The bad news first: Our hunting population has been in decline for generations. The good news: Hunting participation grew by more than 25% between 2016 and the latest survey in 2022! Roughly every five years (backed up a year by COVID), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service conducts a National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. Published in 2023, the report found that roughly 14.4 million Americans hunted in 2022, up from 11.5 million in 2016. Of that 14.4 million, an estimated 11.5 million hunted big-game animals, up from 9.2 million in 2016; yes, a 25% uptick in big-game hunting. All said, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service report suggests higher numbers of hunters than in the previous 30 years of reporting. Recreational shooting also increased. What does all this mean? In the simplest terms I can write: Stock ammo. 

Going a bit deeper, with the big-game hunter population trending upward, offering a wider array of hunting ammo makes good business sense. Arm your counter guys with the right resources and knowledge base to help hunting customers choose the right ammunition for their big-game adventures and load your ammo shelves! Need help? For everything from coyotes and feral pigs to brown bears and moose, consider these 10 big-game ammo options to bag more sales. 

Hornady 338 ARC

Joyce Hornady raised a lot of eyebrows when, in 1949, he gave Hornady legs in an old auto body shop. Today, Hornady is an industry-leading ammunition company laser-focused on maintaining the company’s decades-old tag line: “Accurate, deadly, dependable.” From their legendary spire bullets to their latest product developments like the PRC lineup and ARC bullets, Hornady, more than 75 years later, shows no signs of slowing down. For 2025, the greatest example of that is the 338 ARC (Advanced Rifle Cartridge).

Designed to dramatically outperform the .300 Blackout and deliver devastating terminal energy in both subsonic and supersonic offerings from small-platform rifles like AR-15s, the 338 ARC delivers big on all fronts. Honestly, what’s not to like about a .338 bullet designed for subsonic and supersonic hunting and shooting from small-frame platforms… that also smokes the .300 Blackout and makes the 8.6 Blackout guys raise some eyebrows? Let’s be honest, Hornady has incredible success with the new ARC family of cartridges. The 338 ARC is a superb addition, rounding out varmint to big-game options, and it isn’t going anywhere. The 338 ARC was introduced for 2025 and is available in Subsonic 307-grain and supersonic Black 175-grain cartridges. www.hornady.com

Hornady 7mm PRC

This one’s too large. This one’s too small. This one’s just right. Like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears — of beds and of porridge — for many folks, the 7mm PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge) fits perfectly between cartridges offering sharper recoil (300 PRC) and a bit less impressive flight performance (6.5 PRC). Of course, the 6.5 PRC is no slouch, great out to 1,800 yards. The 300 PRC is solid out to 2,000 yards, as is the 7mm PRC but with roughly 30% less recoil. While I hinge my opinion of the 7mm PRC on things like felt recoil and flight performance, the 7mm PRC also has a solid hunting benefit. It is a superb 7mm (.284) magnum cartridge — a pinnacle big-game hunting bullet diameter for generations. I doubt anybody discounts the performance of 7mm bullets in the field. That said, and while the 7mm PRC is a long-distance rockstar, it is also a top-shelf choice for big-game hunting coast to coast, clear up to grizzly bears and moose. It is really a do-it-all hunting cartridge. 

Hornady American Whitetail 6.5 Creedmoor

A collaboration between Hornady ballistician David Emary and Creedmoor Sports’ VP of product development resulted in one of the most successful product entries into modern shooting and hunting the industry has seen in decades. Love it or hate it, I am talking about the 6.5 Creedmoor. Even the haters secretly like the cartridge. Ballistic performance out to 1,500 yards has been superb, and it is quite a solid hunting cartridge for huntable game like antelope, black bear and deer. My personal experience with 6.5 Creedmoor for feral hogs in my home state of Texas has been exceptional. Armed with a larger AR-10-type modern sporting rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, I have stacked a couple hundred of feral hogs with a 6.5 Creedmoor. My go-to 6.5 Creedmoor for hog hunting as well as deer hunting has been Hornady’s 129-grain American Whitetail. 

The 129-grain American Whitetail cartridge features Hornady’s immensely popular Interlock design — an embedded ring designed to lock the bullet’s jacket and core together for optimum mass and energy retention as well as controlled expansion. The cartridge also boasts a reported muzzle velocity of 2,820 fps from a 24-in. test barrel and an impressive G1 ballistic coefficient of .445. 

Remington Core-Lokt Tipped 7mm-08

At 55, I’m no spring chicken, and I grew up shooting. Looking back to those earliest days, I cannot recall a time when Remington ammunition wasn’t a part of our ammo haul to the shooting line. To me, those green and yellow boxes are iconic and take me back to when hunting was much simpler — pre-outdoor writing; in fact, I killed my first deer with Remington Core-Lokt ammunition. And, while I reminisce about those early days, green and yellow Remington ammo boxes in my hunting-coat pocket or stacked on scores of shooting benches, I also revel in my hunting experiences with the 7mm-08 cartridge. 

