Best Binoculars for Wildlife Viewing
Four binoculars for watching wildlife compared from their makers' specs (field of view, close focus, weight and glass), 8x or 10x, and what to pack for Yellowstone or a safari, where you watch from a distance.
Best Cellular Trail Cameras
Six cellular trail cameras compared from their makers' specs (Browning, Moultrie, SPYPOINT and Tactacam), how a cellular trail camera sends pictures to your phone, data plans, carriers, solar power and what to check before you buy.
Best Chicken Coops With Runs
How much coop and run space hens need, from extension services, then four chicken coops with runs compared from their makers' specs, with the makers' hen counts checked against that space.
Best Crossbows, Compared
Five hunting crossbows compared from their makers' specs (speed, weight, length, draw weight and how you cock them), compound vs. recurve, what suits a beginner, and the rules to check first.
Best Hunting Pants by Season
Seven hunting pants compared from their makers' specs, sorted for early season, all season and late season (fabric, venting, waterproofing, insulation), plus how to layer hunting clothing and the blaze orange rules to check.
Best Night Vision Binoculars
Three night vision binoculars compared from their makers' specs (a digital day-and-night unit, a thermal-plus-digital hybrid and a Gen 2+ tube), digital vs. green and white phosphor, infrared illuminators, and the law to check first.
Fixed vs Mechanical Broadheads
How fixed-blade, removable-blade, mechanical and hybrid broadheads differ, why bowhunter education courses recommend mechanicals only for bows of 50 pounds or more, blade counts for large and small game, sharpness, and checking your state's broadhead rules, following bowhunter-ed.com and hunter-ed.com.
Best Times of Day to Hunt
Every hunter has heard the advice: "Hunt early, hunt late." There's real truth in it.
How to Sharpen a Hunting Knife
Edge angles for hunting knives, whetstones with oil or water, sharpening vs. honing, strops and the burr, electric sharpeners and grinders, field touch-ups from a game-care kit, and safe handling, following Wikipedia's sharpening article and the Alaska Bowhunter Safety Course.
Game Carts for Retrieval
When a game cart helps get a deer out, one wheel or two, what to compare, loading and strapping, keeping the carcass clean and cool, and checking the land manager's rules on carts, following the Alaska Bowhunter Safety Course and Penn State Extension.
Hunting Backpack Frame Types
Frameless, internal-frame and external-frame packs: how a frame moves weight from shoulders to hips, which suits day hunts, backcountry trips and hauling meat, fit, and planning loads for packing out an elk, following Wikipedia, the Alaska Bowhunter Safety Course and Penn State Extension.
Hunting GPS Units 2026
Three kinds of hunting GPS - dog-tracking handhelds, satellite communicators and mapping handhelds: what each is for, what the maker says about range and battery life, and what to check before buying.
Hunting Socks: Merino vs Synthetic
Why cotton socks are a poor choice in cold, wet weather, what merino wool and synthetics each do, layering with a liner, matching socks to boots, keeping feet dry against hypothermia, and when to replace socks, following the Alaska Bowhunter Safety Course and Wikipedia.
Rifle Scope Mounting Guide
How scope bases and rings work, matching ring size to the scope tube, the common rail types, a mounting checklist (clean, level, eye relief, torque to the maker's values), bore sighting, and the first range check, following Wikipedia, Alaska Fish and Game and the makers' manuals.
Choosing a Cooler for Game Meat
Why game meat must be cooled fast and kept at 40°F or below, how a cooler fits into field care, sizing for deer and elk, bagging and ice, keeping meat out of the sun, bear-resistant coolers and what IGBC certification means, following Penn State Extension, NMSU and the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.
Best Game Calls for Deer & Elk
The main call types for whitetails (grunt tube, bleat can, rattling), elk (bugle, cow call, diaphragm) and turkeys (box, slate, mouth call), what each sounds like and when hunters use it, plus the rules on electronic callers, following hunter-ed.com, Outdoor Life and Wikipedia.
Best Hunting Backpacks, Compared
Five hunting backpacks compared from their makers' specs, from a tree-stand day pack and a saddle hunting pack to a multi-day meat hauler, plus capacity, frame and fit.
Best Hunting Binoculars, Compared
Five 10x42 hunting binoculars compared from their makers' specs - weight, field of view, close focus, eye relief and glass - plus how to choose magnification and glass for timber or open country.
Best Hunting Boots by Terrain
Five hunting boots compared from their makers' specs - rubber, light, all-round and mountain - with insulation, height and what each suits, plus how to choose by terrain, insulation and fit.
Best Hunting Knives With Sheaths
Four hunting knives with sheaths compared from their makers' specs - two fixed blades and two replaceable-blade knives - by blade length, steel, weight and sheath, plus how to choose a field-dressing kit.
Best Rangefinders for Hunting
Three hunting rangefinders compared from their makers' specs - range on reflective targets and deer, angle compensation, weight and extras - plus how to choose between bow and rifle units.
How to Choose a Rifle Scope
What scope numbers like 3-9x40 mean, objective size, exit pupil and brightness, eye relief, first vs. second focal plane reticles, parallax adjustment, and what to check about mounting and sighting in, following Wikipedia's telescopic sight article and Alaska Fish and Game.
Best Spotting Scopes for Hunting
Four hunting spotting scopes compared from their makers' specs - magnification, objective, weight, length, close focus and glass - plus how to choose magnification, eyepiece angle and a tripod for western big game.
Best Trail Cameras, Compared
Four trail cameras compared from their makers' specs - two standard, two cellular - by trigger speed, detection and flash range, flash type and power, plus how to choose by ground, budget and data plan.
Hunting from a Tree Stand
Hunting from a tree stand is one of the most effective ways to pursue whitetail deer and other big game.
Tree Stand vs Ground Blind
When hunters set up to ambush game, they usually have two main options: get up in a tree, or stay on the ground in a concealed blind. Both work.