Hello everyone! I'm looking for a lightweight 12-gauge semi-auto shotgun for my girlfriend. She’s small-framed (165ish, 50kg), so low weight, manageable recoil and good ergonomics are the priorities. We're based in Europe and mainly looking to hunt birds, so something reliable and suitable for that would be ideal. What models would you recommend? Thanks!

What’s going on everyone. I was hoping to pick a few brains for just some advice and direction. Next year I want to head out west, Colorado or Idaho for my first Elk hunt with a rifle. I am from western NC around Cherokee in the Appalachian trail so I’m not stranger to walking miles through rough terrain but as a whole to Elk, I’m fairly new. If you guys could look back at your first time going or your first kill, what do you wish you did or didn’t do differently? What did you do that went well? How do these animals traverse the terrain ( generally, I’m sure they move all sorts of ways but I’m sure it’s different than how whitetail move in what I’m used to ). All advice is welcome.

EDIT: What does your general pack look like? How far are you guys hiking?

I’m going to try and go deer hunting for the first time this year in Oklahoma. I have a 308 bolt gun and I bought some ammo from a buddy. Any of these options better than another? Obviously I assume the SB is out but I’m not sure about the others.

Here's another one that's out the door. Used 80CRV2 and natural micarta for this one with a little bit of a different rock texturing on the handle.
Let me know what you think!
Thanks for looking!
AW Forge

I'm doing a high school project where I design a duck call, and if you are familiar with duck calls, could you answer the following questions.

Do you duck hunt?

What is the average price for a good duck call?

What is the best material for a duck call? (wood, plastic, etc.)

Have you run into any problems with duck calls? (too quiet, too loud, doesn't work, etc.)

Are there any things you wish manufacturers did better with duck calls? (made cheaper, more environmentally safe, etc.)

If you could help, that would be amazing! Thank you. I hope you have a good day!

I just put out a wind sensor made by Tactacam over the weekend and am curious if the placement I have it is good. The orange pins are my current cameras, stand and mock scrape. The green pin is where the wind sensor is currently.

If anyone has any tips of where I should move it or keep it please let me know!

So I'm an older fella that for various reasons hasn't been hunting since I was a kid...now that I'm retired I'm wanting to try my hand at dove hunting.. I live in south Kansas,no dog and will be going out by myself with all permits and license taken care of..any advice would be appreciated and also a dumbass question..do birds need to be field dressed or can that wait till you get them home?

long time listener, first time poster. Like for anything, I've never made a forum post before in my life. I am 36 years old, living in the foothills of North Carolina. I moved after growing up in the city and have been here almost 10 years. i have a group of friends that get together to shoot every friday at a private home range, mostly three gun and ipsc type stuff. I'm no pewvew, but I'm not a stranger to guns. Well we decided that we were going to hunting this year. I went out and purchased a 308win ruger american predator gen 2, and a Ki 405 crossbow. i have zero experience with crossbows and every time i pull the string back I'm more nervous then i have ever been with a firearm. I will be hunting private land that wont have to far of a trek and have access to a side by side. i put up some cameras and caught some good activity around the been field and raised a deer blind maybe 40 yds from where they like to go. i plan to process the meat myself. the friend I'm hunting with has also never hunted. I'm looking for tips, tricks. Maybe something you realized you needed after the fact of getting out there. good youtube channels to watch? should i make a youtube so people can learn from the mistakes i am bound to make?

We recently sat down and talked about the deer-hunting gear we consider must-haves versus nice-to-haves. I’m curious what everyone else thinks—what’s one piece of gear you refuse to hunt without?

I have an elk hunt coming up and I’m curious about how to pack out the meat, God willing I fill my tag.

The Eberlestock brand has caught my attention. I like that the mod frame or mainframe 2 both are very modular in that you can attach different packs and even pack out meat at the same time. If you’re doing a shorter hunt you can attach a smaller bag and vice versa. At the moment the mainframe 2 is on sale 20% off. Even at that price it’s quite a bit of money.

My questions are:

Could I enjoy a similar set up for less? For instance the rustic ridge frame pack + some pack? Any lash setups you recommend?

Is the Eberlestock brand worth it? Anyone have experience with their warranty? If the premium price equals better long term experience, both in the field and on the phone, then that might tilt the needle.

Is the 20% off a good discount? Or would I be better off trying to borrow the equipment I need for the hunt and take advantage of the Black Friday sale or will the price be the same? Any other known ways to get a decent discount?

Just finishing up my first trip in Greenland. Ended up shooting these two bulls - this is one of the coolest hunts I've ever done in some of the wildest places I've ever been. I put the whole story on my Trophium profile with my other pics.

Now I wait for the outfitter to send my stuff to a Danish taxidermist so they can work on it before I get it home!

Hey all, I helped a neighbor look for their pig after it got loose and appeared on my 1acre plot. We were unsuccessful, but I told them I’d leave a feed pile and a bucket of water out & that they could stop by and check any time throughout the day until she’s found. Before they headed home, they mentioned that they’d be happy to let me hunt their 35ac homestead (20ac of it is just dense forest).

They mentioned the last guy they invited a few years ago basically shot at anything that moved. They assessed that it would be too risky having him continue to hunt their land because a pig, llama, etc would have no chance against someone so trigger happy. The “if it’s brown, it’s down” just wasn’t an acceptable mantra on their homestead, and understandably so.

The said that the wildlife has been struggling to rebound since he basically turned their woods into a giant kill zone. They proposed that if I’m willing to take care of their property as I do my own, I could feel free to hunt there. Our 1ac is small, but my wife and I are great stewards/hosts of the wildlife that stop by and we take pride in that.

This is potentially a huge benefit to me because they live right down the road. I had typically been hunting public land about an hour away. My main question is: what steps can I proactively take to make my presence a blessing to them rather than a liability? I would prefer that our new neighborly relationship trend upward rather than how it went with the last guy.

Hell of a time. Great memories and made some good friends. Next trip is in the books already.

After not being able to make it to the hunt in 2025 due to weather, I was lucky enough for Mother Nature to cooperate this time around and make it out to Atka in the far Aleutian Islands of Alaska for a reindeer hunt. I ended up getting my bull on the third day when we noticed some had swam out to an island and took a skiff out to get after them. Once we landed on the beach, we hiked up the mountain and were able to get on three bulls feeding in a saddle where we pulled off a simultaneous shot to get mine and another one. Easily one of the coolest experiences I've had on a hunt.

I tried to get a second one during the rest of my time there and it didn't end up happening, but I was able to see some incredible scenery and wildlife while I was out there! This isn't something I plan on doing again for a long time given how unreliable travel can be due to weather, but it's set a high bar for future hunts!