer look.
Air guns have come a long way from the old “you’ll shoot your eye out” days. Umarex has a new pump BB/pellet gun, the NXG APX, that is a rock solid air gun that captures all the fun of the old pump gun, but has capabilities that make it a great teaching tool. Fun and learning, all for $80? Happy holidays indeed.
Henry makes guns that keep up the values established by the company’s namesake—traditional pistol caliber lever actions, mostly. These guns make versatile ranch guns, and are cowboy competitions. They’re adding to their catalog in a big way. If you are looking for an American made .30-30, or a hard hitting favorite .45-70, check out the new guns from Henry. These are hard-working lever actions, but miles away from the pistol calibers you might associate with the brand.
I believe a new shooter should start with a fully functional gun and not some bargain basement piece of crap. Youth shooters would do well to check out a TriStar. These inexpensive shotguns work incredibly well, and don’t break the bank. Some of them are even pink–which got me some strange looks at the range.
I’ve just come back from my first black powder hunt and I’ve learned a few valuable life lessons that I’d like to pass on. Learn from my mistakes and my successes, and you may have a much more productive hunt–even if the only thing you bag is a big fat rat.
The Troy Pump Action Rifle may look like an AR-15, but it isn’t. While Troy’s Sporting Rifle shares many of the same characteristics and parts, the basic operational mechanisms are unique, and built with compliance in mind. The Troy PAR is 50 state legal, and ideal for hunting, and capable of extraordinary accuracy. If you think this is nothing but an attempt to appease politicians, you need to think again. The PAR is fast and accurate.
The Remington 700 Ultimate Muzzleloader is unlike any front loader I have had my hands on. The bolt-action front loader is as close to a Remington 700 as you can get, which should open more doors for early season hunters who may have doubts about muzzleloaders. But is it the ultimate, hard hitting, long range early-season hunting gun?
Sometimes we take for granted some of the most obvious things, then when you find out that what you took for granted doesn’t actually exist anyway, it can be terribly disappointing. A lot of people have been asking our resident guide Dwayne Powell of Kissimmee River Hunt & Fish about “free range” game lately, as opposed to fenced in game. The guided hunt market exploded a couple years ago, and this far down the line some people are getting wise to the fact that a lot of guided “hunts” aren’t hunts at all. They make it feel like a hunt, but really what you are shooting are caged animals on very small parcels of land. There are guys selling “open range” hog hunts, turkey hunts, deer hunts, and even alligator hunts, on from 100 down to even 5 acres of land. Around the property is a high fence, and none of the game is native and wild on the property. it has all been deposited, to be caged and killed. On the smaller properties the “guide” will drive around in circles, then take you a feeder you would swear is deep in the woods, but is really only a couple hundred yards from where you started.
The TG-H3 looks a bit out of place on this beastly shotgun. If I were more vain, it wouldn’t be my first choice for a lever action anything. But I wasn’t concerned about the look. The Truglo TG-H3 is a bad-ass sight. It is long, and wide. It installs on a 12 gauge barrel fairly easily, and it combines Tritium and fiber optic technologies for one radiant sight.
I was initially enamored with the RAAC MKA-1919, otherwise known as the AR-15 looking shotgun. It was the star of our 2012 SHOT Show coverage, registering over 80,000 readers within the first few days after release. Then I got a review gun, and in August of that year everyone got to read that the gun had some quirks. My review was one of the few that put the gun through its paces, and demonstrated that it failed more than it fired. But at the time, I was excited about a modification company that had exhibited with RAAC at SHOT. Guns can get expensive and the base price of the 1919 wasn’t that high. A couple hundred in mods I felt was reasonable for a niche specialty gun like this, assuming that it works well. That company never got back to me.
Mossberg’s MVP Patrol in 5.56 is a surprising rifle. The basic nature of this gun’s design makes it easy to use, and the two chamberings (5.56, and .308) make it a logical choice for preppers. If you’re looking for a compact rifle that shoots inexpensive ammo, and one that is imminently capable, check out the Mossbergs.
When Savage called and asked if GunsAmerica would review one of their Youth rifles, I intended to do it right and have an actual kid do the shooting. Then they asked if they could send one in Muddy Girl. While this camo pattern won’t prevent boys from shooting it, I thought I’d try to find a girl who knew her way around guns. After a few phone calls, I lined up an 11 year old. But when the rifle arrived, it was a .308. How well can an 11 year old girl handle a .308?
Haven’t started preparations for the fall? Now’s the time. The deer are gorging on grass, and you need to see where they are. The StealthCam P12 can help. This affordable game cam shoots day or night, and can take video or stills. Check out our review.
While the Bushnell LRHS is labeled as a “tactical hunter” it has all the right features for a scope that’s meant to go the distance, whether that be on a hunting rifle, semi auto, or precision bolt gun. I was fortunate enough to get one of these scopes for testing and I put it through its paces at the range and in competition.