The winners of American Hunter’s 2025 Golden Bullseye Awards—now in their 23nd year—have been announced. The Golden Bullseye Awards recognize the firearm industry’s top products as voted on by American Hunter staff editors.
“These awards have become the most prestigious in the entire firearm industry,” deputy executive director of NRA Media Michael J. Sanford said. “I have watched the Golden Bullseyes go from a concept more than two decades ago to the most in-demand awards, truly worthy of NRA and its members. I appreciate the time and energy put into not only reviewing these guns and accessories for NRA members, but the process the editorial staff goes through in judiciously selecting them.”
Golden Bullseye winners are selected by an expert board representing more than a century of collective experience in the shooting, hunting and outdoor arena. To qualify for consideration, a product must have been:
• Recently introduced and available for purchase;
• Used/tested by staff or a regular contributor;
• Reliable in the field, meeting or exceeding the evaluator’s expectations;
• Innovative in design and function;
• Readily perceived as a value to the consumer;
• Styled in a manner befitting the shooting and hunting industry and, perhaps more importantly, its enthusiasts.
Rifle of the Year: Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed SPR
The Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed SPR feels like a custom-built elk rifle. Its three-lug bolt delivers a quick, 60-degree throw. Its tuned receiver ensures bind-free operation. The bolt is fluted to cut weight and reduce friction, putting a little bit of speed into the name of the rifle. The ejection port is enlarged to ensure case ejection. A flush-fit magazine is detachable and holds three rounds. The DLX trigger is a three-lever design adjustable between 3-3.5 lbs. pull, and it’s about as crisp and creep-free as a hunter could want. The dual bedded action supports the free-floated, sporter contour, steel barrel with a brake that is, as the SPR in the nomenclature suggests, suppressor-ready. Browning’s new Vari-Tech stock is composite, finished in Ovix camo and sports just the right contact area enhancements at comb, pistol grip and fore-end. Metalwork is coated in Smoked Bronze Cerakote. Weight is less than 7 pounds, and price is between $1,529.99 and $1,599.99. This rig is sweet. browning.com
Hardware Review: Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed SPR
Shotgun of the Year: Benelli Ethos Cordoba A.I. BE.S.T.
The original Ethos, launched in 2014, is already built for high-volume shooting with a tuned action; a bolt that goes into battery—always!; just the right angle on its loading gate to avoid a pinched thumb; and just the right amount of weight up front to help with a smooth barrel swing. But as if that’s not enough, the Performance Shop Ethos Cordoba A.I. BE.S.T. adds to the platform every additional refinement the Italian gunmaker can muster, making this pretty much an out-of-the-box custom shotgun. Features include a custom Briley oversized bolt release button and bolt handle; a Briley 6-ounce weighted end cap; five “Advanced Impact” Crio choke tubes; and two Briley Spectrum A.I. chokes. The nomenclature indicates the rest. “Advanced Impact” barrel and choke technology produces more velocity and energy from ordinary loads, and less shot stringing for denser patterns. Benelli Surface Treatment (BE.S.T.) provides the best metal surface treatment to protect against rust and corrosion. Wow—this gun has it all. As an Ethos Cordoba, its name pretty much tells you what it’s built for: high-volume wingshooting in Cordoba, Argentina, or anywhere else. But rest assured the guts back up the name. The gun retails for $3649. benelliusa.com
Handgun of the Year: Ruger Super Wrangler
The Super Wrangler is a Ruger Single Six at heart but made with less expensive manufacturing techniques to keep retail price low and attractive in a modern, competitive market. The gun ships with two cylinders for .22 LR and .22 WMR. The frame is made of steel, not aluminum as found on the original Wrangler, the better to handle pressure from the magnum cartridge. The top strap is thick to accommodate adjustable sights. With its 5.5-inch, hammer-forged barrel the revolver weighs 37.7 ounces, a heft that feels just about right in hand. The Super Wrangler is super-accurate, too, because a stepped chamber in the cylinders supports the bullet after it exits the case, and the forcing cone is shortened so the bullet enters while it’s still supported by the chamber. Ruger’s transfer bar system allows a hunter or trapper to carry the revolver with all six chambers safely loaded. Black or silver or bronze Cerakote coats the grip, frame and barrel, while the cylinders are finished in black oxide. Retail price is only $329 for this made-in-America revolver. At that price we think everyone should want one. ruger.com
