The giant bull dolphin struck the skirted ballyhoo rig with a vengeance, catching the fishermen by surprise. They were already locked in battle with two other large dolphins. Half an hour later, the big bull lay on the bloody deck of Salty Intentions, a 25-foot Contender owned and captained by Michael Bell. His friend James Roberts caught the fish using a Star Rods Aerial Stand-Up Rod paired with a Penn Squall 16VS reel.

Angler James Roberts (L) and Michael Cahoon (R) with new Georgia state record Mahi-Mahi.

Bell and Roberts had been fishing with Michael Cahoon, Shaun Bragg and James Bashlor approximately 90 miles off the Georgia coast when they landed the prize mahi-mahi on April 26. The Georgia DNR officially certified the fish to weigh 68-pounds, 1.6-ounces—a new state record.

Mahi-mahi, also known as dolphinfish, dolphin and dorado, typically range from 10 pounds to 30 pounds when boated. The world record mahi-mahi, caught off the coast of Costa Rica in 1976, tipped the scales at 87 pounds. The previous Georgia state record for mahi-mahi was 67-pounds, 9.6-ounces, caught by fisherman Will Owens in 2019.

Run to the Gulf Stream

St. Catherines Sound is located on Midway River, between St. Catherines Island and Ossabow Island, approximately 28 miles south of Savannah, Georgia. For more than 20 years, Captain Michael Bell has been making the 80-plus-mile trip from the sound to the Gulf Stream, where he chases tuna, wahoo, mahi-mahi and other bluewater gamefish.

The long distance requires an extra early start, so on April 26, the group of anglers met at Captain Bell’s house at 2:00 am. They left the Georgia DNR Demere Creek Ramp onboard Salty Intentions around 3:30 am, heading east toward the Triple Ledge in the darkness.

“We’ll go to the Triple Ledge and try to catch a wahoo and a blackfin tuna to start out. They normally hang out on that ledge, so we’ll put out some wahoo and tuna gear,” Bell says.

Trolling Triple Ledge

Breezy conditions that day limited the Contender, which is powered by twin 200-hp Yamaha outboard motors, to a top speed of 30 miles per hour. The sun had just started to rise when the group reached the Triple Ledge. They began trolling along the structure and soon caught a pair of amberjacks down deep using a planer. After catching a few mahi near the ledge, they decided to run further offshore. Captain Bell scanned the horizon, looking for a temperature break, weed line, feeding birds—anything that would hold fish or indicate feeding fish.

At around 400-feet deep, the fishermen crossed a long weed line that a couple of boats were already working. After scanning the area, they continued on until they reached a depth of 1,800 feet. Despite a thorough search, they couldn’t find any fish, so Bell decided to head toward the Deli Ledge. On the way, they again crossed a weed line in about 400- to 450-feet of water, approximately 85 to 90 miles offshore.

“I’m assuming it was the same rip that I had seen south of there, so we stopped on that rip and then we set out a spread,” Bell recalls. “We didn’t do anything for the first few minutes, and then the next thing you know, the bite was on.”

The Salty Intentions crew had found a Mahi motherlode.

Fish box aboard Salty Intentions filled with the days catch, including the new state record dolphin fish.

“They just started tearing it up. I had a Squid Nation bucket dredge out and it got to where we were catching so many fish that I couldn’t even run it, so I put that in the boat,” Bell says. “We started tearing the dolphin up. We caught dolphin nonstop, all day. We loaded the boat with dolphin.”

Monster Mahi-Mahi

Shortly after 2:30 that afternoon, a double-header of dolphin hit the starboard long and short riggers. Bell slowed the boat in order to manage the spread while they fought the two fish. On the opposite side of the boat, James Roberts grabbed a rod and began to reel in line in order to free up room for the other anglers. That’s when a large bull dolphin hit the skirted ballyhoo—and then dropped it.

“When I picked the rod up, I snatched it out of the outrigger. It fell back probably two seconds before the boat’s momentum caught up with that lure and started snatching it again. That activated that fish. I don’t know where he came from—but he came from hell, buddy. He came out of the water and knocked the bait out of the water twice,” Roberts says. “Each time he’s doing it, Captain Bell kept hollering, “Drop it back! Drop it back!” I would hit the free spool, drop 30 to 50 feet back, lock it back down and it snatched it again.”

Similar to sailfish and other gamefish, mahi-mahi will often initially strike a bait and drop it. They will then circle back and, if the bait appears to be dead, proceed to try to eat it.

Captain. Michael Bell with state record fish.

“The fish hit it, struck out and commenced to peeling drag,” Bell remembers. “At this point, we got a triple hookup. We’ve got two mid-20s dolphins on the right side of the boat and him on the left side of the boat and it’s burning out. I see the fish charging away and it was a huge bull dolphin. I had no earthly clue that it was that big. I just knew it was a nice one. I’m thinking an upper 40s fish, just a really nice bull dolphin.”

As Roberts continued to fight the monster Mahi, the rest of the crew cleared the remaining empty rods and finally landed the other two fish. Everyone then focused on the Mahi that Roberts was tangling with.

“We reeled him in and he burned the drag out. We finally got him in sight. We got off the braid and onto the mono. I usually run about 60 yards of mono on there,” Bell said. “You could see him out there. He was like a giant planer board. You couldn’t make up ground with him when he turned sideways in that current, so I had to start easing in his direction and we’d reel up to him.”

Bell handed the wheel over to James Bashlor, another seasoned fishing boat captain who was fishing onboard Salty Intentions that day. Bell then grabbed a gaff and continued to coach Roberts who had been fighting the big fish for nearly 30 minutes.

“It was straight battle. It wasn’t no playing alongside the boat. His ass was back there tailing and walking and hauling ass,” Roberts says. “He kept taking line. I just kept fighting him back in until he finally wore out.”

Captain Bell gaffed the mahi, but the tip of the gaff accidentally lodged in the boat’s rub rail, leaving the fish hanging precariously over the water. Roberts grabbed a second gaff and hooked the fish in the tail. At the same time, Bell finally cleared the boat’s rub rail with his gaff and slung the mahi into the boat. That’s when the fishermen realized that they possibly had a record mahi on their hands. They stowed their gear and Bell set a course for St. Catherines Sound sea buoy, which was 94 miles away at that point.

“It was literally the best fishing trip I think anybody on that boat had ever had in their life,” Bell says. “We caught 44 dolphin that day, and we had some monsters. We had that state record, but we had several fish in the 40s and a ton of fish in the 30s. It was epic. We had five 60-quart coolers full of fillets.”

After returning to shore, the fishermen had the mahi officially weighed at the Georgia DNR Richmond Hill Fish Hatchery. Although James Roberts will go into the record book, he credits everyone on board for making the catch possible, especially Captain Michael Bell.

“I attribute this entire day to Captain Bell and his crew because he’s got his shit together. He knows what he’s doing. I’ve been fishing offshore off and on for over 20 years, and I’ve never had the pleasure of fishing with people as good as Captain Bell,” Roberts says. “We caught 44 fish that day. Ninety percent of the dolphin we caught tail-walked across the water, so it was a thrill all day long.”

Star Rods Continues to Set Records

Michael Bell began using Star Rods exclusively onboard Salty Intentions after fishing with the rods on James Bashlor’s boat.

“Honestly, I love them. They’re a fantastic rod for the money in comparison to other rods,” Bell says. “My rods are three years old now and I haven’t missed a beat with them. I troll the Gulf Stream with them. I also bottom fish with them. I’ve caught a truckload of fish on those rods—big sharks. I got videos and pictures of 200- to 300-pound sharks that we caught while we were bottom fishing with those rods. Not to mention huge red snapper, grouper and 30- to 40-plus pound amberjacks. I mean I’ve worked them.”

Both Bell and Roberts are quick to praise the Star Rods Aerial Stand-Up Rod that landed the new Georgia state-record mahi. The six-foot Star Rods EX1530C6 features a medium action and a line rating of 15-30 lbs.

“It didn’t let me down at all. That’s all that he’s got on his boat is Star Stand-Up with Penn 16VS’s and I was impressed,” Roberts says. “I had no problem at all fighting that fish. I believe that rod could have handled something twice that size.”

Learn more about Star Rods and find an Official Star Rods Dealer at StarFishingTackle.com

Never been to South Dakota pheasant hunting? You might not know what you are missing.

That was the case with me. Having hunted only in Minnesota and Iowa from 1979-1999 I enjoyed the pheasant hunting that the land afforded me and my hunting partners for years.

Being passionate about habitat and wanting to really affect my hunting outcomes and experiences I began looking for pheasant hunting land to purchase, develop and enjoy. I started in Iowa and through several contacts came across a realtor in Iowa who had some land for sale in Iowa but also South Dakota. I had never hunted pheasants in South Dakota but always assumed it was about as good as Iowa (which was way better than Minnesota at the time). After some discussion and persuasion by the realtor I figured I’d have to be stupid not to go out and at least look at the property.

Just driving out there, which was in the springtime, I could tell by how many birds were hanging around the roads that the bird numbers were good. Long story short is I ended up buying the acreage there and hunting/developing the property for pheasants, deer and turkey since 1999. Every opening weekend we harvest between 30-60 birds per day. I also heard stories around the state of parties of 20 hunters getting their 60 bird limit in as little as ½ hour. That’s more chaos than hunting I would venture but just the same – that’s what South Dakota wild pheasant hunting is capable of producing.

Pheasant Capital of the World? I think most hunters would agree. If you read most pheasant hunting outlooks and forecasts, such as Pheasants Forever or Outdoor News, you’ll find that the statistics again and again point to the South Dakota bird and harvest numbers as the reigning leader.

As recently as 2005, the pheasant population approached 10 million birds (1 40-year record). Number of birds harvested that year was nearly 2 million roosters (11.2 birds per hunter. 2 birds per person per day).

This quote from the Pheasants Forever website on the 2005 season sums it up:

“Overview: The 2005 pheasant hunting season was a year to remember across the upper Midwest. South Dakota maintained its hold as the “Pheasant Capital” with an estimated harvest of over 1.9 million roosters, a 40-year high. Iowa, North Dakota and Kansas all checked in with big 800,000 bird totals.”

South Dakota boasted a rooster harvest over twice as large as the next nearest competitors.

In addition to the native resource, South Dakota also reigns champ in the offerings of public hunting, free walk-in access to private land and a host of commercial fee hunting opportunities. In fact, it could possibly be that since South Dakota’s commercial pheasant hunting is so strong and established that Cabela’s in Mitchell can attract hunters from all 50 states in the union on South Dakota’s annual opening pheasant weekend.

