Many people hunt hogs nowadays, employing a wide range of weapons and tactics, all of which offer fun and excitement. Still, for hair-raising episodes, wrestling a live hog to the ground might prove to be the most exhilarating—and dangerous. The adventures of a few hunters from forty-five years ago demonstrate just how perilous grabbing a wild hog by the ear really is. Here in Florida, hogs can be legally taken any time of day and year on private land with the landowners’ permission. Because of their reproductive capabilities and habit of rooting for food, hogs destroy tremendous acreages of i ..read more

Turkey-hunting shotguns are in a class of their own. Shorter barrels, fancy camo patterns, pistol grips, and custom chokes separate gobbler getters from traditional shotguns you might find in your grandpa’s closet. Red dots belong to this group of turkey-specific accessories, too. While some folks still prefer a bead, red dots are becoming the norm in the turkey woods. After all, if you’re spending over $10 per shell on the hottest TSS loads, you want every shot to count. I used to possess a bit of skepticism around red dots. I assumed they were overkill or for hunters who wanted to take pokes ..read more

Nothing beats tagging a longbeard right after fly down. You’re back at camp before breakfast, and you look like a turkey guru to your hunting buddies. It’s how most turkey hunters envision a plan unfolding the night before. Unfortunately, it’s not usually the case. I can count on both hands how many times I’ve had a turkey hunt play out this way. Most of my successful hunts occurred late morning or middle of the day after multiple setups, periods of silence, and pity parties. The latter time frame happens to be one of my favorites to hunt turkeys. Sure, roosting a bird and killing him right of ..read more

Former Green Bay Packer's linebacker, Clay Matthews, joins Steven Rinella and Ryan Callaghan for his first Montana duck hunt. With his athletic prowess on hand, Clay quickly figures out how to swing his shotgun at incoming mallards. Hunting tales, football injuries, and first waterfowl hunt memories are shared in the frozen duck blind ..read more

What makes a good varmint cartridge? It should be accurate in most factory rifles. It should be flat-shooting, meaning it doesn’t drop too much at longer rangers. It should also have limited recoil to allow for a full day of prairie dog hunting and use a narrow bullet to preserve the pelt as much as possible. There are lots of popular cartridges that check these boxes, and we’ve covered some of them in previous articles. But there’s one varmint cartridge that I don’t think gets enough love, and even though die-hard varmint hunters have likely heard of it, it’s worth a look even if you only cha ..read more

I’ve dedicated a full week to hunting black bears for the last three seasons, and I’ve come to a conclusion: this isn’t for the faint of heart. Black bear populations are less dense than elk, they don’t run in herds, and their powerful noses can sniff you coming from, literally, a mile away. That’s why it’s crucial to dial in your bear-hunting kit. When the bears are staying hidden on the hillsides, you don’t want to be too cold or too hot, fighting tired eyes from an uncomfortable sleeping situation, or nursing sore feet. When that shot finally does present itself, you need to be confident th ..read more

Ryan Watson and Bryan Hagerich didn’t know each other before they got arrested and jailed in Turks and Caicos earlier this year, but now they’re making plans to go elk hunting together as soon as they return to the United States. Unfortunately, that first step–returning to the U.S.–feels like a bigger challenge than bagging the biggest bull in the mountains. “Even to this day, I think I’m going to wake up from this and it’s going to be over,” Hagerich told MeatEater. “But it’s your new reality, and I don’t know if it will ever sink in.” Watson and his wife, Valerie, gained international attent ..read more

Steven Rinella and Cameron Hanes archery hunt for wild hogs in Texas. It's mid winter and before they sit down to record episode #522 of the MeatEater Podcast, Steve and Cameron take advantage of the excessive wild pig population on a south Texas ranch ..read more

Few things rival the sense of accomplishment that accompanies killing your first turkey. This is especially true if you commit a few seasons’ worth of blunders along the way. The season I killed my first bird, I managed to miss or spook a legion of turkeys all in the first two weeks. I put on a masterclass for how not to kill a turkey, and more than a few longbeards honed their survival instincts that year. However, those mistakes made my first turkey even sweeter. So sweet that when I finally ran to grab that 17-pound gobbler, his pencil beard, which might’ve eclipsed eight inches, felt like ..read more

Elk are the largest animals most American hunters will ever have a chance to harvest. For that reason, once a hunter is ready to step up from whitetail deer to elk, the first question they ask is: do I have enough gun to get the job done? We’re here to help you answer that question. The MeatEater crew has harvested their fair share of elk, and our recommendations are derived from years of in-the-field experience. If you go with one of the cartridges below, you’ll have plenty of power on tap to take down an elk–as long as you put the bullet where it needs to go. Jump to: The Elk Cartridges We U ..read more