Mike Dickerson

When Benelli first introduced the rifle in 2019, they got a lot of things right, combining modern features hunters want in a relatively light package that delivers great accuracy.

In keeping with Browning’s penchant for continuously improving the X-Bolt line, that model has now evolved into the new X-Bolt Speed rifle.

With its Super Lite model, Howa has set a new standard for affordable factory rifles weighing less than five pounds.

I had just shot the biggest black bear of my life. Thirty minutes later, I shot an even bigger one.

The author purchased the Girsan MC312 Gobbler as a last-minute replacement before a successful hunt for Rio Grande turkeys and reports that the gun far exceeded his expectations for such an affordable semi-auto shotgun.

If you ask the folks at Browning Firearms which X-Bolt rifle model is the finest built to date, they will likely tell you it is the X-Bolt Mountain Pro. After testing the rifle at the range and in the field, the author completely agrees.

I had an opportunity to use the binoculars for a short time on a prairie dog shoot in Wyoming and came away impressed because the Fusion X binoculars pack a lot of functionality into an affordable package. The binoculars are backed by Bushnell’s transferable lifetime warranty, which translates into a defined life of 20 years for the binoculars and five years for the electronics.

As so often happens when stalking pronghorn antelope, failure comes before success. I was hunting on the vast Crow Reservation in southeast Montana – an area that defines big, open country with little stalking cover – and had already blown one attempt when a previously unseen band of pronghorn materialized and spooked the herd I was stalking.

Even at a quick glance, it’s immediately obvious to lever gun fans that there’s something different about the new Henry Magnum Express rifle, which is chambered in .22 WMR. The rifle is entirely devoid of fixed sights. While that may seem to be a sacrilegious omission to some, it’s entirely by design. The Magnum Express is specifically designed to be used with optics, and that’s a big plus for those who like to hunt small game or dispatch varmints with the most potent .22 rimfire cartridge, or those with aging eyes that don’t work so well with iron sights.