Today the passionate upland bird hunter, thanks to the internet, has excellent access to whatever quality pheasant hunting package they desire. If it’s a pheasant hunting trip of a lifetime you desire, look no further than South Dakota. Whether you’re a budget minded do-it-yourselfer looking for the best public land hunt or Bo Jackson looking for that $5000/day experience you can find it. You’ll have to do a little research. But it’s time well spent.

What ever you do, get to South Dakota soon and experience “The State of Pheasant Hunting”.

Check Availability of UGUIDE South Dakota Pheasant Hunting Camps Here

Run Cost Scenarios of your groups pheasant hunting package here with our Trip Cost Calculator

Wild edible roots and tubers can form the basis for a wild foods diet, providing more calories and nutrition than a few wild foraged weeds.

A while back I was having lunch with my little ones in a park, and a young couple, seemingly on a first date was not too far off. They were having an animated conversation about, of all things…foraging!

I couldn’t help but listen, giggling to myself that the world of dating has come a long way since I was younger, and now these two are trying to woo each other with their foraging prowess.

One of them would brag about their haul of wild leeks (aka. ramps) earlier in the season, and the other was quick to drop every fact they knew about those tasty wild bulbs.

I don’t often meet other foragers out and about in the world and it was tricky for me to bite my tongue as they talked about my passion just a few yards away. Not my place, not my date…but I do hope it works out for that pair!

Right before they headed out, they both vehemently agreed that you never, under any circumstances forage wild roots! Never! That’s just so incredibly dangerous!

Anything below ground has to be off-limits….which I’ll admit is kind of ironic, given the previous brag about wild leeks, though they’re probably only harvesting the leaves.

Irony aside, I was kind of surprised. I dig plenty of wild roots, though I’m no expert on the subject. Of course, there are toxic species, that’s true of leaves, fruit, and anything else.

For some reason, people are intimidated by foraging roots and tubers, partially because it involves a bit more work than plucking edible wild berries off a bush. But also I think a lot of the reluctance stems from fear.

It’s true, there are some incredibly toxic roots out there. But there are also some incredibly poisonous berries, and that doesn’t stop just about everyone from picking blackberries along the hiking trail.

Why? Well, a blackberry looks like a blackberry of course! There’s really nothing that looks like a blackberry, except other edible rubus species, which are also tasty and delicious.

That’s true of many roots as well, and if you learn them, they’ll be no less intimidating than trailside berries.

Wild Edible Roots and Tubers

That experience got me thinking, and I really want to write more about the dense calorie sources that are available in the form of wild roots and tubers. There’s a handful that I forage regularly, but still, there are more that I know but rarely bother with.

I consider myself an adventurous forager, but ya know, sometimes I get lazy like anybody. I know cattail roots make excellent flour, but sometimes lounging by the pond is nicer than wading into the muck to harvest pancake ingredients.

Still, I need a new challenge, and this is enough to spur me into it. A few years back, I decided to try to find every edible berry and fruit in my local landscape, and I came up with more than 50 different species.

Next, I’m going underground to try to find as many edible wild roots as possible.

This obviously isn’t an exhaustive list, and I’m sure there are plenty of tasty roots that I haven’t tried (yet). I’ll work to add to it over time, and please do leave me a note in the comments if you see any that definitely should make the list.

I’ll add links as I write about each one, but for now, I’m posting this as a starting point mainly because I’d like feedback.

What’s your experience foraging wild roots and tubers? What are your favorites? What’s missing from my list?

(Leave me a note below in the comments.)

I did some quick research, and here’s what I found for edible roots. Most I knew, but some I had never heard of, and I have no verification of their edibility beyond spotty online sources, so please verify with other sources and don’t just take my word for this (or anything really, you should always double-check).

• Arrowroot (Sagittaria latifolia)
• Bistort (Polygonum bistortoides)
• Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
• Burdock (Arctium sp.)
• Cattails (Typha sp.)
• Chickory (Cichorium intybus)
• Chufa (Cyperus esculentus)
• Cucumber Root (Medeola virginiana)
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
• Daylily (Hemerocallis sp.)
• Evening Primrose (Oenothera sp.)
• Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
• Ground Nut (Apios americana)
• Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)
• Lotus, American (Nelumbo lutea)
• Pignut (Conopodium majus)
• Ramps or Wild Leeks (Allium tricoccum)
• Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii)
• Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
• Spring Beauty (Claytonia lanceolata)
• Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum sp.)
• Sunchokes or Jerusalem Artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus)
• Trout Lily (Erythronium pudica)
• Wild Carrot or Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)
• Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
• Wild Potato (Orogenia linearifolia)

Be aware that many of these require processing to consume, and are not edible raw straight from the ground. Beyond that, others have toxic or dangerous parts.

The leaves of wild parsnip, for example, can cause a rash from contact with skin. Wild carrot has a deadly toxic look alike too.

Be careful, and do your research before attempting to forage any of these wild roots. Always consult multiple sources, and always be 100% sure of your ID before eating any wild plant.

This is, as I said, just a jumping-off point for further research…and a bucket list of sorts for myself.

Medicinal Roots

Beyond the edible roots, there are a few wild roots and tubers that are “edible” but generally consumed in small quantities for medicinal benefit. You can harvest them and they’re definitely useful, but you’re not exactly going to cook a meal from them.

I’m just adding these here for completeness, given that they are eaten medicinally, even if in small quantities. Know that while they may be edible in small doses, that doesn’t mean they’re not problematic or even toxic in large doses.

• Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) – An upright invasive bush in the US, and I commonly eat the berries. Haven’t yet harvested roots.
• Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) – Most sources suggest sticking to external uses only, since even small doses may be toxic, though it has a history of internal use historically.
• Dock (Rumex Sp.) – Reportedly edible, but I have a reaction to it, and it tastes horrible. Plenty of people use it for both food and medicine though.
• Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) – We regularly make echinacea tincture and echinacea tea.
• Elecampane (Inula helenium) – We use this for homemade cough syrup, and I personally find it extremely effective.
• Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) – Marshmallow root tea is incredibly soothing for sore throats and cough, and I keep it on the shelf for winter remedies.
• Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) – I use the leaves and flowers, and only recently learned the root is used medicinally as well.
• Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) – Traditionally used for Lyme disease.
• Valerian (Valeriana Officinalis) – Used as a sleep aid, often as a herbal tincture.
• Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) – Small doses, and use caution as it may be toxic.

Poisonous Roots

Though obviously you’re not just going to dig up any root and eat it out there in the wild, there are a few to really avoid while foraging roots.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list, but just a few of the most common poisonous roots, especially those that have edible look-alikes.

As always, make sure you’re 100% positive on your identification before eating any wild plant, and always consult more than one source when trying to identify a plant.

• Belladonna (Atropa belladonna) ~ Most poisonings are from the berries, which are really beautiful and especially attractive to kids. The whole plant is deadly toxic though.
• Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) ~ Sometimes used medicinally in external preparations, I don’t think it’s worth the risk. It can cause extreme contact burns and I avoid it altogether. Still a beautiful spring ephemeral to appreciate in the forest, just enjoy with your eyes.
• Elderberry Root (Sambucus sp.) ~ Though the berries are edible and medicinal when cooked, all other parts of the plant at considered toxic.
• False Hellebore (Veratrum viride) ~ Occasionally confused for ramps by novice foragers since they appear at the same time in the early spring. Other than being low-growing green leaves, they don’t really look anything like ramps in my opinion. Still, avoid them as a toxic plant.
• Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus)
• Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
• Mandrake (Mandragora sp.)
• Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) ~ Leaves are sometimes consumed with the right preparation, even though some sources list the whole plant as toxic. Avoid the roots and berries though.
• Water Hemlock (Cicuta sp.) ~ A close look-alike with Queen Anne’s lace, but deadly toxic. I avoid Queen Anne’s Lace roots for this reason.

Foraging Guides

Looking for more foraging guides? Read on…

• 60+ Dandelion Recipes
• 50+ Ways to Use Yarrow
• 12+ Chokecherry Recipes
• 100+ Medicinal Plants and Their Uses

David E. Petzal is one of Field & Stream magazine’s shooting sports experts and is considered a top-rated writer in the field of guns, hunting, and shooting. That said, he leaves few topics untouched and has delighted his reader base for more than 50 years.

Petzal began at Field & Stream in 1972 as a managing editor. In ensuing years, he has held half a dozen different titles with the brand, and since 2006 has been strictly a writer, covering all manner of outdoor-related subjects, but specializing in guns and hunting.

He has pursued game all over North America, most of Africa, Europe, and New Zealand, and written about it extensively.

Petzal, who now hails from Cumberland, Maine, has written some popular books on guns, shooting, and hunting. The Total Gun Manual, co-written by Phil Bourjaily, is considered an essential read for anyone curious about different gun characteristics and for those wishing to improve their hunting and shooting skills.

Outdoor News: Describe your years growing up. Did you get to spend much time doing the outdoor sports that led to your career? Were you interested in journalism during the formative years or did that come after high school?

Petzal: I grew up on a farm in what was then an uncrowded part of New Jersey. We had a lot of land, and I roamed it every day after school, armed with either a Bear bow (60 pounds, much too heavy) or a Sheridan air rifle.

It was around the time I was 12 that I started reading Field & Stream, which was 25 cents at the soda shop. I was uninterested in writing about anything.

That didn’t come until much later when I got my first job on a magazine. I wrote a piece called, “A Bowhunter’s Guide to Rifle Shooting,” and when it came back in galley, and I saw my words in print, I was hooked.

Outdoor News: How would you describe your “paying your dues” period before joining Field & Stream?

Petzal: I paid my dues on that first job, on a little magazine titled Guns and Hunting. I was paid so little that I won’t tell your readers what it was, they wouldn’t believe me.

Bob Elman, the editor for whom I worked, was a master of both writing and magazine editing, and a perfectionist to boot.

If I made a mistake, the whole office knew about it, so I stopped making mistakes. I didn’t enjoy this, but I had the sense to realize that I was getting an education you could not buy. I stayed for 4 1⁄2 years, and stayed friends with Bob for the rest of his life.

Outdoor News: Your initial focus with Field & Stream was editor. Then you shifted into writing. How did that happen?

Petzal: There was never a decision as such. I started writing the Shooting Department every other month in 1981, and after a while I caught on with the readers and started writing about other subjects. And by the late 1990s, it dawned on everyone that I was now a writer as opposed to an editor, so I dropped the title of executive editor and became features editor.

Titles among editors is largely like virtue among whores. Your title doesn’t mean a lot unless you’re editor in chief.

Outdoor News: You focused on guns and hunting. Why the focus?

Petzal: I am damned if I know.

