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 Alaska (including his famous incident from 2016 where he killed an aggressive brown bear with his...

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 with these additional, ongoing attacks on hunting in detail, what they mean for hunters all over...

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 Colorado and elsewhere in North America, and how you can get involved in the fight against these...

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 HuntingGuns101.com and Sign up for my free e-book on the best hunting calibers at to receive the...

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 cartridges and bullets are best suited for and most commonly used for hunting Dall sheep. Sponsor: Go...

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 and elephant and almost everything in between like mule deer, elk, black bear, etc. The catch is...

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 submitted questions I’ve received over the past few weeks. I do this show specifically for my...

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 highlights of their spotting scope and rangefinder product lines.  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but...

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 how other hunters can get the most out of the cartridge in light of these issues. The Big Game...

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 hunting black bears in multiple states. With that in mind, he's going to share a few things he has...

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 the good, the bad, and the ugly about the 7mm PRC after just over one year on the market. The...

Rob Gearing is back on the show with me again today to talk about the latest stuff from Spartan Precision. We talk about the new Springbok bipod and quad system, the possibility of a less expensive bipod from Spartan Precision coming soon, and some other new developments in the industry that have occurred since he was last on the show in 2023.  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but The Big Game Hunting Podcast is about to celebrate its 5 year anniversary! In honor of crossing that milestone,...

Is the 300 Blackout good for hog hunting? The story I share in this episode does a great job of illustrating the pros and cons of hunting with the 300 Blackout as well as some best practices for getting the most out of this cartridge. The Big Game Hunting Podcast is about to celebrate its 5 year anniversary! In honor of crossing that milestone, we’re giving away a hunt in Africa to a deserving military veteran along with a literal pile of other amazing prizes for other podcast listeners. Be...

Brandon Maddox is back on the show with me again today to talk about the latest stuff from Silencer Central. We talk about the new Buck 30 by Banish, their new Speed K suppressor, and some other new developments in the industry that have occurred since he was last on the show in 2023.  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but The Big Game Hunting Podcast is about to celebrate its 5 year anniversary! In honor of crossing that milestone, we’re giving away a hunt in Africa to a deserving military...

I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're coming up on the 5 year anniversary for the Big Game Hunting Podcast! To celebrate, I've organized an enormous giveaway of amazing prizes for listeners. First, my good friends and partners at Kok & Seyffert Big Game Hunting and I are giving a 7 day African safari for away FOR FREE to one lucky podcast listener. This is not your run of the mill giveaway though. While everyone is eligible to win all of the other prizes (details below), we are...

I have another cartridge comparison for you today where we compare two very popular 22 caliber rounds that both bear the Remington name: the 223 Remington and the 22-250 Remington. That's not surprising and those two cartridges can be incredibly effective on coyotes (and other predators and varmints) and both have accounted for literally truckloads of coyotes over the years. While the 223 and 22-250 are both very popular coyote cartridges, and while there is a good amount of overlap in their...

Justin Townsend and Casey Nordine from the Harvesting Nature crew joined me on this episode to talk about some of the highs and lows of elk hunting out west. Both had very different hunting experiences, but there were also some important similarities in their hunts as well. Both guys hunted elk in 2023 in some areas where tags weren’t especially difficult to obtain. And both guys actually got into elk while they were out there too. And both guys dealt with adversity of varying kinds out there...

I have another cartridge comparison for you today where we compare two very popular 30 caliber magnum rounds: the 300 Winchester Magnum and the 300 Winchester Short Magnum. Ask a couple serious big game hunters their opinion on the best .30 caliber cartridge and they’ll likely name a couple different rounds between them. Two in particular will probably appear near the top of lists though: the 300 Winchester Magnum and the 300 Winchester Short Magnum. Both are very popular rifle cartridges and...

I have a cartridge comparison for you today where we compare two very popular rounds: the tried and true 300 Winchester Magnum and the newest kid on the block with the 7mm PRC. Which one is the better choice for you? Well, that’s we'll discuss in this episode where I investigate the pros and cons of the 300 Win Mag and 7mm PRC in detail so you can make an informed decision on which one will work best for your individual needs. Please hit that “SUBSCRIBE” or “FOLLOW” button in your podcast...

John Rigby & Co Managing Director Marc Newton joined me on this episode of The Big Game Hunting podcast to discuss the history of John Rigby & Co, some of their current rifle and shotgun offerings, and the 2025 Rigby Dagga Boy Award. Please hit that “SUBSCRIBE” or “FOLLOW” button in your podcast app to receive future episodes automatically! Sponsor: Go to HuntingGuns101.com and Sign up for my free e-book on the best hunting calibers at to receive the entertaining and informative...

In this episode, Kevin Robertson and I cover the most popular .40 caliber safari cartridges and discuss their history, legacy, their strengths and weaknesses, and their recommended uses in detail. We discuss almost everything from the 450/400 all the way up to the 470 Nitro Express in this episode (to include some more obscure offerings like the 500/416 and the 416 Taylor as well as old standbys like the 416 Rigby and 458 Win Mag). Please hit that “SUBSCRIBE” or “FOLLOW” button in your...

Next up in our ongoing Africa hunting mini-series is an interview Axel Kramer, the President of the Namibia Professional Hunting Association (or NAPHA). Axel was kind enough to take a break from his busy schedule to discuss NAPHAs new Age Related Trophy Measuring system they recently implemented in order to incentivize hunters to harvest older animals. We’ll discuss why they implemented this new measuring system, the benefits they hope to see from this new system down the line, and we’ll also...

In this episode, I go over a few novel taxidermy ideas as well as some other alternatives to taxidermy that can serve some of the same purposes as traditional taxidermy without as many as the downsides of taxidermy. Taxidermy is often a big part of an African safari hunt, so I’m including this episode in my ongoing Africa mini-series. However, a lot of the stuff I talk about in this episode can also apply to hunts elsewhere in the world too. Please hit that “SUBSCRIBE” or “FOLLOW” button in...

In this episode, I cover the most popular 9.3mm and 375 caliber CIP and/or SAAMI certified cartridges and discuss their history, legacy, their strengths and weaknesses, and their recommended uses in detail. Most of those cartridges are very popular for hunting Africa, but as you’ll learn here shortly, that’s not the case with all of them. Indeed, a couple are uniquely American or European hunting cartridges and a couple of others aren’t even hunting cartridges at all! Please hit that...

Though it is well over a century old, does not possess eye popping ballistics, the 404 Jeffery was massively popular among the most serious African big game hunters for much of the 20th Century and still maintains an almost cult-like following among a certain segments of the hunting community to this day. I’ll tell you exactly why that’s the case in this episode where I discuss the history as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the 404 Jeffery in detail. I also provide some information on...