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My tenure for the past decade as a western big-game guide, combined with a lifetime obsession for hunting, puts me in the field over 150 days a year. From ground squirrels to lovesick spring toms, bugling bull elk, and a smorgasbord of feathered and furred quarry, the Mountain West provides ample opportunity to hunt year-round. And since I am in the mountains or a duck blind so frequently, there are a few trusted guns I rely on. Of course, the following firearms are not the only guns you can use to hunt the West, but they have all served me extremely well. And if you’re trying to line your gun cabinet with the proper firearms to hunt all western game species, these rifles, shotguns, and pistols will get the job done.

Deer, Sheep, and Antelope Rifle: Custom Remington 700 .280 Ackley Imp.

A capable centerfire rifle is a necessity to hunt the wide diversity of ungulates found across the West. The popular .300 Win. Mag. will certainly kill any big-game species you need it to, but I prefer having at least two different rifles: One rifle for deer and antelope sized game and another for larger critters such as elk, bear, and moose. I would classify any cartridge between the .243 Win. and the variety of .284 offerings plenty adequate for deer and antelope. My current go-to centerfire is a custom rifle chambered in .280 Ackley Improved. This decked out, custom build features a Remington 700 action, PROOF Research carbon fiber wrapped Sendero Light barrel, PROOF Research Mountain stock, and a Timney H.I.T. Trigger set at 2.5 pounds. Leupold’s VX-6 HD 3-18X44 scope puts the cherry on top of this build, which tips the scales at just under 8 pounds. The .280 Ackley Imp. is an inherently accurate cartridge, but this tack driver of a rifle consistently shoots .50 MOA groups with Federal’s 155-grain Terminal Ascent factory offering. I’ve shot desert sheep in Nevada, pronghorn in Wyoming, and several Texas whitetails with this rifle. It has never let me down.

Elk, Moose, and Bear Rifle: Browning X-Bolt McMillan LR .300 PRC

Assuming you are shooting a well-constructed bullet, any cartridge between .284 and .338 are proven to be deadly on big-boned game such as elk and moose. Can both species be killed with smaller cartridges? Absolutely. In fact, I cleanly killed a mature bull at 365 yards with a single 162-grain Winchester Copper Impact bullet last year with Browning and Winchester’s new 6.8 Western cartridge. However, my time as a guide has taught me that these smaller cartridges do not leave as much margin for error as larger ones (but you also must be comfortable with the amount of recoil a heavier bullet produces in order to be accurate with it).

With that in mind, my current set-up for hunting elk and black bear is Browning’s X-Bolt McMillan LR chambered in .300 PRC. My only complaint about this rifle is it is slightly heavier (over 8.5 pounds with scope and fully loaded) than I am used to carrying, but the weight certainly helps suppress felt recoil. Shooting 190-Grain Hornady CX bullets, this rifle regularly rings steel at 1,000 yards and carries plenty of terminal knock-down power beyond 500 yards.

Short-Range Rimfire Rifle: Ruger 10-22

Rimfire rifles provide valuable training opportunities to hone your marksmanship. They are also effective varmint and small game guns. When I hunt ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and rock chucks, my rimfire of choice is a Ruger 10-22 that belonged to my grandfather. It’s not the prettiest gun, but I’ve hunted with it more than all the other rifles in my safe combined due to its durability and accuracy. I have had the 10-22 for 30 years, and with my son showing a budding interest in hunting I look forward to the day that I will get to pass this rifle on to him. Hopefully he will find as much joy in it as I have.

Long-Range Rimfire Rifle: Savage 93R17 BTVSS .17 HMR

The second rimfire I take afield, especially when shooting rock chucks or taking 100-plus yard shots on prairie dogs, is a left-handed Savage 93R17 BTVSS .17 HMR. The .17 HMR cartridge is an effective killer on small critters and can take out coyotes as well. The Savage is also incredibly accurate, putting holes inside holes when shooting off a bench. This sweet little rifle doubles as a rabbit gun, though a head shot is a must to preserve the little meat that is on them.

Duck Hunting Shotgun: Winchester Super X3

By and large the vast majority of waterfowlers shoot either a pump or semi-auto 12-gauge shotgun to take advantage of larger payloads and the ability to shoot three shells. Both platforms are also easier to load and unload when you’re hunting from a blind. My waterfowl gun collection has grown in recent years, but the one I grab most often is the Winchester SX3.