When I was 10 or 11, or something like that, I crawled up into the top of a closet and there, cased, was a Savage Model 99 and an M-1 Carbine that belonged to my uncle, who did a little hunting. It was like laying hold of a live electric cable. I was never the same.

Guns are the most interesting thing I know of. Same with hunting. I simply found everything about it fascinating. It’s not something you can explain rationally.

Outdoor News: Through your many years of gun journalism you’ve seen more that a few transitions from certain types of guns and ammo to others. Was this latest shift toward AR-style rifles something that was predicted? Or was it a surprise to those that have been involved in the shooting sports for many years?

Petzal: It was a surprise to me, sure enough. You have to remember that Colt began selling the first commercial ARs in 1965. They sent one of the very first to Larry Koller, who was the shooting editor of Guns and Hunting, and he loathed it and gave it to me.

I don’t think ARs really caught on until about the mid-1990s, which is a long time for something to go unnoticed. I think that very gradually, people became aware that, ergonomically, it was a couple of centuries ahead of everything else, and that you could build one (or have one built) to your own specs without spending a fortune.

I should add that I’ve seen more sheer BS printed and spoken about ARs than all other firearms combined, starting during Vietnam, when we were told that 5.56 bullets “tumbled through the air” on their way to the target.

Outdoor News: You are well known for writing some popular books on the shooting sports. If there was one piece of advice that you delivered to the readers of those books and you believed every shooter must know, what was it?

Petzal: For shooters, I’ll quote my late friend G. Sitton: “All the good shooters I know have the nervous systems of reptiles.”

Effective shooting is comprised of self-control, hand-eye coordination, and concentration, of which the most important factor is the first one. For hunters, it’s all about patience. Saxton Pope, the great bowhunter, wrote of his Yahi Indian friend Ishi that the bows Ishi made were not much good, but that Ishi had patience that was almost beyond comprehension, and that gave him all the odds he needed.

Outdoor News: During your long career you have hunted in regions of the world that many hunters only dream of. What was your favorite hunting destination and what species were you hunting?

Petzal: I love Africa above all else. When I was 10, I read a book by a professional hunter named Alexander Lake entitled Killers in Africa and I was hooked.

I enjoyed everything about Africa except tsetse flies, which are the worst insects in the world, but my favorite animal is the Cape buffalo. If you become bored on a Cape buffalo hunt, there’s something seriously the matter with you.

Outdoor News: What’s the future hold for David Petzal?

Petzal: What’s in store? Who knows? I’m grateful that I can still shoot, and still write. If I can keep it up, that’s all I can ask. Hardly anything I have ever done has worked out as I expected.

Last updated on March 11th, 2024 at 02:49 am

Are you looking for the best musky lures for 2024 summer musky fishing?

While it is impossible to say that any one single muskie lure is best, we luckily have many great options to choose from when out on the water. Below we will take a look at some of the top best musky lures of 2024, including the best musky lures for trolling, the best musky lures for summer, and the best musky lures for Lake St. Clair and really every musky-rich water body.

When the musky feeding window is open and the stars align, a giant muskie or pike will hit just about anything that moves. In those rare instances, your musky bait selection doesn’t really matter and all one needs to do is to be in the right place at the right time. If you are extremely lucky and dedicated to muskie fishing, you will experience this musky feeding-frenzy type of action once or twice a season.

The majority of your time spent muskie fishing for trophy pike and muskies, however, will be spent casting, cranking, and waiting. The right musky lure presentation will be the difference between a big bite and a follow-up. Therefore, you don’t want to spend all of your time and effort casting second-rate lures. Here is our selection of the best musky lures and northern pike fishing baits available on the market today.

Best Musky Lures 2024

1. Musky Innovations Bull Dawg – Best Musky Lures For 2024

The Musky Innovations Bull Dawg musky lure is made of 100% soft plastic. This musky lure, which is balanced with a jig-like head, swims down in the water at a 45º angle on the descent and swims horizontal during the retrieve.

Bull Dawgs can be used as a jig, jerkbait, or a crankbait. While being retrieved, this musky lure rocks back and forth as it’s long curly tail waves frantically, a great combination that tends to drives large gamefish like muskie crazy.

We find this musky lure to be one of the most versatile and best muskie lures on the market today, and possibly the best musky lures for 2024.

Wondering what is the best musky net for the money?

2. Mepps Magnum Musky Killer Bucktail – Best Musky Lures For Summer

Mepps Magnum Musky Killer is a tried and true favorite musky lure, specifically designed to catch and handle hogs. It’s no secret that BIG fish want to eat BIG baits, and the Mepps Magnum Musky Killer is among the biggest!

We consider these to be the best musky lures for summer, especially in the bucktail variety. They are made with all the qualities and features that trophy muskie and pike fishermen look for in a big musky lure for summer. Features such as easy changability, like a heavy #7 solid brass blade allowing for maximum flash, heavy-duty premium VCM 5/0 cone cut treble hooks.

This classic muskie lure weighs in at 1 1/4 ozs. Bucktails are without a doubt one of the best musky lures for summer.

3. Lixada Fishing Lures 5-12″ Multi Jointed Life-Like Swimbait Hard CrankBaits – Best Selling Musky Lure

These super life-like northern pike and muskie lures don’t carry a fancy brand name, which means they represent one of the best bangs for your bucks when it comes to musky lures. Lixada tends to be the best selling brand of these lures, however. These are also one of the best selling musky lures on Amazon.

These 5-12″ multi-jointed hard plastic musky baits are value priced and will be one of the best accessories in your musky tackle box. These muskie lures have a super realistic appearance and feature life-like swimming actions to provoke monster muskies to bite.

Features of these muskie lures include being 5-12 inches in length divided into 8-segments, double 3 set treble hooks, life-like 3D eyes, high resolution, laser sharp body detail, and a durable ABS hard plastic material ensuring long service life.

These are definitely one of the best musky lures under $25. Their low price makes them one of the best musky lures for sale.

4. Jointed Believer – Best Musky Lures For Trolling

The Jointed Believer is our top pick for the best musky lures for trolling. There are two makers of these style of musky baits that we recommend: Musky Mania and Drifter Tackle. Either one should serve you well when trolling for musky.

Musky Mania Super Believer

The Musky Mania Super Believer is a medium running plastic bait with a live action tail crankbait. The live action tail is a replaceable soft plastic.

The flash and swimming action created by the long tail, especially while trolling, gives a life-like presentation to muskies that simply cannot be duplicated by older, more conventional crankbaits. The Super Believer trolls and casts equally well, while running 12′ while trolling and 2′-6′ when casting.

Drifter Tackle Jointed Believer

The Drifter Tackle Jointed Believer musky lure is one of the most versatile musky baits on the market. It’s shallow and deep eyelet, along with its unique design and shape, enable this musky lure to be fished from topwater down to depths of 20 feet.

For fishing over thick weeds, you can retrieve this lure slowly as a topwater bait. For lighter weeds, you can use it as a twitch bait or jerk bait. You can also cast it into timber, rocks, and heavier cover working it as a crankbait.

Because this lure continues to consistently produce fish, we rank it and the one mentioned above it as the best musky lures for trolling. It has an erratic and unique action which triggers musky strikes from fish that have been presented with everything.

Need a pair of the best musky release gloves?

5. Musky Double Cowgirl Bait – Best Musky Lures For Beginners

The Musky Double Cowgirl bait by Musky Mayhem is a classic and very popular big muskie lure. Being one of the easiest musky baits to fish with, we consider these to be the best musky lures for beginners.

While it is similar to the Mepps bucktail mentioned earlier, it does differ in several ways. This muskie bait has two huge #10 spinner blades which create a large amount vibration in the water. The lure’s Flashabou skirting gives it life-like action, a larger profile, and excellent color.

Many would argue that this is the best inline spinner available, because of it’s baitfish simulating action. Being that it easy to work, can be fished in just about any conditions or terrain, is well known to produce huge musky, this is our choice for best musky lure for beginners.

6. Whopper Plopper – Best Topwater Musky Lures

The famous Whopper Plopper is our top choice for the best topwater musky lures.

The original River2Sea Whopper Plopper was designed by legendary fisherman and television personality, Larry Dahlberg. This topwater musky bait produces a sputtering surface disruption that is begging to be smashed by muskies. While it was originally created to catch musky, Dahlberg and others soon realized that bass were also highly attracted to this bait. Therefore, smaller versions were devised for bass fishermen.

You can work the Whopper Plopper super slow, so you barely hear the tail, only the tiny beads sizzling inside of it. Or, you can speed things up so the lure throws water like a flailing wounded fish. Either way has proven extremely effective.

On calm water days, it is best to run this topwater musky lure slow, as it won’t take much action to draw a muskies attention. On the other hand, during rough waters, speed up your retrieve in order to stand out among the natural water movements.

This surface musky lure casts a mile, and your ability to fish it at a wide range of speeds, makes it a deadly tool for catching musky. The River2Sea Whopper Plopper’s spinning tail is perfectly tuned right out of the box, and it is available in a variety of sizes and colors.

7. Suick Musky Thriller – Best Wooden Musky Lures

Back in the day, the original musky lures were made buy guides. The more successful the guide was, the higher prices they could charge for their services.

The first company to successfully make muskie lures that worked for musky exceptionally well was the Suick Lure Company with their “Suick Musky Thriller”, which is for sure one of the best old musky lures. The lure comes in 4”, 7”, 9”, and 10” sizes. Suick Lure Company is still in business today, so they can be ordered and this should be a staple in your musky tackle box.

Now if you study these musky baits you will notice that at the back end is a piece of metal similar to a tail. Here is a little muskie secret that you will learn only here at TigerMuskie.net that your guide will not tell you. Simply put, that metal is adjustable for changing conditions. A lot of anglers just take a lure out of the box and snap it on the end of their line and off they go. The proper way to use muskie lures that have adjustable parts is to test them out first, before you go out fishing. Make sure it is performing how it should be, and that only comes with practice and knowledge that you will gain here.

With the Suick Musky Thriller, we recommend making a slight upside down v-shape with the metal tail. Only bend the tail about 1/8th of an inch on each side. This very subtle adjust will provide much better action out of this lure, and thus produce more fish. Suicks are still definitely the best wooden musky lures.

8. Savage Gear 3D Suicide Duck

The Savage Gear 3D Suicide Duck is an amazing muskie lure that acts just like a retreating duckling making it perfect to be swallowed up by a giant muskie. This hard plastic musky lure can be fished with either long pulls or steady retrieves, slow or fast, and looks just like a real duckling!

The Savage Gear 3D Suicide Duck is conveniently designed to include both a bottom and top hook hanger, which allows you to customize the lure’s presentation based upon current conditions.

