I was nine years into my public land hunting career when I first dipped my toe in the target-buck pool. The North Carolina hitlister showed up on my trail cameras just before Halloween, with pre-rut in full swing, and a gnarly heat wave set to roll in a week later.With nearly a decade of experience in my rearview mirror, I made one of the dumbest hunting mistakes of my life—I stayed home on November 7. The temps hit 80 degrees, and I convinced myself that the deer would sit tight until dark.Guess who cruised by my stand camera mid-morning?I know…

I sat in the truck at the public boat ramp, sipping bad gas station coffee and watching a parade of glitter-covered bass boats launch and race away. They were in a hurry to get to wherever they thought the bass were holed up.I wasn’t in much of a hurry. When the last boat disappeared around the point, I grabbed my spinning rod and a Rat-L-Trap and walked down the shoreline in my flip-flops. On the third cast, my line went tight as a largemouth bulldogged for deeper water, pulling line from a rig that probably cost me less than a…

Pump-action shotguns, like the iconic Mossberg 500 or Remington 870, have proven themselves in some of the harshest hunting environments. They stand up to dirt, grit, and frigid temperatures that would choke or jam semi-automatics. You can abuse the hell out of a pump shotgun, cake it with mud, or drop it in the lake, and it will still perform. Many hunters often prefer the reliability of a pump over any other shooting platform because they are less apt to fail, which is important when you are miles away from the truck at a public walk-in unit.Some of the best…

Not everyone keeps the thighs from a wild turkey, and honestly, it’s a shame. Dark meat can be one of the most flavorful parts of the bird when it’s given the time it needs to cook properly. Most recipes lean toward soups, stews, or shredded barbecue, but confit, a classic French technique, is one of the best ways to turn turkey thighs into something truly special. The meat is first cured with garlicky salt, then slowly cooked in fat or oil until silky, tender, and deeply savory. A crockpot makes the process simple and nearly hands-off, keeping the temperature low…

There’s more to being competent with a rifle than static marksmanship. Being able to shoot in contextual situations, shoot from unusual positions, manipulate the rifle quickly and rapidly adjust one’s position based on distance are all essential skills for a well-trained rifleman. To train these abilities, The Complete Combatant hosted the first annual Rifle Renaissance event in March 2026. The event was designed to not only focus on marksmanship but also the other skills necessary to round out a rifleman’s repertoire. Four instructors with a wide variety of backgrounds in competition shooting, law enforcement and the military came together to…

On January 7th, 2019, Kevin Young received a phone call that would upend his family’s life: his father’s house was on fire, and no one knew where he was. By morning, investigators had found human remains in the garage, and the evidence pointed to something far more sinister than an accident.Dr. Jon Young was an 80-year-old retired archeologist who had spent decades studying the native peoples of the American southwest. He built his home in Taos, New Mexico, by hand out of adobe — a material so fire-resistant that his family knew immediately something was wrong.Fire investigator Jimmy Vigil confirmed…

00:00:01 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast, your guide to the whitetail woods, presented by first Light, creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. First Light Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host, Mark Kenyon. 00:00:19 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast. This week on the show, I’m joined by Tony Peterson to discuss our top six failures in the deer hunting woods and the lessons that we and you can learn from them. All Right, welcome back to the Wired to Hunt podcast, brought to you by Moultrie.…

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FN Browning Group (FNBG) announced on May 28 that Accuracy International (AI) has entered into an agreement to become part of its family of firms. It will join a legendary roster of companies that include FN America, FN Herstal, Browning firearms and Winchester firearms—among others—in FNBG’s Defense & Security and Hunting & Sports Shooting divisions. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and financial details were not released.   “Accuracy International will continue to operate under its own brand, its engineering culture and its UK and US manufacturing bases,” the press release states. “The company will remain focused on what…

Argentinean manufacturer Bersa has long been known for its line of compact handguns centered around the company’s Thunder models. Over the past few years, the company has expanded its lineup for the American market, including 1911s, 2011s and AR-15s, and it has also established a manufacturing base in this country. New for 2026, the company is upsizing its polymer-framed, striker-fired BP9cc into the BP9 FS (full-size). The BP9 FS is a new, from-the-ground-up design that is intended for the duty, self-defense and competition markets. Chambered in 9 mm Luger, while the BP9 FS is similar to the compact carry BP9cc…