The gas-driven action of the 3½-inch SX3 has cycled every shotshell I have ever put through it. But more importantly, I shoot the gun well. The SX3, a favorite among snow goose hunters for its soft recoil and functionality, features a Dura-Touch coating that protects the shotgun fromthe constant abuse and corrosion duck hunters put their guns through.

Upland Shotgun: Browning Citori Lightning

Over/under shotguns go hand-in-hand with upland bird hunting. There are many great O/U options, but the one that has always trumped them all for me is the Browning Citori, an affordable break-action platform that is available in a gauge and price point to fit most hunter’s needs and means. My first Citori was an older model 20-gauge Lightning. It now proudly wears the dings and dents of years of use and abuse from hunting across the West. I shoot a sub-gauge because shots are typically close and upland birds are easier to bring down than ducks and geese, so you can get away with smaller payloads. Sub-gauge shotguns are also lighter than a 12-gauge, which makes a big difference when you’re climbing steep faces for mountain chukar.

Turkey Shotgun: Benelli Super Black Eagle

Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) has changed the game for turkey hunters, making even a dainty .410-bore a legitimate gun to kill longbeards (where legal). But paying over $10 per shell is not an option for many hunters. And if you hunt turkeys the way I do—calling them in close—TSS isn’t a necessity. That’s why my turkey gun has been an original inertia-driven 12-gauge Benelli Super Black Eagle for years. Although there are plenty of aftermarket choke options, the factory full in this classic auto-loader paired with Winchester’s 3-inch Longbeard XR No. 5s has patterned best for me. It’s capable of killing a turkey at 50 yards, though I don’t need to take shots at that distance.

Truck Gun: Christensen Arms CA-15

Most western hunters have a dedicated truck gun. Mine is a Christensen Arms CA-15. During the fall this rifle rides shotgun with me always, primarily to shoot coyotes. The CA-15 is light, accurate, and the collapsible stock makes it easy to store or keep out of the way inside my vehicle. Hornady’s Varmint Express ammo, loaded with a 55-grain V-MAX bullet produces the most consistent groupings for me, typically around 1 MOA. I consider that good enough for and AR I shoot out to 300 yards. My rifle scope of choice on this coyote exterminator is Leupold’s bomb-proof VX-3 HD 4.5-14X40. The low end of magnification on the scope allows for quick shots when calling predators in close quarters, while the top end still allows me to reach out if a wary song dong hangs up. This rifle also doubles as a great rock chuck gun when I don’t have a rimfire handy.

Personal Defense Pistol: Springfield XDS .45 ACP

Living in Utah, I never felt it necessary to carry a sidearm while hunting to protect myself, but that changed a few years ago. I was scouring the hills in search of shed antlers when I crested a ridge and came face-to-face with a mountain lion. The lion never showed aggression, but we had a stare down inside 100 yards that I vividly remember. As I slowly walked backwards, I felt helpless without any way to defend myself. Luckily the lion stayed put, but that week I made my way down to the local gun store and purchased a Springfield XDS chambered in .45 ACP that rarely leaves my side.

The XDS weighs a mere 21.5-ounces and sports a 3.3-inch barrel, making it easy to carry in the backcountry. One downside to the XDS is its single-stacked magazine capacity of 5+1. It would be nice to have a few more rounds to send downrange in a pinch, but on the rare occasion that I will ever have to use this sidearm, I believe I am accurate enough to subdue a threat with six shots. Like home defense weapons, any soft or hollow point ammo is sufficient for personal defense from lions or black bears (I don’t run across grizzly bears often). If you are hunting in grizzly country, you are better off shooting a solid cast bullet that could penetrate the dense skull of a bear. A personal defense pistol adds weight but provides peace of mind knowing that I have fire power close by if an emergency were to arise.

Both reservoirs are in the eastern part of the state, with Gartside situated a stone’s throw from the Yellowstone River near the North Dakota state line. The reservoir also holds largemouth and smallmouth bass, as well as bluegills, walleyes, and pike.

Green sunfish are an introduced (non-native) species in Montana, according to FWP. They can be found throughout the lower Yellowstone and Little Missouri drainages, where they are “well suited to radically changing conditions found in prairie streams.” The species’ native range stretches from the Great Lakes down to Mexico, and includes all of the Central Plains west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Rocky Mountains.