Given the lifelike features of the 3D Savage Gear Suicide Duck, it’s no surprise that it was the winner in the Hard Bait category at the 2016 ICAST event.

9. Chasebaits The Ultimate Squid Fishing Lure – Newest Musky Lures

We know what you are thinking. “What the heck is that thing?” Well, this is Chasebaits The Ultimate Squid, one of the newest musky lures on the market. Now, before you jump out of your boat, hear us out.

You might be wondering why on earth would a musky want to eat a squid, when there are no squids in fresh water. We challenge you to pose this question to anglers on Lake Michigan who have been using squid baits for years to catch giant salmon and trout on the Great Lake. The truth is, squid baits have proven to be extremely effective, even for freshwater fish.

The Chasebaits Ultimate Squid is by far the most realistic looking and life-like squid baits we have ever seen. These newest musky lures have the potential to catch massive musky. Only time will tell for sure just how effective they will be, but we highly encourage you to give them a shot.

These are definitely one of the coolest new musky lures that we have seen. Their relatively low price also makes them absolutely worth trying.

10. Cisco Kid Topper

As mentioned above, Suick has been making musky lures for decades. The Cisco Kid Topper is one of their newer, topwater musky baits.

The Suick Cisco Kid Topper looks like a little torpedo and it’s nose and tail features stainless steel propeller blades which create a large topwater disturbance which really gets the attention of any muskies in the area. This great muskie lure can be used at a fast or medium speed to keep the blades spinning properly.

When it comes to the best topwater muskie lures, this is one of our favorites.

Live Bait Musky Rigs

The old standby for musky fishing is the use of live bait. However, usng live bait musky rigs for fishing presents its own unique set of problems. One of them it that purchasing live bait can be very expensive. Live suckers which are in the 6” range and larger can cost upwards of ten dollars each or more.

Then there is the problem of keeping them fresh. In order to do that, another container must be brought into the boat, such as a five gallon bucket or a Frabill Magnum Bait Station. The larger the bait fish, the less you can carry on board or you will need a larger container. The inherent issue here is to be able to oxygenate the water to keep them alive. The more you have in the bucket, the more oxygen you’ll need to add to the water. The Frabill live well just mentioned comes with an aerator. However, if your bait station does not come with an aerator, you’ll need to pick one up. While musky lures are reusable, suckers are not.

It’s also critical that you select and use a proper live bait musky rig. Not only do you want to make sure that your expensive bait doesn’t get off, but more importantly you want to be sure that you are minimizing the chances of injuring any muskies.

You also have to ask yourself, is the live bait I am using natural bait to the water I’m fishing in? This is not to say that a muskie will not strike at any live bait presentation, but they will strike more frequently to natural bait found in the lake that you are fishing in.

Yes they work, and there are many different hooks, live bait musky rigs, and techniques of how to apply them to the end of your line. We recommend that you watch quite a few YouTube videos of how to properly rig a sucker, or hire a guide for a day to show you how to do live bait musky fishing.

Musky Lures Buyer’s Guide

When it comes to musky lures, there is no shortage of different jigs, swimbaits, crankbaits, and more available to musky fishermen. Musky baits come in all different actions, shapes, sizes, and weights. Some lures are easier to work than others, but when worked properly, each can be very effective.

Musky Lure Types

Over the past 20 years or so the number of different types of musky lures has grown substantially. Thanks to the invention of new materials and manufacturing processes, musky fishermen have been blessed (or perhaps cursed) with a plethora of options. The trend has been towards bigger and bigger musky lures.

There are so many different musky lure types and styles that we can’t possibly cover them all here. But let us take a look at some of the the most popular musky lure types.

Glide Baits

Glide baits can be one of the most effective musky lures any time of year, but they can also be one the hardest lures to work properly. Depending on your preferred style, glide baits can be retrieved fast and erratic or with a slow side-to-side action. We recommend practicing both. There are a lot of styles of musky glide baits, so try out a few different models that you can work properly and like the action of. Learning to properly work the best glide baits takes a lot of practice, but knowing how to do so is crucial if you want to catch more muskies.

Soft Plastics

Despite the fact that most soft plastic musky lures don’t resemble actual fish, they remain arguably the best musky lures of modern day. The reason for this is simple: they consistently catch musky.

Soft plastic musky baits can be cast and retrieved in a multitude of different styles, depending on the the angler and the mood of the fish. Typically, however, soft plastic musky lures are most often retrieved with a “pull, reel in the line slack, pull again” fashion. This manner of retrieve, with the rise and fall action of the bait, resembles an injured or dying baitfish. Nearby muskies will often try to take advantage of an easy meal, which a soft plastic lure can seem to be.

Perhaps the two most popular of soft plastic musky baits are the Bull Dawg and Medussa. There have been some clones of these lures come to market in recent years, and they may work equally as well for less money.

Topwaters

Topwater musky strikes are some of the most invigorating and memorable hits to watch. Once the water of the summer has warmed up, topwater musky lures work like a charm, if you know how to properly work them.

Two very popular topwater musky bait styles are Whopper Ploppers and “walk-the-dog” topwater baits. Whopper Ploppers are very easy to work, and can be very effective with a straight retrieve. On the other hand, “walk-the-dog” musky lures require some practice. These lures need to be retrieved in a side-to-side fashion with as little hesitation in-between pulls as possible, in order to be effective.

Bucktails & Spinners

Bucktails have historically been the most popular lures used by musky fishermen. What makes bucktails so great and effective is that they produce vibrations in the water pattern that a musky can easily feel. Getting the fish’s attention from a distance and triggering it’s bite response are huge advantages to bucktails.

Bucktails can be cast and retrieved at any rate of speed, dependent upon the angler and the conditions. Bucktails come with various size blades, but some of the most popular and effective ones have double 9 and double 10 blades. Musky Mayhem, Llugen Lures, and Mepps are just a few of the companies making some of the best bucktails for musky fishing today.

Warranty

Warranty of musky lures is generally a non issue. Your musky lure is not likely to simply break, or not work, like an electronic device would. Also, musky lures are subject to a lot of abuse, so you would have a difficult time proving to a manufacturer that their lure just broke on it’s own. That being said, if you do experience a problem with a lure, we suggest contacting the manufacturer. Most reputable companies will do what they can to keep you as a happy customer.

You are unlikely to ever need to file a warranty claim with a musky lure. The biggest cause of lose or damage to musky lures comes from getting snagged on rocks or other hidden debris. Nobody likes to lose a $30 lure, but it is an unfortunate part of the sport.

Price

Musky lures are not cheap. If you are new to the sport, you may be shocked to see just how expensive some baits are. On the extreme low end, cheap musky lures can be had for $4-$5. On the high end, you can expect to pay in the $20-$30 range. Custom musky lures from smaller makers can even be in the $50-$100 range.

Unlike a lot of things where higher price can often mean better performance or production, that isn’t necessarily the case with musky lures. A $100 custom lure won’t catch you any more fish than a $15 lure. We would suggest starting with the lower priced lures in the $10-$20 range. As you advance in your skills, you can consider investing in some more expensive musky lures.

Where To Buy

You can buy musky lures at most major big box sporting good stores. However, depending upon your location, the selection may be quite limited. These retailers also have higher markup on their lures, so unless you come across a sale, we don’t recommend paying full retail at a big box store for your musky lures.

Online market places such as Amazon offer a good selection of musky lures at very fair prices. You also can’t beat their customer service and return policy. Facebook musky groups and Craigslist are also good places to get custom or used musky lures at solid deals.

One last place to buy musky lures on sale is musky expos and conventions. These sports shows usually have all of the manufacturers there, both large and small, and you can often get really good deals on musky lures while at the show.

Best Musky Lures Of All Time

Musky lures have certainly evolved quite a bit over the years. From the first musky lures that were handmade, and usually made and sold by fishing guides, who sold them to their customers and local bait shops, to today’s modern musky lures made of high quality plastics and polymers. Some of the best musky lures of all time were copied from those original hand-made guide baits.

Today, some are still handmade, but mostly made by large companies like Rapala and Mepp’s to name a few. It was those first fishing guides who spent hours and hours on the water, studying the habitat, the structure, the shorelines, and water conditions, which provided the basis for their crafting of muskie lures that mimicked the natural baits in the water.

Conclusion

When you are muskie fishing, you are going to have to make a choice as far as what types of muskie lures to put on the end of your line. You have to think about what you are going to put in front of that trophy musky. If you want to get the fish to strike at your presentation, and then get it into the boat, then you are going to need to have a complete musky fishing package. That means the rod, the reel, the line, the knot you tie, the swivels, the musky baits, the leader, the net, and the boat you are using, which are all contributing factors to whether you will be successful or not. Over time you’ll develop an expertise in the proper selection of each and every one of these pieces or musky tackle. These will be the tools of your trade. The tools you’ll use to hone your craft. And that trophy fish won’t be far behind. What we are saying is that yes, lure selection is extremely important, but don’t neglect all of the other aspects of what it takes to land a giant musky.

We have just covered a few of the old tried and true best musky lures of all time. During your musky fishing lifetime you will run across many more musky lures and new innovations. The key to success is to keep trying new things, in addition to learning how to effectively use each of the baits that you already have.

We hope you have found our musky lure buying guide to be helpful. Check back often for updates to our list of the best musky lures.

Best Muskie Lures Comparison

Here’s whether a shark or a crocodile wins in a fight:

A great white shark may take more than one hit and a lot of biting to beat a crocodile, but eventually, the great white shark will win.

Sharks species smaller than a great white easily lose to crocodiles.

The shark is always the prey when crocodiles and small sharks fight in shallow waters.

If you want to learn all about who wins in a fight between a shark and a crocodile, then you’re in the right place.

Keep reading!

Who Wins in a Fight Between a Shark and a Crocodile?

The only place where the great white shark and the saltwater crocodile can meet is the open water.

This is the natural habitat of the great white shark and gives them a maneuvering advantage over the slower saltwater Croc.

It would take multiple hits and a lot of biting to beat the crocodile, but eventually, the shark would probably win.

If it’s any other species of sharks smaller than the great white, the crocodile would easily take the win home.

Fights between crocodiles and small sharks sometimes happen in shallow waters, and in this case, the shark is always the prey.

It’s a bit different with great whites since they are rare and can only be found in deep waters.

Sharks can swim with 25 mph (40 km/h) speed in long bursts, while crocodiles can get to 18 mph (29 km/h) but get easily tired.

That’s where the main advantage for the great white shark over the saltwater crocodile lies.

Who Has a Stronger Bite: A Shark or a Crocodile?

