What’s the best bear defense ammo out there? This is a very common question we get after multiple backyard brown bear encounters. My wife and I with our six kids live in King Salmon, Alaska. We have one of the highest densities of brown bears in the world here in Western Alaska. Being wild animals, these bears will take the easy way out to find food if there is a chance.   Seeing t …

“Which Barnes bullet should I shoot?” or “What makes an LRX different from a TTSX?” or ”I’ve hunted with TSX bullets in the past but never tried a TTSX or LRX.” These are some questions and statements that we hear and get asked here at Barnes.   In this post, I will explain why each bullet exists, what makes each of them unique, some of thei …

I didn’t overthink my rifle choice when I was getting ready for my mountain lion hunt last December. I grabbed my Henry .30-30. It’s a caliber and platform that I’ve trusted for decades chasing whitetails in Michigan’s thick timber. It’s light, quick to shoulder and it packs enough punch for this hunt. But the real decision came down to ammo. This would be a close-ran …

Back in May of 2024, my brother sent me a text that read, “Ummmmmm????” with a screenshot of the tag he drew and then I responded with “No way dude. You already took a dream bull. Good thing I know where all the elk are. That’s a governor's tag unit.” My brother just beat the odds for the second time and drew a very coveted nonresident elk tag in a state where not man …