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Let’s get this part out of the way first: I am not a Fudd. I own lots of rifles and shotguns with synthetic stocks, I’ve shot smart scopes, and I’ve hunted with AR-style rifles. Plus, I’m a Millennial, at least as defined by age. I know that new shooting technology is useful and has its place. But I think that those traditional, wood-stocked bolt-action rifles have their place, too.

In my opinion, that place is deer camp where tradition thrives. The gold standard here would be hunting with Grandpa’s old gun (perhaps a Savage 99 or Marlin 336), but maybe you didn’t grow up in a deer hunting family, or maybe Grandpa is still hunting with his rifle. Sure, you could shop around for a classic, used rifle (maybe an old Remington 700 or a Winchester Model 70), but the nicks and scratches in that rifle won’t be yours. I think there’s still value in buying a new, wood-stocked rifle, marking it with your own memories, and then one day passing it down.

The good news is there are still plenty of quality rifles being made with wood stocks. Last fall, I spent my deer season hunting with a Winchester Model 70 Super Grade rifle that’s fitted with a beautiful maple stock. And, I plan to hunt with this gun for many deer seasons to come.

Nostalgia vs. Performance

Most of my shots are made in the woods at close ranges. Anyone who has hunted the hectic 9-day Wisconsin gun season knows that shots at bucks are usually quick ones, taken while the deer is moving through timber. My shooting is done from a treestand, usually offhand, or braced against a tree. For this kind of work I want a rifle that comes to my shoulder quickly, points naturally, and runs smoothly. The Winchester Super Grade and many other modern wood stocked rifles are built to do just that.

As for accuracy, any rifle that shoots around 2-inch groups from the bench, with hunting ammo, will suffice. That might sound like heresy in the era of sub-MOA guarantees, but it’s a realistic perspective. On any given shot in the Wisconsin deer woods, I’m essentially trying to hit an 8-inch oval that overlaps a buck’s front shoulder at ranges of 50 to 200 yards. I do not need sub-MOA accuracy out of my rifle and load to do this.

Read Next: Marlin 336 Classic Review and Field Test

Beyond performance requirements, I want the rifle to look like the rifles of my childhood. That means a nice wood stock. I can remember back to when I was a little kid, my dad first showed me his deer rifle—a beautiful Browning A-Bolt Medallion that my mom had given him as a wedding gift—and instructed me on how to handle the gun safely and avoid touching the metal on the barrel or the lenses on the scope with my grimy hands. Even as a little kid I could tell that the rifle was imminently important, even if I wasn’t sure why. My dad loves that gun, and he still hunts with it today.

For Wisconsin deer camp, I want to hunt with a rifle that brings back that kind of reverence.

Wood vs. Synthetic Stocks

There are, of course, good reasons as to why hunters and shooters have moved toward synthetic stocks. They are typically more durable, lighter, more consistent, and often more affordable.

“Wood is an organic material that reacts to its environment,” says Shooting Editor John B. Snow, who has seen the dramatic shift toward synthetic stocks during his long tenure at Outdoor Life. “And wood is also, well, squishy, which is an issue. There are ways to mitigate it and try to seal wood against the environment. Done right, you can pretty much do the job. But if you’re talking about a basic wood-stocked rifle, it’s going to be environmentally susceptible compared to a well-made synthetic stock.”

Since synthetic-stocked rifles started cropping up decades ago, they’ve taken over the rifle market and now the most precise custom rifles—and, on the flip side, many of the cheapest hunting rifles—come with synthetic stocks.

“When I was getting going at Outdoor Life, a synthetic-stocked rifle was looked at like a turd in a punch bowl,” Snow says. “The feeling was, why would you want that ugly thing. But it’s shifted to the point where you can hardly find a custom gun maker who makes a wood-stocked rifle anymore.

“What drove the trend was performance. When gunmakers like Kenny Jarret or Ed Brown started making good synthetic rifles, accuracy was part of their promise. Then you’ve got the Gunwerks and George Gardners of the world, they never even considered wood.”

“Look at Melvin Forbes. His synthetic stocks are a work of art. They weigh just mere ounces and they’re just strong as hell. I’ve written before that you could beat a cape buffalo to death with one and it wouldn’t break.”

But a wood-stocked rifle isn’t inherently less accurate than its synthetic counterpart out of the box, that’s a total fallacy. The difference is that wood is more susceptible to warping over time, which can impact accuracy. So, if gunmakers are shooting for supreme, consistent accuracy, they gravitate to synthetic stocks with very few exceptions. Often, there are other factors about wood-stocked rifles that contribute to accuracy, as well.