The great white shark does have a huge jaw, but as a result of its diet, it doesn’t have the strongest bite amongst all shark species.

It’s a lot easier to bite through a seal (great white prey) than through the shells of a turtle (tiger shark prey).

The world’s most ferocious jaws, belonging to the saltwater crocodile, can snap with a force of 4000 lbs (2 tons).

The White Shark has a bite force of only 2200 lbs (1.1 tons).

It’s not a joke when this shark bites you but compared to the crocodile, they seem toothless.

The jaw size of the shark is wide enough to bite any part of a crocodile, but it lacks the force and proper teeth to do serious damage.

Although a crocodile can bite-crush almost anything, his mouth is simply not big enough for a great white shark.

Different Types of Teeth

Since they feed on different types of animals, it’s no surprise that sharks and crocodiles have different teeth shapes.

Crocs hunt prey that is larger and with stronger skin and bones, so they need teeth rigid enough to devour their victims.

White sharks don’t need to crunch the bones of the things they hunt and go for biting rather than squeezing with huge pressure.

A shark’s teeth look like a saw, and they are a few rows of spare ones behind each front tooth.

It’s not rare for sharks to lose and replace teeth during a struggle.

Who Will Participate in a Shark vs. Crocodile Fight?

The family Crocodylidae or True Crocodiles numbers 14 animal species.

As part of the order Crocodilia, the family has caimans, alligators, and caimans as their closest cousins.

The largest of them all is the one who is going to be picked for the Shark vs. Crocodile fight.

The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile, and this ancient being is also the one causing most human deaths compared to others of its family.

There are more than 1000 shark and ray species, and new ones are discovered each year.

If we want to pick the contender for this epic fight we will probably go with the biggest shark of them all, correct?

Well, not quite!

The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world but doesn’t participate in fights.

Its megamouth serves as a filter feeder to swallow anything coming its way (possibly a crocodile even).

The real shark fighter and the one with the most recorded attacks on humans is the great white shark.

It’s the 6th largest shark species, and the only one coming near its ferocity, strength, and size is the tiger shark (4th largest).

Characteristics of the Great White Shark

Legendary for being one of the fiercest predators, the great white shark caused admiration and fear in people for many years.

This cartilaginous fish is probably causing more harm in people’s imagination than in real life.

While humans fear the great white shark expressly and consider it a man-eating predator, this powerful and efficient hunter never had a preference for people.

Attacks happen when the shark is confused or just wants to taste the moving object.

When a great white shark wants to attack, the opening of its mouth can be 3 to 4 ft (1-1.2 m) wide.

The top of the great white shark is darker in blue of gray variations, while the lower area of the body is white.

Such discoloration is a hunting advantage because prey doesn’t notice the shark’s figure, and to them, it looks like the bottom of the ocean.

White Shark Body Strength

A great white shark has a fusiform and robust body. That means it’s shaped like a spindle and big and strong at the same time.

Adult sharks can be 13-22 ft (4-6.7 m) long with an average length of 19 ft (5.8 m).

Their weight can be somewhere between 6600 and 7500 lbs (3000-3400 kg).

The adult male great white sharks are approximately 6.5 ft (2 m) smaller than their representative females.

Strong pectoral fins and a triangle-shaped back fin are placed behind its narrow and pointed snout.

There is a smaller fin near the tail which ends with long lower and upper lobes.

Whiteys have delicate skin that cannot withstand huge penetrating forces, which puts them in an inferior position compared to crocodiles.

Characteristics of the saltwater crocodile

The saltwater crocodile is believed to be the animal that is most likely to eat a human being of all other animals in the world.

At the back of their mouths, saltwater crocodiles have valves that seal off the cavity from the throat.

This way, they can open their mouth while under the water.

However, it’s not possible to eat the prey beneath the water surface because they will need to swallow and allow their throats to open and fill with liquid.

When a crocodile catches something underwater, it has to take it to land and eat it or raise itself with its head above the water and swallow.

Adult individuals can be 16-23 ft (4.8-7 meters) in length and weigh between 880-1540 lbs (400-700 kg).

The male crocodiles are much larger than the females.

Their enormous heads and broad, heavy bodies are grey to brown so that they can blend in their muddy habitats.

Having short and strong limbs, their biggest attributes are their long and strong jaws.

A croc’s skin appears as some sort of prehistoric armor. It’s not easy to penetrate through it at all.

Where Can You Find Sharks?

You can find sharks in a lot of places in the world. They inhabit tropical waters nears the coasts and even temperate and cold areas.

In the Americas, there are sharks from Alaska to Mexico in the Pacific Ocean and from Newfoundland to Mexico in the Atlantic Ocean.

Outside of America, sharks dwell in the waters of Japan, the Mediterranean Sea, Oceania, and South Africa.

White Shark Behavior

Generally, the great white shark swims and hunts solitarily. From time to time, they can reunite with others. The groups can consist of a couple of sharks or even groups of 5-6.

Females mostly take the lead in the groups because of the existing hierarchical dominance.

Larger sharks dominate over the smaller ones, and when the group accepts newcomers, the fresh ones are subdued by the old leadership for some time.

The animal is equally active day and night. In an attempt to get familiar with the surroundings or look for prey, great sharks can sometimes jump out of the water.

While not being aggressive towards others of their species, an occasional warning bite might happen.

Where Can You Find Crocodiles?

Saltwater crocs can be commonly found in and around river mouths, mangrove swamps, and coastal marshes.

They inhabit the tropical regions of Australia, Africa, South America, North America, and Africa.

When crocodiles feel capable of swimming a lot, they can travel upstream.

Seasonal floods make it possible for crocodiles to get to places that are otherwise hard to reach.

It’s not unusual for them to live in the open ocean for short periods as they are quite capable of that.

Exploring is an exciting activity that can make them cross large water expanses.

Saltwater Crocodile Behavior

The saltwater crocodile is thought of as one of the most sophisticated and intelligent reptiles on the planet.

They live in groups and communicate with each other by crocodile-barking, hissing, chirping, and growling.

Saltwater crocodiles invest a great deal of their time thermoregulating to maintain their body temperatures.

For example, when it’s too hot, they go inside the water, stick their eyes and nostrils out and just wait until they are cool.

Do Crocodiles and Sharks Meet in Nature?

Crocodiles and sharks can occasionally meet in the water and have close encounters; most of the time, the situation would end with the shark fleeing the scene or getting eaten.

It’s mostly smaller shark species since large ones don’t dwell in shallow water.

Brutus the Giant Crocodile

Brutus is an 80-year-old crocodile living in Adelaide River in Northern Australia.

He some kind of celebrity because his front right leg is missing, and there are even boat tours that take you to him.

Photographers have caught him a few times with a bull shark in his mouth freshly caught from the river.

But you know what’s even more interesting?

It is sharks that took his front leg in the first place.

Comparison of Great White Shark and Saltwater Crocodile Attributes

If there’s one enduring lesson from 2020, it’s that family matters. And for upstate New York bowhunter Phillip Pless, that’s never been more apparent than when it comes to the autumn pursuit of whitetails.

A disabled veteran from Newfane, N.Y. who served in the United States Navy, Pless saw all levels of family become an important cog in his recent hunt for a huge buck on a small farm barely 10 miles from Lake Ontario. From his wife to his extended family to even a late grandfather he never met; all played a key role in Pless’ recent bowhunt for a buck apparently destined for the upper reaches of the record book.

When the smoke had cleared from his recent outing, the 43-year old bowhunter — who has chased deer since he was 16 and has hunted whitetails with a bow since 2010 — had a massive 5 ½-year-old non-typical that could push up toward state-record status in the Pope and Young Club record book for the Empire State.

While he’ll have to wait until the mandatory 60-day drying period is over to find out what the buck’s official score is early next year, the early green numbers on Pless’ Nov. 8 bowkill put it into benchmark territory at 222 6/8 inches gross and 213 7/8 inches net.

If the numbers on the Pless buck hold, it stands to wrestle the top spot away in the archery record book from a 2011 buck taken in Suffolk County by Michael Giarraputo. That whitetail scored 209 6/8 inches net and has been the Pope and Young Club state record non-typical buck ever since.

Until Pless’ recent bowhunt, that is. Not bad for a bowhunter who wasn’t even sure if he would be able to get out into the woods on the fateful Sunday afternoon.

“I was at home watching the kids while my wife ran some errands, and I really had no plans to hunt that day,” said Pless. “Plus, the local fire company was having a raffle gun drawing on Facebook and I kind of wanted to watch that along with the Bills game.”

But when his wife Elizabeth arrived home around mid-afternoon — and with the Bills doing well on the gridiron in their eventual 44-34 win over the Seattle Seahawks — a beautiful fall afternoon in November proved to be too strong a temptation for the enthusiastic bowhunter.

“Since the Bills were winning, I said to my wife, ‘You know what? I’m going to go hunting,’” chuckled Pless.

So he quickly put on his new birthday present, a pair of LaCrosse rubber boots from his wife, and got dressed in his favorite Realtree Edge camouflage. Then Pless made the short 10-minute drive to the small family farm, hiked to his ladder stand, and put on a cover scent he relies heavily upon.

“I’ve tried to access my stands like the pros do,” said Pless. “I watch all of the TV shows and try to watch the wind like the pros do. But I also put on a Conquest scent on the bottom of my boots.”

After doing so, he climbed up to see what the afternoon would bring. Hopefully it would deliver a chance at a bruiser buck that Pless had seen for four years on his Wildgame Innovation trail cameras. But despite hunting the farm regularly, having a couple of the buck’s sheds, and having a growing library of trail camera photos, in the field sightings were all but non-existent for the big non-typical.

With any luck, that would change. But after getting settled in around mid-afternoon, the first hour was uneventful as Pless sat in his stand overlooking the old fruit tree farm that is now a mix of uplands, soybean and corn fields, as well as scattered woods.

As Pless waited, hoping to see the buck that had disappeared from his cameras in recent weeks, the beautiful fall afternoon with mild temperatures and light winds drew his wife to the family farm to walk with the couple’s young children — 3-year-old Grace, 2-year-old Liam, and the couple’s soon-to-be-born son Easton.

“After I had been sitting in the stand for a little bit, my wife had texted and said that she had come to the farm with the kids,” said Pless. “She asked if she could walk back that way with the kids. I told her yes, but not to come too far. When they got to a certain spot, I’d wave at them.”

But as Pless dropped his cell phone back into a pocket, he looked up and had to catch his breath — the giant buck he had watched for four years now was in the scrub field in front of him with a doe.

“I looked at him through my Vortex binoculars — I use the 10×42 Diamondback HD set — to make sure it was him, then I took couple of pics and sent them to my wife and told her not to come back here because he was here.”

