Big Game Hunting Podcast - Hunting Africa, North America, & More!

Today, we're talking about Hornady's new 22 Advanced Rifle Cartridge (22 ARC), which purports to deliver 22-250 level performance out of an AR-15 platform. In this episode I discuss whether or not Hornady delivers on that promise, what this cartridge is best suited for, and whether or not you should purchase one. Join the Big Game Hunting Podcast tribe and get access to all our bonus material at ...

As I promised you a couple of weeks ago, we're going to talk about the details I've been able to dig up regarding the often repeated story where Roy Weatherby supposedly killed a cape buffalo with the 257 Weatherby Magnum today. Buckle up folks, because this is going to be a good one! Email me at john@thebiggamehuntingblog.com if you have additional information about Roy Weatherby killing a cape b...

Adam Wies (better known as WHO_TEE_WHO on YouTube) is up next in my ongoing Africa hunting mini-series. We actually just hosted Adam on a plains game hunt with us in Africa and yes, he did hunt with a 6.5 Creedmoor. As you'll learn here shortly, Adam had an outstanding trip. None of those 6.5 Creedmoor bullets bounced off any game and he actually had a couple of very impressive kills with it. I jo...

Joe Thompson is up next in my ongoing Africa hunting mini-series to talk about his hair raising leopard hunt in Zimbabwe last year. As you'll learn here shortly, there was a lot of drama associated with this hunt, especially at the beginning. As Ferris Bueller once said, life comes at you pretty fast and that's exactly what happened to Joe on this leopard hunt. Sponsor:  Get in touch with me to ma...

Mike Arnold is up next in my ongoing Africa hunting mini-series to talk about bushbuck and nyala. These two species of spiral horned antelope are both magnificent creatures that, as different as they may appear at first glance, also share a few surprising similarities. In fact, they also live in some of the same areas and even compete with each other for food (to the detriment of one of them). Mik...

In this episode, Kevin Robertson and I cover the most popular really big bore safari cartridges .50 caliber and larger and discuss their history, legacy, their strengths and weaknesses, and their recommended uses in detail. We discuss almost everything from the 500 Nitro all the way up to the 700 Nitro Express in this episode (to include some real retina detaching and clavicle breaking offerings l...

The "quarter bore" section of the ballistics world doesn't get a lot of love, certainly not when compared to the smaller 6mm, or larger 6.5mm, 270 cal, 7mm, or 30 cal bore diameters. Even so, the various 25 caliber cartridges have a very rich history and there some very interesting stories associated with them. In this episode, I hit the highlights of all of the 25 caliber SAAMI certified cartridg...

I just made it back home from a fantastic couple of days at the Bergara Academy at Queen Mountain Ranch near Evanston, Wyoming. This episode is a short "campfire style" discussion of the highlights of our time up there I did with Collin Russell from Bergara and 4 other media guys from the industry who joined me up there. All told, we talk about what we did at the Bergara Academy, the guns we shot...

Zak May from Reloading Quest is on the show with us today to talk about handloading. We talk about why people should handload, cartridges that are easy to reload for, cartridges that are difficult to reload for, common mistakes people make while handloading, and how Zak recommends getting started. Sponsor: Go to HuntingGuns101.com and Sign up for my free e-book on the best hunting calibers at to r...

Cole Tanner from Ozonics Hunting joins me on the show today to talk about the ozone devices they manufacture and sell to hunters as a way to minimize the chances of game smelling them afield. I know, it sounds too good to be true, but I've used an Ozonics unit for a long time myself now and I've seen firsthand how beneficial they can be afield. In fact, I'm certain it helped me take a couple of an...

I have another cartridge comparison for you today where we discuss the 300 Blackout vs 7.62x39mm . These two cartridges are remarkably similar in performance at first glance, but if you dig deeper, you'll see there are some substantial differences in some other key areas that lurk just below the surface. We'll explore all of those things in more detail here in this episode. Please hit that "SUBSCR...

It has been awhile since I've had someone on the show to talk about a truly wild and crazy hunt. To that end, I have a guest on the podcast today with me with a hair raising tale to share with you. When I first started attending church after I moved to town, people there started asking me what I do. Without exception, every single person I met told me I needed to talk to Terry Morgan about a hunt...