“Those wood guns tend to have sporter weights and lighter barrels, so there are other things tipping the scales against them in the accuracy realm. But for the person who buys that gun, ultimate accuracy is not their priority.”

None of Snow’s commentary on wood-stocked rifles really concern me. Except for maybe one: They aren’t made like they used to be.

“The one thing I would lament is the loss of hand-craftsmanship in modern wood-stocked rifles with hand checkering and so forth,” Snow says. “That’s a dying, or even dead, art. And that’s part of the evolution, you can see that in a lot of places. Just look at any old Model 70 or Mauser. Look closely at the metal and you can see the chatter from hand filing marks and know that this rifle was honed and tuned by somebody, rather than just cut perfectly by a machine. And that goes back to the idea that the gun is a living, breathing object. I don’t know that today’s wood guns have that same mystery to them. They might be wood, and they arguably have more soul than the synthetic guns, but it’s not like the first Marlin I got, which clearly shows handwork on it.”

I’ll admit that the fact these rifles aren’t made with the same hand touches diminishes their appeal, but only slightly. There’s still plenty of care that goes in to making the best wood-stocked rifles today.

Read Next: Best Deer Rifles

Wood-Stocked Rifles: Meet the Modern Classics

My Winchester Model 70 Super Grade is, by all accounts, gorgeous. The AAAA grade stock is red maple (though some sugar maples make the grade, too) from the Appalachian Mountains. Each log is inspected and purchased individually by Tech Woods USA, according to Winchester product manager Glenn Hatt. The stock blank is heat treated, graded, certified, and then sent to the Winchester factory in Portugal where they machine, checker, finish, and then bed the stocks onto the rifles.

“The heat treatment of the maple stocks also changes the color of the stocks so they aren’t so much a white-blonde but have a more of a yellow, antique look that really lets the flame or tiger striping pop, especially with our gloss finish,” Hatt says. “The added rigidity, stiffness, and resistance to moisture variations are also extreme benefits. After Tech Woods USA hand selects each tree, we hand select each blank and mark it … This ensures that it meets our tight criteria for ambrosia (dark worm lines in the stock), knots, and any other blemishes and guarantees that the stock meets our quality standards.”

It was a bit surprising to me to learn that 70 percent of Winchester Model 70s sales are still wood-stocked rifles (however only 13 percent of Winchester XPR sales are wood). But maybe it shouldn’t have been. There are still a bunch of quality rifles being made with wood stocks, which shows there’s still real demand. That list includes:

Wood-Stocked Bolt-Action Rifles

• Bergara B14 Timber Hunter
• Browning X-Bolt Medallion
• CZ 600 Lux
• Tikka T3 Hunter Stainless
• Weatherby Mark V Deluxe
• Winchester Model 70 Super Grade

Wood-Stocked Lever Guns

• Marlin 336 Classic
• Henry Side Gate
• Browning BLR
• Winchester Model 94

Maybe next year I’ll add another one of these modern wood-stocked rifles to our deer camp gun rack because there are plenty more memories to be made.

“On average, the machine sells 10 to 15 packs a week,” the Japanese newspaper reports. “But supplies sometimes run out because the bear hunting season is limited.”

Last November, local restaurant Soba Goro installed the bear meat vending machine near the JR Tazawako train station in Semboku, Akita. Residents of northern Japan lead the nation in bear meat consumption, according to The Guardian, and the restauranteurs were looking to promote the unique protein source as a tourist attraction. Most buyers have been commuters on the bullet train. But the machine’s operators also get calls for mail-in orders from people in Tokyo.

The refrigerated vending machine is open 24 hours a day. It contains local beef in addition to the local black bear meat. Both are processed in a slaughterhouse. The beef costs 3,000 yen (or roughly $23) for a 200-gram portion. The bear meat sells for 2,200 yen (or roughly $17) per 250-gram portion.

Read Next: How to Eat a Spring Black Bear

Black Bear Hunting in Japan

The mountains of northern Japan are home to a healthy (and huntable) population of Asiatic black bears, which are estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 strong. (Japan’s northern island, Hokkaido, is also home to a small and protected population of brown bears.) The Japanese government encourages the sustainable harvest of black bears. Asiatic black bears are more aggressive than American black bears, and conflicts with humans have recently gone up in Japan.