While the full details of Pless’ hunt will be saved for a future issue of North American Whitetail magazine, suffice it to say that the bowhunter began a cat-and-mouse game with the giant buck that lasted into the final minutes of sunlight. At first, the buck disappeared into the woods while the original doe remained in the field. A short while later, the buck reappeared with a couple of other does and chased one around briefly as the group slowly advanced in the bowhunter’s direction.

When it seemed like the bruiser would come no closer, Pless decided to trust his long hours of practice work on the shooting range this year as he sought to improve his skills at longer distances. Drawing his Hoyt Maxus 31 back, he steadied the sight pin on his Trophy Ridge sight, touched the release, and let the Easton arrow and Rage broadhead sail downrange towards the buck 40+ yards away.

“As I drew back, I prayed to God that I wouldn’t miss and then I let the arrow go,” said Pless. “He turned a bit on the shot, but the arrow hit him and went through the shoulder, shattering it, and getting lung. He went about 80 yards, stopped about four times — each time I could see blood coming out — and then I saw him drop.”

Composing himself — Pless admitted he started shaking like a leaf after he cut the shot loose — the archer waited until dark. As he climbed down, the bowhunter ruefully discovered that in his haste to get out of the house and into his stand, he had left his flashlight at home. After using his cell phone light to briefly examine the area, Pless retreated to the farm house for a light and some tracking reinforcements.

“When we got back down in there, he wasn’t too far from where I had last seen him,” said Pless. “My arrow had gone through the right shoulder and gotten lung.”

With the deer now successfully recovered, Pless and his family members couldn’t get over how huge the buck was, both in terms of its antler dimensions and body size.

“He weighed about 250 or 260 before we gutted him,” said Pless. “And he was bigger (antler wise) than he appeared to be in the trail cam photos I had. He looked big in the pictures, but in person, he was just huge.”

Pless admitted that he was a little befuddled as he went about tagging the animal, getting it field dressed, and loaded up for the ride out.

“I couldn’t really concentrate as I tried to soak it all in,” he laughed. “I even asked someone for a pen five times. As it turns out, I had the pen in my hand all along.”

When you’ve just shot a buck that could be a new archery state record — in the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, no less — that’s understandable.

Now Pless will sit back and enjoy fresh venison on the family dinner table, look forward to the completion of a pedestal mount of the buck that is being done, and eagerly await the final scoring process in January 2021.

Already, others in his small western New York region are pretty excited to hear the story and see the photos of this great buck.

“Yeah, my brother told me that this thing would go viral,” said Pless. “And I guess it has, because I’ve even had people approach me when I’ve been out and about. One was the other day in the parking lot of a gas station. The guy looked at me and said ‘Hey, is that you?’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And then he said, ‘Are you the guy who shot that big deer?’ as he pulled his phone out and showed me a photo of me and my deer. And I said ‘Yeah, that’s me, I’m the guy!’”

In the meantime, as Pless enjoys his brush with local fame, he’s also filled with gratitude as the season of Thanksgiving approaches. First, for his wife and her daily work from home, along with her also trying to help her husband get into the woods to pursue his outdoors passion.

Next Pless is grateful for a host of friends and family members who have taken an interest in his hobby along with helping to drag the buck out, including Kevin Austin, Scott Pipelis, Jason Pless, and Connor Pless.

And finally, he’s thankful for the memory of one of his primary deer-hunting inspirations, the late grandfather that he never met, Clarence Pless. Years ago, the late hunter was passionate about his own pursuit of New York’s big whitetails, even taking a record-book giant with a shotgun.

“My grandpa Pless used to hunt, but I never got to meet him since he passed away before I was born,” said Phillip. “My grandpa was a good deer hunter, and last week, my uncle Glenn gave me some of my grandfather’s stuff because he thought I might like to have it. It included a picture of my grandfather at deer camp with several others.”

In that deer camp photo taken near Greenwood, N.Y., the black and white image shows several proud hunters along with several good bucks hanging from the camp’s sagging meat pole. And the biggest belonged to Clarence, who was also 43 at the time — a huge typical whitetail placing high up in the New York State Big Buck Club.

He’s heard the stories of his grandfather’s love of deer hunting from his dad Bruce, his uncle Glenn, and others — so much so that he felt his grandpa’s presence during his recent hunt for a record book giant.

“You know, I don’t honestly know how to feel about all of this, I guess it really hasn’t all sunk in yet,” said Pless. “But it’s been really exciting, and I’ve been telling others that I think my grandfather was either sitting beside me or was up above watching over me when I shot this deer. He shot his big buck back in 1942 at the age of 43 and I shot mine at 43 — my birthday was just the other day.”

Proving that even in a time of unprecedented health crisis and uncertainty, many of the things that have made our country great still remain, things like hope, family, love, and a desire to get outside to see and experience the great outdoors.

Pless certainly understands, especially this year, a time when the coronavirus has ravaged his home state.

“I know it’s been bad here,” said Pless. “But I don’t know anybody who has gotten it and suffered from it — at least no one in my family, thank the Lord.”

Whatever else people remember the year 2020 for, Pless will always remember it for something wonderful and grand every time he looks in the antlered direction of a certain big buck he dreamed of tagging for several years. In the end, it was a deer that lived up to the hype, in the passionate bowhunter’s mind at least.

“It is the buck of a lifetime,” agreed Pless.

In a year that will never be forgotten. May all of us as hunters be so blessed in the fall of 2020 as we head to the woods with the hope for a big buck, good health, and the love of family and friends tucked away in our back pocket.

While they each have different strengths and weaknesses, .308 and .270 Winchester cartridges are both proven performers. So, the question central to the 270 vs 308 debate remains: which one should you be hunting with?

I think the majority of hunters and shooters would agree that the .270 Winchester and .308 Winchester are outstanding hunting cartridges. Indeed, they’re both consistently among the most popular centerfire rifle cartridges used in the United States each year for good reason.

While each cartridge offers certain benefits to hunters, there is also a pretty big overlap in their capabilities. For those reasons, understanding their true strengths and weaknesses can be pretty confusing at times. The fact that the .270 and .308 each have very devoted fan clubs can also make it difficult to navigate the debate.

Don’t get discouraged though: in today’s blog post, I’m going to discuss the pros and cons of the 270 vs 308 so you can make an informed decision on which one is best for you.

Before we get started, I have a couple of administrative notes:

Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase. This helps support the blog and allows me to continue to create free content that’s useful to hunters like yourself. Thanks for your support.

Finally, I recorded an entire podcast episode on this exact subject. If you’d rather listen than read, click the appropriate link below to listen to this episode on your preferred podcasting service.

308 vs 270 Podcast

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270 vs 308: History

Like many other cartridges developed in the United States, the story of the .270 and .308 Winchester begins with the .30-06 Springfield.

The US Army began the search for a new rifle and cartridge after receiving a deadly demonstration of the capabilities of the revolutionary new Mauser rifle and 7mm Mauser cartridge in the hands of Spanish troops in Cuba during 1898. Those efforts bore fruit a few years later with the bolt action 1903 Springfield rifle chambered in the new .30-06 Springfield cartridge.

Using smokeless powder and a 150gr pointed bullet fired at 2,700fps, the .30-06 Springfield was a gigantic improvement over other popular American cartridges used during that era like the .30-30 Winchester and the .45-70 Government.

Not surprisingly, the .30-06 Springfield was an almost instant success in the civilian market.

While many were satisfied with the .30-06 from the start, wildcatters also quickly started modifying the cartridge for more specialized tasks. Some gun designers necked up the .30-06 to develop bigger cartridges like the .35 Whelen and .400 Whelen.

However, the folks at Winchester went the opposite route and necked down the .30-06 (specifically the old .30-03 case, which the .30-06 is descended from) to use .277″ instead of .308″ bullets. They formally released the resulting .270 Winchester cartridge in 1925 with the Winchester Model 54 rifle.

The original .270 Winchester load shot a 130 grain bullet at a velocity of 3,140 feet per second (2,846 ft-lbs of energy).

If you’d like to see how the .270 Winchester compares to its parent case in the .30-06, read the article below:

270 vs 30-06 Debate Settled Once And For All

While the .270 had a very high muzzle velocity compared to other popular cartridges of the day, it was not an instant commercial success. This was due to a number of reasons, one of which was the fact that the .270 Winchester fired unusual size bullets. Instead of .284″ bullets like the 7mm Mauser (and more recently developed cartridges like the 7mm-08, .280 Remington, .280 Ackley Improved, and 7mm Remington Magnum), the .270 Winchester used .277″ bullets which undoubtedly hampered adoption of the cartridge to a certain degree.

It’s unclear exactly why Winchester opted for .277″ instead of the much more popular .284″ bullets. Regardless of their reasons though, the design team at Winchester went with that bullet diameter and the rest is history. Interestingly enough, while the .270 Winchester eventually became a gigantic commercial success for the company, aside from the .270 Winchester Short Magnum (270 WSM), the .270 Weatherby Magnum, and the 6.8 Remington SPC, virtually no other mass produced cartridges use .277″ bullets.

Helped along by Jack O’Connor and the famous articles he wrote for Outdoor Life about the .270 over the years, the cartridge gradually caught on with the hunting community. Though some were reluctant to adopt the cartridge, many American hunters eventually came to appreciate the flat shooting characteristics of the round as well as the fact that it was so effective on thin skinned game. Within a few decades, the .270 Winchester was firmly entrenched as one of the most popular hunting cartridges used in the United States.

While the .30-06 performed very well during both world wars, the US Military again recognized the need for a new rifle and cartridge after World War II. Specifically, the military wanted a new rifle chambered in an intermediate cartridge, capable of automatic fire, and equipped with a detachable magazine.

If you’d like to learn more about the evolution of intermediate cartridges, read the article below.

223/5.56 vs 7.62×39: Everything You Need To Know

After a very controversial selection process, the Army eventually settled on the M-14 rifle and the new 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge.

The original 7.62x51mm NATO M80 ball load fired a 146 grain full metal jacket (FMJ) bullet at 2,750 feet per second (2,469 foot pounds of muzzle energy). The 7.62x51mm NATO had virtually the same ballistics as the original .30-06 Springfield load (150 grain bullet at 2,700 feet per second) and also fired a .308″ bullet. However, the 7.62x51mm achieved that performance with a much shorter case (51mm vs 63mm) due to advances in powder technology that occurred after the development of the .30-06.

