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Hunters and anglers have strong opinions about their gear and the MeatEater crew is no different. In this series, we tap our decades of combined experience to give you the best of the best. Whether it’s guns, sleeping bags, boots, waders, or binoculars, the gear we recommend has been proven in the field. It hasn’t failed us, and it won’t fail you.
Hunters and anglers have strong opinions about their gear and the MeatEater crew is no different. In this series, we tap our decades of combined experience to give you the best of the best. Whether it’s guns, sleeping bags, boots, waders, or binoculars, the gear we recommend has been proven in the field. It hasn’t failed us, and it won’t fail you.
Gear
The Best Spotting Scopes
Comb through a Cormac McCarthy novel multiple times, and you’ll be amazed at what you missed. The same goes for glassing big game with a spotting scope. And while you still might have to scan until your eyes fall out, some spotters can make that job easier. From whitetails to Dall sheep and...
Adam Moore
Sep 11, 2023
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Gear
The Best Rangefinders
“Close enough” might cut it at the golf course, but when it comes to the rifle range or tree stand, punched tags require precision. Whether you’re gun or bowhunting, making a successful and ethical shot hinges on knowing your target’s exact distance. The MeatEater crew doesn’t leave hunting to...
Adam Moore
Sep 6, 2023
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Gear
Best Semi-Auto Hunting Rifles
When the Canadian parliament announced a proposal late last year to ban a large category of semi-automatic rifles, critics characterized it as a direct attack on hunters–with good reason.
While bolt-action rifles are the most popular choice for big-game in North America, a smaller but faithful group...
Jordan Sillars
Sep 1, 2023
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Featured Gear
Hunting Gear
The Best Long Range Hunting Rifles
Going into the field with the intention of taking a long-range shot isn’t the right mindset. A good hunter gets as close to his or her quarry as possible, and in the vast majority of situations, that’s inside distances most rifle shooters would describe as "long range."
However, there are situations...
Jordan Sillars
Aug 3, 2023
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Gear
The Best Bow Releases of 2023
Release aids aren’t the flashiest archery accessories. But unless you’ve mastered shooting fingers, you’re going to need a reliable release to arrow any animal.
Between hooks, calipers, triggers, wrist straps, and handhelds, you’ll find dozens of different combinations in the archery aisle. So while...
Emily Kantner
Aug 2, 2023
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Gear
Best Bow Sights of 2023
Unless you’re instinctively shooting stick and string, odds are you need a bow sight that helps you zero in on your intended target.
But like most archery accessories, the wide array of bow sight options can get overwhelming. So we narrowed it down to the best of the best based on the type of sight...
Emily Kantner
Jul 25, 2023
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Gear
Best Hearing Protection for Shooting & Hunting
Humans may be the only predatory animals on the planet that don’t seem to care about losing their sense of hearing. At least, you might assume that given how often gun hunters use hearing protection in the field.
The consequence is that like an old wolf who’s gone deaf, hard-of-hearing hunters are...
Jordan Sillars
Jul 20, 2023
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Hunting Gear
The Best Hunting Arrows for Big Game
An often overlooked piece of gear in the bowhunter’s toolkit is a reliable arrow.
Arrows aren’t as exciting to tinker with as the latest carbon compounds, but behind the bow, they’re the equipment that has the most impact on deadly accuracy. You can skate by without a stabilizer or the latest camo...
Emily Kantner
Jul 6, 2023
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Firearms
Best Lever-Action Hunting Rifles of 2023
I didn’t watch this show as a kid, but I’ve recently discovered (thanks to my lovely wife) the hit 1950’s western “The Rifleman” starring Chuck Connors. Connors plays a quick-shooting but peace-loving cowboy named Lucas McCain, and I’d put it up against any John Wayne movie for spurring viewers to...
Jordan Sillars
Jun 29, 2023
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Contributors
Sam Lungren
Sam Lungren is MeatEater's Supervising Editor and a former freelance writer/photographer, commercial fisherman, and editor of BHA's Backcountry Journal. Though originally from Whidbey Island, Washington, he's been in Montana for almost a decade and probably isn't leaving—except during steelhead...
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Katie Hill
Katie Hill is an assistant editor for MeatEater and a former freelance writer with a master’s degree in environmental journalism. Originally from Connecticut, Katie spent her first 22 years eating elk and venison from her dad's hunts before fleeing to Montana to become a wordsmithing outdoorswoman...
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Firearms
The Best Hunting Scopes
For the past several years, I’ve had the opportunity to try out a fair number of different scopes through competition, hunting, and helping the MeatEater crew dial in their kits. For those few scopes I haven’t used personally, I also have data points from folks who spend a lot of time behind a rifle...
Garrett Long
Jun 2, 2023
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Firearms
4 Best Turkey Shotguns for Beginners
Dedicated turkey shotguns did not become popular until the early 2000s. At the time, turkey populations were booming—there were an estimated 7 million birds inhabiting the U.S. and Canada—which ushered in a new era of optics-ready, short-barreled shotguns that catered to turkey hunters.
Truthfully...
Joe Genzel
May 17, 2023
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Firearms
5 Best Rifles for New Hunters
Access to hunting ground is the number-one barrier to entry for new hunters, but firearms are usually also towards the top of that list. It can be intimidating to select, purchase, and learn to shoot a rifle, especially if you’ve never done so before.
If that’s you, you’ve come to the right place...
Jordan Sillars
May 11, 2023
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