2020 saw a record-high number of conflicts, with two people killed and another 140 injured by bears, according to Japan’s Ministry of the Environment. The Ministry estimates that hunters and local authorities culled more than 5,000 black bears that year. They harvested roughly 4,500 bears in 2021.

The cow waded in to her belly and began drinking. Goad moved down the shore to give the cow space, and his consideration was rewarded: he started catching fish on every throw. One of those fish was a 5-ounce longear sunfish.

“I’ve been fishing this lake for around 10 years and I’ve caught crappie, bass, bluegill—all pretty good sizes,” Goad told MDC. “But I’ve known there are good-sized sunfish for about seven or eight years and I’ve been trying to catch a record ever since.”

The sunfish tied the alternative method state record set in July 2021 by Robert Audrain IV on a private pond in Franklin County. Brian Longo caught the pole-and-line record longear sunfish, weighing 11 ounces, in June 2007 on a private pond.

A throwline is a fishing line with five or fewer hooks and one end attached to a permanent structure, similar to a trotline. Throwlines are popular for catfish and other larger species. They’re included in what MDC defines as acceptable alternative fishing methods, in addition to trotlines, limb lines, bank lines, jug lines, gigs, bows, crossbows, underwater spearfishing, snagging, snaring, grabbing, or using an atlatl. In other words, most anything goes for the alternative method category in the Show-Me State.

Goad is a lifelong angler with a passion for all things fishing. For him, this record was decades in the making.

“I was 5 years old when I first caught a longear sunfish, so I’ve been after this for 70 years,” Goad said. “Catching a record is a really tough deal. For an old guy and a veteran, I’ve seen a lot of things, so I was excited about this record.”

The .220 Swift is odd. It has world-beating velocity, but never became widely popular among hunters. It is a load we all should have fallen in love with—since it’s the fastest commercial rifle cartridge in the world—but didn’t.

The .220 Swift is a .22-caliber round that fires .224-inch bullets, the same as used atop .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .224 Weatherby Magnum, .24 Nosler and similar .22 centerfire cartridges. Winchester created this load, and named it for what it was—swift.

It’s a “hot” round, pushing a 48-grain bullet at 4,100 fps. The .220 Swift was faster than any other commercial cartridge of any other caliber in the world (and still is). Only the .204 Ruger comes close to the .220 in terms of speed. The .223 WSSM could match the .220 in velocity, but that cartridge is now obsolete.

It was built pre-WWII, before fighter jets had been invented or the atom had been split. The next fastest .22-caliber rifle cartridge extant at the time, the .22 Hornet, pushed 40-grain bullets about 1,400 fps slower than the .220. It was so advanced that 86 years later nothing has caught up in terms of speed (the .22 Savage Hi-Power of 1912 drove 70-grain bullets about 2,800 fps, but they were .228 inches).

So why isn’t the .220 a popular load for today’s hunters and target shooters? There are a few different reasons. But first, let’s take a closer look at the history of the .220 Swift, and its ballistic makeup. Then I will delve into why it failed.

Building the Fastest Rifle Round

How did Winchester pull this off? They went to the Navy for the .220 Swift’s parent case. From 1895 to 1899 the U.S. Navy was experimenting with a straight-pull bolt-action rifle built by Winchester chambered for 6mm. That round burned the then new smokeless powder to push a 112-grain round nose bullet 2,560 fps. To stabilize that, rifling twist was a surprisingly fast-for-the-era (and still today) 1:7.5 inches.

While the 6mm Lee Navy cartridge and rifle was accurate and dependable, both were phased out in favor of the .30/40 Krag, which was itself dumped for the .30/03 three years later. Three years after that the .30/03 was jettisoned for the .30/06.

Winchester sold a few straight-pull rifles and its 6mm Lee Navy ammo for many years, but lever-actions were all the rage. Bolt-actions and 6mm calibers were a trifle too esoteric for the average American hunter. With the languishing 6mm cartridge in its portfolio, Winchester had the foundation and incentive to reformulate it. But instead of sticking with the 6mm, a lonely caliber at the time, Winchester decided to squeeze in .224 bullets.

In that era the .22 Hornet was making waves, so wildcatters were beginning to stuff its little bullets atop other cases in an effort to gain more speed. Woodchucks, ground squirrels, foxes, crows, and hawks were a ubiquitous menace around farms and ranches across the country. “Varmints” were a genuine threat to chickens, sheep, and daily dinners, if not livelihoods. A .22 with more reach than the Hornet was needed, and the .220 Swift delivered in spades. It shot flatter at 325 yards than the Hornet at 230 yards. And delivered 725 foot-pounds more energy.