Though the 7.62x51mm NATO had a very short lived career as the primary rifle cartridge for the US military, it’s still widely used by the military in machineguns and sniper/designated marksman rifles. Additionally, Winchester recognized serious commercial potential with the 7.62x51mm cartridge and introduced the extremely similar .308 Winchester cartridge for the civilian hunting and shooting markets in the 1950s.

Providing approximately 90% of the power of the .30-06 in a smaller package, the cartridge soon became very popular and is now one of the most widely used big game hunting rounds in North America.

If you’d like to learn more about how the .308 Winchester compares to the .30-06 Springfield, read the article below:

308 vs 30-06 vs 300 Win Mag: Which One Should You Be Hunting With?

270 vs 308: Cartridge Sizes

As you can see in the photo below, the .270 Winchester and .308 Winchester cartridges have very different external dimensions.

The .270 Winchester has a significantly longer case length (2.54″ vs 2.015″) as well as overall length (3.34″ vs 2.81″). For this reason, the .270 Winchester is used in standard/long action rifles, while the .308 Winchester is the poster child for short action rifles.

Both cartridges have the same .473″ rim diameter. However, the .308 has a slightly steeper shoulder angle (20 degrees vs 17.5 degrees). Even so, the .270 Winchester has significantly more case capacity due to the much longer case used by the cartridge.

Finally, the .270 Winchester has a slightly higher maximum average pressure authorized by SAAMI (65,000psi vs 62,000psi for the .308 Win).

Note: while the case capacity figures listed below do give a good indication of the differences between the three cartridges, exact case capacities vary slightly according to the brand of brass used.

270 vs 308 Ballistics

By necking down the .30-06 case to shoot smaller diameter bullets, the designers of the .270 Winchester built a cartridge with a higher velocity, flatter trajectory, and less recoil than the .30-06 Springfield. Since the .308 Winchester is essentially a scaled down .30-06, with the exception of recoil (which we’ll get to in a minute) the .270 Winchester has the same advantages over the .308 as it does over the .30-06.

However, since most modern .30-06 factory loads have a small edge in velocity (usually around 100-200fps) over .308 factory loads shooting the same weight bullet, the advantage in velocity of the .270 Winchester is even more pronounced when compared to the .308.

This is because the smaller diameter .270 Winchester shoots lighter bullets than the .308 and the .30-06.

For instance, though it’s possible to find .308 ammo shooting bullets weighing as little as 110 grains, most .308 Winchester factory loads designed for big game hunting use heavier weight bullets in the 150 grain to 180 grain range. 150 grain, 165 grain, 168 grain, and 180 grain bullets are most popular for that cartridge. On the other hand, the majority of .270 Winchester factory loads shoot bullets in the 120-150 grain range. Of these, 130 grain and 150 grain bullets are by far the most common.

Additionally, everything else being equal, the smaller diameter bullets used by the .270 Winchester have a higher ballistic coefficient than the larger diameter bullets of the same weight from the .308 Winchester.

However, the .308 Winchester can use heavier bullets than .270 Winchester.

This is illustrated below when comparing four different Federal Premium Nosler Partition loads for the two cartridges. Specifically, the table below compares 130gr (.416 BC) and 150gr (.466 BC) loads in .270 Winchester and 150gr (.387 BC) and 180gr (.484 BC) loads in .308 Winchester.

As you can see, the 180gr .308 load uses a slightly more aerodynamic bullet than those used by the .270. However, the 130gr and 150gr Nosler Partition bullets used in this comparison by the .270 are both more aerodynamic than the 150gr .308 bullet.

This data is for Federal factory ammo using a 200 yard zero.

Not surprisingly, there is a significant difference in the bullet trajectories between the two cartridges.

The .270 Winchester has a slight edge over the .308 when both are using 150gr bullets. However, the 130gr .270 load has an even flatter trajectory with 8.9-15.8″ less bullet drop at 500 yards than both .308 Winchester loads.

With regards to energy, the cartridges are fairly evenly matched to start out with. The gap in kinetic energy grows slightly in favor of the .270 when compared to the 150gr .308 Winchester load at all ranges. However, the opposite happens with the more aerodynamic 180gr .308 Winchester load at longer range.

All things considered, the two cartridges are fairly evenly matched in energy.

The chart below compares how much a 10 mile per hour crosswind impacts those same four loads out to 500 yards.

Once again we see that the two cartridges are fairly evenly matched at shorter range, but the .270 has a slight advantage in wind drift that grows as range increases. This is because the .270 Winchester loads shoot more aerodynamic bullets (with the exception of the 180gr .308 load) at a higher velocity.

Now let’s talk about recoil.

The table below compares the recoil produced by 130gr and 150gr .270 loads to 150gr and 180gr .308 loads (all shooting a Nosler Partition bullet) when fired from identical 7 pound rifles.

Felt recoil will vary from shooter to shooter and rifle to rifle, but free recoil energy is still a useful way to compare cartridges.

Interestingly, with the exception of the milder recoiling 150gr .308 load, the two cartridges have almost identical recoil.

However, that makes sense when you consider that the .308 and .270 were designed as lower recoiling alternatives to the .30-06. This fits with the original intent of the designers interested in building a mild shooting and easy to handle cartridge that was still powerful enough for hunting medium sized game at short to moderate range.

So where do we stand with each cartridge?

The .270 Winchester is a very flat shooting and moderately powerful cartridge, especially considering that it’s nearly 100 years old. With moderate recoil that’s roughly comparable to the .308 and noticeably lighter than the .30-06 Springfield, most shooters and hunters can handle it without much trouble.

While recoil is more or less comparable between the two cartridges, typical .308 Winchester loads do not have as flat of a trajectory as typical .270 loads.

However, the .308 is available with heavier bullets than the .270 and is available in a wider range of bullet weights and models.

As we’ll discuss in a minute, this is partly due to the widespread use of the .308 Winchester (and other .30 caliber cartridges like the .30-06, .300 Win Mag, .300 Ultra Mag, and 300 PRC) in long distance shooting competitions. These projectiles quite often take advantage of the latest developments in bullet development and offer advantages in precision and ballistic coefficient compared to the bullets used by the .270.

Additionally, there are a couple of other factors that are also worth discussing though.

First, the .308 Winchester uses larger diameter bullets than the .270 Winchester.

Specifically, the larger diameter .308″ bullets used by the .308 have about 24% more frontal surface area (also known as cross sectional area) than the .277″ bullets used by the .270 (.0745 vs .0603 square inches). All other things being equal, a bigger bullet will make a bigger hole, cause more tissue damage, and result in more blood loss.

This is a definite, though slight, factor in favor of the .308.

On the other hand, many of the .277″ bullets have a higher sectional density (SD) than the most common bullets used in the .308 though.

Sectional density (SD) is a measure of the ratio of the diameter of a projectile to its mass. All other things equal, a heavier projectile of a given caliber will be longer and therefore have a higher sectional density and consequently penetrate deeper than projectiles with a lower mass and sectional density.

Everything else being equal, the smaller diameter .277″ bullets have a higher ballistic coefficient and a higher sectional density than the larger diameter bullets of the same weight from the .308. However, the .308 generally uses heavier bullets than the .270 Winchester.

All that being said, the .270 Winchester still has a slight edge with most bullets in common use, even when compared to heavier .30 caliber bullets.

As an example, 130 grain, 140 grain, and 150 grain .277″ bullets have sectional densities of .242, .261, and .279 respectively. This compares favorably to 150 grain, 168 grain, and 180 grain .308″ bullets which have sectional densities of .226, .253, and .271 respectively.

For the most part, this also applies to ballistic coefficient.

The bullets used in this comparison illustrate those differences well with the .270 Winchester using 130gr (.416 BC) and 150gr (.466 BC) bullets compared to the 150gr (.387 BC) and 180gr (.484 BC) bullets used by the .308.

With the exception of the 180gr .308 bullets, the .270 has the edge across the board with regards to using more aerodynamic bullets in this comparison.

It’s difficult to pick an accuracy winner between the 270 vs 308 though because it’s something of an apples to oranges comparison. Both cartridges are capable of outstanding accuracy, but the .270 Winchester is used almost exclusively as a hunting cartridge. On the other hand, even though the .270 Winchester does shoot flatter in many cases, military and police snipers, hunters, and practical and/or long distance shooting competitors have all used the .308 Winchester extensively over the years.

For that reason, users of the .308 Winchester benefit from the extensive the research and development that has gone into refining .308″ bullets and rifles for long range shooting in the United States over the last century.

All that being said, while the .308 probably has a slight edge here, both cartridges have the potential for excellent accuracy in the right hands.

If you’d like to learn more about the accuracy of the .308 Winchester and how it compares to cartridge purpose built for long range competition shooting, read this article:

6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Winchester Debate Settled

308 vs 270: Ammunition Selection

The .308 Winchester and .270 Winchester are two of the most popular centerfire rifle cartridges in North America. In fact, I’d wager that they’re both among the Top 10 (if not the Top 5) best selling rifle cartridges in the United States each year.

Not surprisingly, pretty much every ammunition manufacturer of note like Barnes, Black Hills, Browning, Federal Premium, Fiocchi, Hornady, Magtech, Nosler, PMC, PPU, Remington, Swift, and Winchester (just to name a few) produce a wide variety of ammo for both cartridges.

Virtually every major style of bullet is available in .270 and .308 as well like the Barnes TTSX, the Hornady ELD-X, GMX, InterBond, InterLock, SST, and V-Max, the Nosler AccuBond, AccuBond Long Range, Ballistic Tip, E-Tip, and Partition, the Remington Core Lokt, the Swift Scirocco and A-Frame, and the Winchester Power Point (just to name a few).

Prices and availability vary from region to region, but ammunition for both cartridges is widely available. In fact, if a sporting goods store only carried ammo for three different centerfire rifle cartridges, I’d bet money they’d have .270, .308, and .30-06 ammo.

Basically, there is no shortage of quality .270 Win and .308 Win factory ammunition suitable for hunting.

BUY SOME GREAT 270 HUNTING AMMO HERE

BUY SOME GREAT 308 HUNTING AMMO HERE

If you’d like to learn more about some of the various hunting ammunition choices for the .308 Winchester and .270 Winchester cartridges, read the articles below:

Best 270 Ammo For Hunting Elk, Deer, And Other Big Game

Best 308 Ammo For Hunting Deer, Elk, Hogs, & Other Game

Both cartridges are also well suited for handloaders and reloading components for both cartridges are widely available. With regards to bullet selection, .308″ bullets in particular are very easy to find. Though only a few cartridges use .277″ bullets, the .270 is extremely popular and there’s a plethora of quality bullets to choose from.