Hardware Review: Ruger Super Wrangler
Ammunition Product of the Year: Winchester 400 Legend
At a time when straight-walled cartridges and the rifles that shoot them are in high demand, Winchester touts two straight-wall rounds that cover the gamut. Its newest, the 400 Legend, fills the gap between its wildly popular 350 Legend and the 450 Bushmaster. The 400 case dimensions are designed to function equally well in an AR or bolt gun. Winchester sells three loads. The 215-grain jacketed, soft-point Power-Point is the cheapest of the bunch, made to reliably and quickly expand and penetrate at 2250 fps. Of course the Winchester name on the Deer Season XP load is all a hunter needs to see to know what to buy for his deer hunt. We think it’d be pretty good for hogs, too. It features a 190-grain Extreme Point bullet Winchester touts as delivering more impact trauma, better energy transfer and a larger wound channel for sure knockdown. The 300-grain load uses Winchester’s copper-clad Open Tip bullet. The load is called Super Suppressed, meaning it’s subsonic and pretty much begging to be bought and shot in an AR with a suppressor. This may be the ultimate straight-wall game-getter for shots inside 200 yards. winchester.com
Hardware Review: Winchester 400 Legend
Optic of the Year: Trijicon Credo HX 1-10x28mm Riflescope
Cards on the table, the most eye-catching feature of the Trijicon 1-10x28mm Credo HX is right in the name. Ten X magnification is very nearly unheard of, and 10X magnification with the top-end clarity of the 1-10x28mm Credo HX suggests a level of esoteric wizardry that is hard to fathom. The sight is built off a 34mm main tube, allowing for 136 MOA of total adjustment in both elevation and windage (this is by our own turning of the dials—Trijicon actually claims only 100 MOA, likely because erector-tube travel tends to decrease clarity at its bleeding-edge extremes).
The optic's reticle is similarly impressive. The illumination of the Bindon Aiming Concept (BAC) Segmented Circle Enhanced Reticle (user's choice of red or green) makes it easy to shoot with both eyes open at any magnification, while the construction of the reticle itself allows for incredibly precise holds. When the scope is turned up to around six power, a full 100 MOA of (unilluminated) hold is visible in every direction. At full 10 power, roughly 55 MOA appears for every direction of windage, and 65 MOA for elevation. While the large, segmented circle is still visible zoomed in with the illumination on, a fine, brilliant crosshair also appears for the more precise work generally necessary when at or near full magnification. The Trijicon Credo HX 1-10x28mm retails for $2150; trijicon.com
First Look: Trijicon 1-10x28mm Credo and Credo HX
Gear of the Year: Leupold RX-5000 TBR/W
Other than being a tough-as-nails handheld unit that’s touted to range to a maximum of 5,000 yards, the Leupold RX-5000 contains technology that most other handheld rangefinders don’t, and something that represents perhaps the biggest advancement for hunters since the laser rangefinder itself. Leupold calls it “Location Pinning.” With the RX-5000 unit connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth, when a target is ranged its exact location is marked on the onX Hunt app. This may sound simple, but the technology involved in accomplishing it was mind-blowing just a few years ago. Basically, the unit uses its compass and GPS feature to send triangulation data to the app that then plots the coordinates on the map, all done nearly instantaneously.
On top of location pinning, this RX flagship model contains most of the other features that have made the line a favorite among hunters. Its TBR (True Ballistic Range) function gives ranges that account for angle. Choose one of 25 ballistic groups that’s closest to your load, and the unit presents you with onscreen hold-over and wind solutions for long-range shooting. It’s got 8X magnification and features a tripod mount for long-range use, which comes in very handy considering its 5000-yard capability on deer and tree-sized (non-reflective) targets. The unit retails for $699.99; leupold.com