The Swift Shoots Like a Laser

From the get go the Swift was controversial. Winchester chambered it in its 26-inch barreled M54 bolt-action, a precursor to the M70 that appeared two years later. Of course, it was lauded as the new super-cartridge, able to travel 300 yards in record time. Had there been such a thing as a laser, the Swift’s trajectory would have been favorably compared. Woodchucks began having their garden depredations short-circuited while still 400 yards away from the carrots. Whitetails and mule deer collapsed at the touch of the little 48-grain projectile to their ribs. More than a few westerners found it effective on elk and at least one adventurer applied it successfully to a tiger in India. By the mid-20th century noted gunsmith P.O. Ackley was touting the .220 Swift as “the greatest one-shot killer on deer and similar game ever produced.”

But there were detractors. The one with the loudest megaphone was one of the most recognized writers of the time, Robert Ruark. He escorted a .220 Swift to Africa, wounded a hyena with it, and declared he wouldn’t even use the hot .22-caliber “on a woodchuck.” “Use enough gun” became his rallying cry. In contrast, Lester Womack, who was culling destructive feral burros in the Grand Canyon region in 1948, discovered the .220 Swift dispatched 600-pound burros more effectively than the .30/40 Krag, .30/06 Springfield, and 8mm Mauser used by fellow cullers out to 600 yards. As if that weren’t astonishing enough, Womack compared the impact of his .220 Swift 48-grain factory loads to a .270 Winchester 100-grain load, and .30/06 armor-piercing military bullets.

After a decade working with the .220 Swift as well as many other cartridges, Mr. Womack declared: “If I were forced to choose only one rifle from my rack and forsake all others, the choice would be simple — I would reach for the .220 Swift.” Womack was shooting Winchester’s 48-grain bullets, but also 50-grain Ackley Controlled Expansion all-copper bullets with 10 grains of lead in the nose cavity.

The Unpopular .220

That rifleman’s declarations notwithstanding, Ruark’s opinion stuck, augmented to no small degree by complaints of severe throat erosion and early barrel burn out by many high-volume varmint shooters. Handloaders complained of case stretching and a frequent need to trim for case length.

In response to these complains, it is said, Winchester and other ammomakers began reducing .220 Swift muzzle velocities, but the barrel burner rumor mill wouldn’t stop churning. Then the .22-250 Remington hit the market in 1965, driving same-weight bullets as the Swift, but about 200 fps slower. That was fast enough for most. The .22-250 took off and left the speedier Swift in the dust.

Today, most riflemakers chamber for the .22-250 Remington and .223 Remington, but almost none make a rifle for the Swift. Nevertheless, the speed king remains the ultimate, high-velocity .22. It’s also as accurate as or slightly more accurate than, on average, the .22-250 Rem, according to records kept by some gunmakers and many serious varmint hunters who work with both. The steels in modern barrels have reduced the throat burning significantly, too. Many .220 Swift shooters report stellar accuracy after 2,000 rounds, some 2,500 rounds. The trick is to temper the rate of fire.

Read Next: 13 of the Biggest Gun Fails in Recent Firearm History

The .220 is the Ultimate Coyote Load

The .220 Swift’s biggest problem results from its 19th century heritage. It sports a rare “semi-rim,” a concession to its parent’s use in a military machine gun. By today’s standards it has excessive body tape and a sloping shoulder of 21 degrees, a far cry from the 30- to 35-degree shoulders preferred on modern, long range cartridges. The upshot is a bit more case stretching, which leads to frequent neck trimming.

Despite this, most handloaders can get five to eight reloads from a Swift case depending on how hot they load.

Twist rates in most factory-built .220 Swift rifles are 1:14, a few are 1:12. Neither is fast enough for traditional bullets heavier than 60 or 62 grains, which can be pushed to 3,712 fps from 26-inch barrels. The more common 55-grain loads should hit 3,850 fps, about 100 to 200 fps faster than the .22-250 Remington pushing the same weight, and 600 fps faster than the .223 Remington.