This episode releases on the 4 th  of July, so I thought it was fitting to not only do a cartridge comparison, but focus on two cartridges that have played prominent roles in US military conflicts over the past half century: the 223 Remington and 5.56 NATO on one side vs the 7.62x39mm on the other. The 5.56 vs 7.62x39mm debate kicked off right after military forces using those cartridges first met...

Ryan Hoover of Handgun Hunters International is on the show with us today to talk about hunting with a handgun. We discuss one of his more memorable handgun hunts, reasons why people enjoy hunting with a handgun, why handgun hunting is more challenging than hunting with a rifle in some ways, popular handgun models for hunters, and of course, practical ballistics and caliber selection for handgun h...

Master Alaskan guide Phil Shoemaker joins me in this episode to talk about brown bear hunting in Alaska. We discuss how he got started in this business, practical ballistics, caliber selection, and bullet selection as it relates to bear hunting, some of the other, less discussed, though still important aspects of bear hunting, and a couple of noteworthy stories from his long hunting career up in A...

John Stallone from HOWL for Wildlife is on the show with us to talk about a couple of serious threats to hunting he and his organization are fighting against. John is also a hunting outfitter and has hosted a hunting TV show. He also talks a little bit about what it was like to have a hunting TV show and gives us a small peek behind the curtain into that world. John and I discuss what's going on w...

Dan Gates from Coloradans For Responsible Wildlife Management is on the show with us to talk about a couple of very serious threats to hunting he and his organization are fighting against. As you'll learn here shortly, these are issues that affect hunters from all over the USA, not just those in Colorado. In this episode, Dan and I discuss these issues in detail, what they mean for hunters in Colo...

Sticking with the "Alaska Theme" we started last week with my discussion with Tyler Freel on Dall Sheep, we have Tyler Kuhn from A-Team Outfitting on the show to talk to us about bear hunting in Alaska. In this episode we talk about hunting both black and brown bear: the time of year they do those hunts, how they're alike and different, spot and stalk vs baited hunts, etc.  Sponsor: Go to HuntingG...

Tyler Freel is back on the show today to talk about Dall Sheep hunting. Tyler has lived in Alaska for a long time and has done a lot of sheep hunting over the years. In this episode, we talk about everything Dall sheep: how and where to hunt sheep, descriptions of what constitutes a legal ram, how a sheep hunt often goes, what time of year they're hunted, how they taste, and of course, what cartri...

Today Joseph von Benedikt is back on the show and we discuss a subject I know you'll enjoy: our favorite cartridges for hunting virtually any species of big game.  We're play little game here today where Joseph and I each list our favorite cartridge and bullet for hunting specific species of game ranging from coues whitetail all the way up to thick skinned species of African game like cape buffalo...

I released that very first episode of The Big Game Hunting Podcast just over 5 years ago all the way back in 2019. My goodness it has been quite a ride! I've learned a lot, connected with some fantastic people, and enjoyed some amazing experiences along the way. Thank you for your support over these past 5 years! This particular episode is a Q&A session where I'll go through a number of listener s...

I feel like the term "game changer" get's thrown around way too often in this industry. However, I think Leupold's new Rx5000 rangefinder does actually deserve the title of a truly game changing device. Tim Lesser from Leupold is back on the show to talk about that new rangefinder what what makes it so special. We also talk about a couple of their other new products for 2024 along with the highlig...

Rumors have been swirling about Hornady Precision Hunter factory ammo for the 7mm PRC failing to deliver advertised velocities and a lot of hunters and shooters are understandably upset about the situation. I did some extensive testing at the range last week with multiple 7mm PRC factory loads from both Federal and Hornady. In this episode I share what I learned along with some recommendations for...

Johnny Mack from the Soul Seekers Podcast is on the show with us to talk about black bear hunting. As you'll learn here shortly, Johnny is an adult onset hunter who cut his teeth bear hunting in the PNW because that was the only thing he could hunt at the time due to schedule conflicts with work. He has since developed a great system for finding bears and has experienced a lot of success afield hu...

Hornady unveiled the 7mm Precision Rifle Cartridge in October or 2022 and that cartridge has taken the hunting world by storm since then. I've hunted with and shot the 7mm PRC pretty extensively over the past year. While I really like the cartridge and have been pleased with how it has performed overall, the 7mm PRC is not perfect and some disturbing issues have cropped up with it recently. Here's...