308 vs 270: Rifle Selection

Similar to the abundant ammunition choices available in .308 Winchester and .270 Winchester, there are also plenty of quality rifles manufactured in the two cartridges. Regardless of the cartridge you choose, finding a good deer rifle shouldn’t be an issue.

Both are very common in bolt-action rifles. Of course Remington and Winchester produce the Model 70 and Model 700 rifles in .270 and .308 Winchester. Additionally, the Browning X-Bolt, Kimber Hunter, Mossberg Patriot, Nosler Liberty, Ruger American, Ruger Hawkeye, Savage Axis, Thompson Center Compass, Tikka T3, and Weatherby Vanguard are available in both calibers.

BUY A GREAT 270 HUNTING RIFLE HERE

BUY AN EXCELLENT 308 HUNTING RIFLE HERE

Read the article below if you’d like to learn more details about some of the various hunting rifle choices for the 270 Winchester.

Best 270 Rifles For Hunting – Ultimate Guide

Aside from the Browning BAR, the .270 Winchester is almost non-existent in semi-automatic rifles. On the other hand, the .308 Winchester is relatively common in semi-automatic sporting rifles like the AR-10 and M1A.

Though there is quite a bit of overlap in barrel lengths, .270 rifles often have slightly longer barrels than .308 rifles. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, and 22″ and 24″ barrels are very common for both cartridges.

All things considered, identical rifles chambered in .270 Winchester tend to be slightly longer, heavier, and more unwieldy than rifles chambered in .308.

The Winchester Model 70 Super Grade illustrates these differences well.

When chambered in .308 Winchester, the rifle has a 22″ barrel, an overall length of 42.25″, and weighs 7.75 pounds. The same rifle chambered in .270 Winchester has a 24″ barrel, is 44.75″ long, and weighs 8.25 pounds.

So, the rifle chambered in .270 Winchester is 2″ longer and weighs about a half pound more than the exact same model chambered in .308 Winchester.

Barrel lengths do vary depending on the manufacturer and exact model.

At the same time though, the .308 Winchester is sometimes available in more compact rifles with shorter 18-20″ barrels.

Having a shorter and lighter rifle is more important on some hunts than on others. So, just keep that in mind.

270 vs 308: Which Is Right For You?

With good shot placement and when using quality bullets, the .270 Winchester and .308 Winchester are ideally suited for hunting medium to large sized game.

They are both incredibly effective (and popular) deer hunting cartridges and hunters armed with the .270 and .308 make up a significant portion of the annual whitetail deer harvest each year in the United States. Both are also great for similarly sized game like black bear, feral hogs, javelina, mule deer, and pronghorn as well as exotic game like axis, sika, and fallow deer.

However, the flat trajectory and resistance to wind drift of the .270 Winchester makes it a really good choice for game that might require a longer shot such as pronghorn or mule deer. The relatively light recoil of the cartridge also makes it easier to handle in a lightweight rifle that’s desirable on a mountain hunt. Jack O’Connor was really onto something with his affinity for the .270 as a sheep hunting cartridge. Those same characteristics also make it a very good choice for mountain goat in Canada or Himalayan Tahr and chamois while hunting in New Zealand.

On the other hand, since it shoots heavier and larger diameter bullets, the .308 Winchester has a clear advantage when hunting larger species like moose, elk, and caribou. Especially when using a heavy bullet (180+ grains), the .308 has a significant advantage when hunting most plains game in Africa like blue wildebeest, kudu, and eland.

Now the .308 Winchester is a perfectly capable long range cartridge and plenty of hunters use it on mountain hunts each year. After all, the recoil of the .308 is very similar to the .270. By the same token, the .270 has taken untold numbers of moose, elk and plains game without any issues. For instance, the 150gr Nosler Partition below really did a number on a big kudu bull in South Africa.

It’s really just a matter of each cartridge having certain strengths and weaknesses.

Do you primarily hunt medium sized game like whitetail deer, feral hogs, or black bear at ranges within 200 yards? Both are extremely effective deer hunting cartridges and will absolutely get the job done on medium sized game if you do your part. Both are great deer hunting cartridges and are among the most popular North American hunting cartridges in general, so it’s really hard to go wrong here.

If you’re going to be hunting in thick brush or in the tight confines of a deer stand, remember what I just mentioned about the size difference with 308 vs 270 rifles. That extra couple of inches in overall length of a rifle can be a real headache to deal with when trying to quickly and quietly maneuver for a shot.

Are you looking for the cartridge better suited for long range hunting for game like mule deer or pronghorn in open country where you might need to take a shot at several hundred yards? Both will work, but the .270 Winchester is probably the better choice for you. With a significantly flatter trajectory and more resistance to wind, the cartridge does very well on longer shots, particularly on thin skinned game like mule deer, pronghorn, sheep, or tahr.

Do you want to hunt larger game animals like kudu, eland, red stag, elk, or moose? Neither would be my first choice for this sort of hunting, but both cartridges will certainly work and lots of people have used them with success on bigger game. In my opinion, the .308 Winchester is probably the better choice in this case since it uses larger diameter and heavier bullets that are well suited for very large or tough animals.

Regardless of which cartridge you choose, use a controlled expansion projectile and a heavier bullet weight for your elk or moose hunt.

Even though they have slightly different strengths and weaknesses, the .270 Winchester and .308 Winchester are outstanding rifle cartridges. While the differences between them (.270 vs 308) are pretty significant in some respects, they’re both acceptable for a wide range of hunting tasks.

Get a nice hunting rifle chambered in the cartridge that you think fits your needs the best, learn to shoot it well, use quality bullets, and you’ll be well prepared for most common hunting situations.

Are you just itching to take a rifle chambered in one of these cartridges on a hunt?

Book an excellent black bear hunt here.

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The Lyman 50th Edition (197-198, p241-245), and Hornady 10th Edition (p251-355, p474-488) reloading manuals were also used as references for the history of the cartridges and provided data to compare their size and recoil. Ballistic data for the original 7.62x51mm military cartridge was obtained from Inetres. The data used to compare the trajectory and wind drift of the cartridges was obtained from Federal. Maximum pressure obtained from SAAMI (p171 and p172). Case capacities for the .270 Win and .308 Win were obtained from Nosler. I used the Federal Ballistic calculator and ShootersCalculator.com to compare wind drift, the range each bullet goes subsonic, and recoil for the cartridges.

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NEXT: 7mm REM MAG vs 300 WIN MAG: WHAT YOU KNOW MAY BE WRONG

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Read the rest of the article to learn my take on the buckshot vs slug for hunting debate.

Shotguns can be extremely effective for big game hunting if they’re used correctly. For those who hunt big game with a shotgun, it is important to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of using buckshot or a slug. The buckshot vs slug debate has been raging for many years. While I won’t settle that question during the course of this article, I will discuss the pros and cons of hunting with buckshot vs a slug and hopefully provide some good advice for prospective hunters.

Note: some of the links below are affiliate links. This means I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase. This helps support the blog and allows me to continue to create free content that’s useful to hunters like yourself. Thanks for your support.

Buckshot

Buckshot is the largest type of “shot” loaded in shotgun shells and a typical buckshot load consists of multiple medium diameter pellets. There are many different types and variations of buckshot currently in use, but 12 gauge “00” (“double-aught”) buckshot consisting of 9 (sometimes more) .33 caliber pellets, is the most common. As the name would suggest, buckshot was originally designed for use on medium-sized species of game such as deer.

Like all types of shot, a buckshot pattern grows in size as the range increases. To a certain extent, this is good because it gives the hunter a little room for error when aiming. However, this also means that buckshot has a relatively short maximum effective range. Depending on the exact shotgun and buckshot load being used, you’re probably looking at a maximum range of around 30 yards.

Another disadvantage of using buckshot is the fact that since the individual pellets are normally relatively lightweight (a lead 00 buckshot pellet weighs 50-51 grains), they do not retain their energy or penetrate as well as slugs. This also limits the effectiveness of buckshot on thick-skinned animals and at longer ranges.

That being said, buckshot is absolutely devastating when used at close range on thin-skinned game. The characteristics of buckshot also make it extremely effective for shooting at moving animals.

For that reason, buckshot is very popular among hunters pursuing deer with hounds and by guides in Africa following up wounded leopards. As long as it is used under appropriate conditions, buckshot is an excellent, though not very versatile choice.

BUY SOME GREAT 12 GAUGE BUCKSHOT AMMO HERE

BUY SOME QUALITY 20 GAUGE BUCKSHOT AMMO HERE

Slug

In direct contrast to buckshot is a slug, which is a single, large diameter projectile designed to be fired from a shotgun. Just like buckshot, there are many different types of shotgun slugs available on the market. While there are numerous differences between the various types of slugs, they all share several basic characteristics in performance.

The big advantage of using a slug is that it has a much longer effective range than buckshot. A 50-75 yard shot on a deer is usually well within the performance capability of a shotgun shooting slugs. When using a barrel designed to shoot slugs and more precise iron sights or a scope, this range can be extended even further.

Though a shotgun shooting slugs will not even come close to matching the effective range of most centerfire rifles, it can easily be used to take ethical shots on animals 2-3x further away than a shotgun shooting buckshot.

Additionally, since a slug is a single large diameter projectile, it makes a very big hole in whatever it hits. Though the exact size of the projectile varies, at .615 caliber, a 20 gauge slug is approximately twice the diameter of a .30-06 bullet and a 12 gauge slug (.729 caliber) is even larger.

Shotgun slugs are also usually very heavy: a 3/4 ounce (328 gr) 20 gauge slug and a 1 ounce (437.5 gr) 12 gauge slug are both significantly heavier than a 150 gr .30-06 bullet. Additionally, shotgun slugs retain their energy better and typically penetrate much deeper than buckshot.

A shotgun shooting a slug is also much more precise than a shotgun shooting buckshot. Depending on the situation, this can be either a good or a bad thing. However, this means the hunter has less margin for error when aiming, which is especially apparent when shooting at a moving target.

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Buckshot vs Slug

So what should you use: buckshot or a slug?

Well, it depends on the animal being hunted, the circumstances of the hunt, and the local hunting regulations. It is not legal to hunt big game with buckshot in many places, probably due to the fact that so many hunters wound and lose deer by shooting them with buckshot at too long of a range.

If this is the case where you hunt, the choice is simple: use a slug.

For the majority of hunters, using a slug is probably the best choice due to the superior range and flexibility of the slug vs buckshot.

However, if you hunt thin-skinned game (like deer) in an area where you are likely to only take extremely short range shots and where it is legal to do so, then use buckshot.

For a more detailed discussion on the different shotgun gauges and their recommended uses, read the article below:

Shotgun Gauges Explained: 10 vs 12 vs 16 vs 20 vs 28 vs 410

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