The overall cartridge length of the Swift is 2.680 inches, leaving it plenty of room to fit in standard short-action magazines (2.8 inches), even with today’s longer high B.C. bullets. Given the Swift’s powder capacity, this seems an excellent option for increasing its versatility. A 1:8 twist custom barrel and long-throat chamber will be required to handle the longer bullets, but muzzle velocities as high as 3,350 fps, perhaps 50 fps more, should be easily attained with 75-grain bullets. Couple that with the .220 Swift’s famous precision and you’re looking at extraordinary long range performance and minimal wind deflection with a .224 bullet. With a 1:7 twist the Swift will stabilize 90-grain bullets and drive them at least 3,000 fps for additionally impressive long-range performance.

What’s the 220 Swift good for? Besides long-range rodent control work, it could be considered the ultimate long-range coyote cartridge. In states where .22-calibers are legal for big game it’s been a proven killer on pronghorn, whitetails, and mule deer. In an 8-pound rifle, recoil energy is just 7 foot-pounds with 7.5 fps recoil velocity. That makes it a fine option for ringing steel at distance. Just pace yourself and the .220 Swift will keep you on target for thousands of rounds.

“Of the 14 eggs laid, seven appeared to be fertile and were artificially incubated,” the study’s authors write. And although none of the eggs hatched after three months of incubation, one of them contained “a fully formed non-viable fetus” that was determined to be a female with the same genetics as its mother.

“While it is disappointing that the crocodile [fetus] produced here failed to hatch it is not uncommon,” the authors added, pointing to other examples of virgin births throughout history.

What Is a “Virgin Birth” and How Often Do They Occur?

“Once considered rare, the ability of sexually reproducing species to generate offspring without genetic contributions of males has been documented across multiple vertebrate lineages, including both avian and non-avian reptiles (specifically snakes and lizards),” the study authors write.

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Over the last century, virgin births have been recorded in pigeons, chickens, quail, turkeys, and other birds. They’ve also been seen in several reptilian species, including Komodo dragons and rattlesnakes, as well as in sharks, rays, and other fish. The authors note the phenomenon is thought to be more common in species that are either on the verge of extinction or kept in captivity. And the more recent example of the two virgin-born California condors that were discovered at the San Diego Zoo would support this hypothesis.

The one thing that all these species have in common with crocodiles, according to the study, is their ancestral lineage. In evolutionary terms, every one of them descended from dinosaurs. This could imply that the “virgin birth” ability was passed down from these now-extinct species.

Bear spray was deployed, although it is unclear whether the victim was the one to use it. The bear was not deterred and returned to camp multiple times. The victim was transported to Logan Health in Whitefish with non-life-threatening injuries.

MFWP, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service are conducting a joint investigation into the scene. MFWP is also looking for the bear. Nyack sits on Route 2 in Flathead National Forest, immediately south of Glacier National Park.

This case is reminiscent of another instance from August 2022 when a black bear attacked a young man who was sleeping outside on a ranch in New Mexico’s Santa Fe National Forest. Paul Georgoulis woke up to a black bear closing its jaws around his head. The bear ran away when he screamed, but not before tearing a few gashes in his scalp.

Georgoulis sprinted into rancher Dean Dommer’s home and eventually received 16 staples in his head. He later described it “like something out of the movie Deliverance. I was in my underwear, bleeding like a stuck pig, screaming and running at this log cabin in the middle of nowhere.”

Black bear attacks are rare. But when food conditioning and habituation make bears more comfortable around humans, attacks become more likely. Sows will also defend their cubs with ferocity, like when a Colorado woman was attacked while covering her hot tub in the middle of the night. She was unaware that a sow and three cubs were in the immediate vicinity and received multiple lacerations to her back and arm. The sow and one cub were euthanized, while the other two cubs were tranquilized and transported to a rehabilitation facility.

Arrowing a State-Record Smallmouth Buffalo

Miller, 30, works as a pipefitter in Topeka. He’s also a dedicated archer with 20 years of experience, and he runs a custom-rigged bowfishing skiff featuring an open deck and light bars. This was the boat that he and his buddy Brad Martin trailered to Clinton Reservoir, which spans 7,000 acres and sits 25 miles east of Topeka near Lawrence. They launched around sunset on April 27 and kicked off an action-packed night of spring bowfishing.

“We had a lot of misses,” Miller tells Outdoor Life. “We’d gotten a couple carp though, and I was just easing my Grizzly Tracker boat along with an electric motor when I spotted a big fish. Its back was breaking the surface in about two feet of water.”

He drew his bow (an Oneida, fitted with a Muzzy bowfishing reel and a Hercules Long Barb arrow) and released. Miller made a good hit, and the fish took off through the shallows.

