by Ron Spomer | Feb 2, 2020
A popular and knowledgeable gun writer online recently published a weak embrace of the .308 Winchester as his choice for an all-round, do-everything rifle cartridge. Like the groom at a shotgun wedding, he said, “I do” more out of a sense of self-preservation than...
by Ron Spomer | Jan 14, 2020
Were you to dream a moose hunt, this classic north country wilderness would be the perfect place. It was the quintessential north woods moose hunt for five days. Wild, serene, beautiful and perfect for the huntress. But then it was the moose’s turn. One tends to...
by Ron Spomer | Jan 9, 2020
Quick. Name an Italian hunting rifle… See? That’s the problem. While the Italians are famous for hot cars, hot women and fine shotguns (which can also get pretty hot on an Argentine dove hunt), they seem to have taken a terminal lunch break at the rifle factory. For...
by Ron Spomer | Dec 25, 2019
For the past 150 years, Winchester has always found a way to create iconic firearms beloved by their owners and passed down grandfather to grandson. You don’t select a Winchester rifle and say “Here. This is it. This is Winchester’s magnum opus, its masterwork. This...
by Ron Spomer | Dec 12, 2019
Mossberg, a familiar, all-American brand among blue-collar hunters since 1919, recently raised the bar with its newly designed, classic, walnut-and-blued Patriot Revere bolt-action rifle. With its nicely figured, straight-comb stock, cheekpiece, rosewood tip and light...
by Ron Spomer | Dec 9, 2019
A Beceite ibex stood atop an Iberian cliff across the canyon from us, its improbably long horns bowed against its rocky homeland. This was nothing new. That ram’s ancestors had posed on the same ledge while Hannibal’s elephants were lumbering through this region 2,200...
by Ron Spomer | Dec 3, 2019
A first world problem worth solving is balancing cutting-edge technology with the atavistic simplicity and joy of hunting. A few of us achieve this with longbows and homemade arrows, some with flintlock rifles and round balls, more with 19th century lever-action...
by Ron Spomer | Nov 4, 2019
On the largest Pacific island this side of New Zealand, the best way to hunt its huge beachcombing bears is by boat. The bear, rotund and grazing like an angus heifer, didn’t hear the purring of the 25-horse outboard, didn’t detect the splash of rubber boots hitting...
by Ron Spomer | Oct 31, 2019
Hill Country Rifles is a lot like the Psalmists in the Old Testament. They restoreth my soul.It isn’t that high-tech, synthetic stocked rifles aren’t tough, reliable, deadly accurate and good looking. It’s that they have no warmth, no soul. They’re like a runway...
by Ron Spomer | Sep 13, 2019
My H-S Precision SPL rifle is like that mousy girl you hardly noticed in high school. Then, after a year or two of blossoming at college, she comes back to town. Perky new hairdo, smart new clothes and a confident attitude to match. Wow! How did you overlook that...