“I didn’t even know it [had broken] until later,” Miller explains. “But the other reel handle was okay, so I unwrapped the line that was tangled around the reel and then I reeled the fish close. That’s when we gaffed it and hauled it into the boat.”

Miller says he could tell right away that the fish had record potential, but he thought it was a grass carp when he first pulled it over the gunnel.

“I was excited when I [realized] it was a smallmouth buffalo,” he says. “I’ve wanted a state record for that species ever since I lost another big one that I shot with my bow years ago on Perry Lake. That lost buffalo made me into a serious bowfisherman, and I respect these fish. They’re really a cool species.”

Native to the Lake Michigan drainage and the larger Mississippi River basin, smallmouth buffalo are a type of suckerfish that can be found throughout eastern Kansas. They typically spawn in April through early June, when they move into the shallows and are more easily targeted with a bow. (Miller’s fish was a female with eggs.)

As soon as they boated the heavy fish, Miller and Martin called it a night and headed to the boat ramp. They stopped at a gas station on their way home to pack the fish in ice. The following morning Miller took the fish to a Topeka meat processing plant where it was weighed on a certified scale. Several witnesses watched as the scale registered 64 pounds, 12 ounces. The smallmouth buffalo measured 45 1/4 inches long with a 35-inch girth.

Next, he took the fish to a local KDWP office, where it was inspected by fisheries biologist Nick Kramer. With the species confirmed, Miller filled out the state-record application and waited for it to be certified.

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He now plans to have a replica mount made of the fish, and says he hopes it encourages more bowfishermen to get on the water in search of the next record.

“This is all about the fish, not me,” Miller says humbly. “I’m just a guy who happened to be there and get a chance at a great fish. She was an old fish, and I hope one day this record is broken. I’d love to see that next record fish taken by an archer.”

“Opossums typically have litter sizes of, say, eight to nine—they’ve been known to have as many as 13,” ADFG biologist Jason Herreman said earlier this month. “So, there’s probably a few individuals out there that we’re trying to track down.”

A Community Divided

A local animal shelter managed to capture the opossum in April, but it escaped before ADFG officials could arrive. Over the following weeks, as Grubby ran loose in the coastal community, some Homerites embraced their new hero while others argued for the opossum’s recapture. This included ADFG officials, who cited the risks the non-native critter posed to fish, birds, and other native species.

“The issue is that we don’t want invasive species in the state because of disease possibilities, because of the effect on native flora and fauna,” Herreman told reporters in April.

“The community has become completely divided,” the city’s animal shelter director Jillian Roberts said later that month.

State officials, meanwhile, continued to push for the opossum’s lethal removal. Herreman had a bigger concern: that the opossum could be a female carrying young. “The last thing we want is to establish a population.”

In May Herreman’s fears were realized when Grubby gave birth to a litter of joeys. Afraid of another Aleutian Island varmint infestation, officials asked the local community to help trap Grubby and her offspring. On May 24, the adult possum was finally apprehended by the Homer Police Department.

“Yesterday morning at approximately 0525 hours, Officer Crowder observed a wanted fugitive and somewhat local celebrity on the lam near Lakeside Drive and Smokey Bay,” the local police wrote in a Facebook post. “After some very effective de-escalation, the suspect was contained and taken into custody without further incident. It was transported to the Homer Jail via a very comfortable Rubbermaid trash can.”

Grubby was then turned over to ADFG officials in Homer. And although they had previously announced that the opossum would be euthanized, officials had already begun looking into other options.

“There were folks who were interested in making sure this animal wasn’t necessarily destroyed, but had a chance to be re-homed or sent back where it came from,” Herreman told Alaska Public Media last month. “And then we have other folks who understand the invasive-species issue and don’t have any issues with the animal possibly being put down for the good of the ecosystem.”

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After communicating with several facilities, Herreman announced on May 25 that the Anchorage Zoo had volunteered to take the animal in. As the zoo’s first and only opossum, Grubby will live out her remaining days in captivity.

Now faced with a passel of unwanted opossums in Homer, ADFG biologists have been searching the town for Grubby’s offspring (which locals have jokingly referred to as “grublets”). They caught one joey on June 2 and trapped three more on June 6.

Efforts to trap the remaining opossums are ongoing, and the Homer Police Department has encouraged locals to report the joeys as they’re found. “They have placements for the little ones so don’t be afraid to give us a ring,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.