As tried-and-true hunting cartridges go, Remington’s 7mm-08 grew legs in 1980 and 45 years later, it continues to rank among big-game hunters’ top choices for large animals, clear up to elk and even bear and moose. For me, it is a personal favorite for whitetail deer and feral hogs. A recent editorial project afforded me the opportunity to build an AR-platform rifle in 7mm-08 for feral hog hunting, and its performance was incredible. For big-game hunting in general, it is tough to beat the Remington 7mm-08 and, well, it is Remington’s baby. My personal choice, given the animals I have hunted with the cartridge, is Remington’s Core Lokt ammunition. Remington’s Core-Lokt design, locking the copper jacket with a solid lead core, results in hard-hitting terminal performance and devastating wound channels. This is a bullet your hunting customers can trust. www.remington.com

Remington Core-Lokt .30-06

Speaking of iconic hunting cartridges, a term well used in this roundup, there may not be any better example of that do-all big-game representation than Springfield’s .30-06; of course, even so, I would still head to the woods with those green and yellow Remington Core-Lokt boxes. Aside from Remington’s Core-Lokt design for optimum penetration, expansion and wound-channel creation, Remington Core-Lokt ammo is a great cartridge for any retailer’s shelf space. Rifles (and ammo) are less expensive that may other .30-cal cartridges, especially magnums, ammo is readily available just about anywhere, and it remains one of America’s most trusted big-game hunting cartridges for all species in every nook and cranny of our country. 

Winchester .270 Win. Expedition Big Game

Without question, deer hunting still reigns supreme here in the good ol’ USA, and the Winchester .270 has been ruling the deer woods for a full century. Of course, this makes sense since Winchester Ammunition kicked off manufacturing in 1895 with the Winchester .30-30, perhaps the most used hunting cartridge in the first half of the 20th Century. Thirty years into ammo manufacturing, Winchester unveiled the .270 in 1925, and its popularity, even in 2025, is undebatable. Honestly, you might imagine I know a lot of deer hunters, but I don’t know any diehard deer hunters who don’t have a .270 Winchester sitting in their safe. 

If you are building your list of ammo to stock, you better check it twice and ensure .270 Winchester is on there. If you need more help, I have become a huge fan of Winchester’s 150-grain Expedition Big Game cartridges. The boattail design and bonded lead core of Winchester’s Expedition Big Game .270 Accubond bullets ensure exceptional long-range flight performance and devastating, quick-killing field results. www.winchester.com

Federal Premium Terminal Ascent 300 Win Mag

With more than a century of quality ammunition manufacturing in the books, Federal Premium continues to rank among the nation’s leading producers. Although the company began production in 1922 with shotshells and soon starting making rimfire ammo in 1924, today, Federal produces some of the best big-game factory ammo I have had the privilege of testing. While I remain a fan of Federal Fusion ammo, for America’s largest big-game critters, I recently leveled up to Terminal Ascent, and believe the .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge is one of the best options available to today’s hunters. 

Federal Premium’s Terminal Ascent 300 Win. Mag. is a perfect choice for hunters looking for impressive big-game hunting bullet performance from up-close-and-personal to the next zip code. A great choice for hunting any big-game species in North America, the Terminal Ascent 300 Win. Mag. cartridge boasts a patented Slipstream polymer tip for enhanced aerodynamics, flatter shooting and lower-velocity expansion for optimum penetration and more traumatic wound channels. The bonded bullet also incorporates AccuChannel groove technology for reduced drag and improved flight performance; in fact, the Terminal Ascent 300 Win. Mag.’s G1 ballistic coefficient stands at an impressive .608. www.federalpremium.com 

Federal Premium 7mm Backcountry

Yes, ammo is big talk at the industry’s annual SHOT Show, and 2025 was no different. One of this year’s most buzzworthy ammo launches was Federal Premium’s 7mm Backcountry, and for good reasons. Starting with the obvious, 7mm is a phenomenal big-game hunting bullet, period; however, what makes the 7mm Backcountry stand out? 

Let’s be honest, a 7mm, 170-grain bullet designed to leave the muzzle of a 20-inch barrel at 3,000 fps is going to turn heads and stir up chatter — and that is precisely what the 7mm Backcountry does. Designed to deliver the best combination of long-range shooting performance and terminal energy from more compact rifle platforms, the 7mm Backcountry incorporates more than a century of know-how from ballisticians and hunters alike — and I’m a big fan. 

Nosler Whitetail Country .308 Winchester

Founded by John Amos Nosler in 1948, Nosler Partition Bullet Company, originally established in Ashland, Oregon, was the answer to a failed moose hunt just two years earlier. After a well-placed shot, a large moose failed to drop. With the hunt ruined, Nosler set out to solve his own problem — the result was Nosler’s iconic partition bullet and, in 1972, the company’s popular Solid Base bullet, designed with a solid, flat base and tapered jacket. Both have proven to be Nosler’s redemptive problem solvers for decades, and the company’s Whitetail Country ammunition only underscores Nosler’s unwavering devotion to enhancing success in the field for demanding hunters. 

In my own pursuits this past fall and winter, Nosler’s Whitetail Country .308 Winchester 165-grain ammunition performed incredibly well in the field on feral hogs; however, the cartridge is a solid choice for virtually any North American big-game animal. Whitetail Country .308 Winchester cartridges feature Nosler’s popular Solid Base bullet with a boattail design and fifth-generation tapered jacket. The combination delivers enhanced long-range flight, expansion and overall terminal energy. While Nosler suggests the cartridge was designed specifically for whitetail deer hunting, I have first-hand experience with this ammo while hunting feral hogs — wound channels on hogs with Whitetail Country ammo were absolutely devastating. www.nosler.com

Nosler Trophy Grade .243 Win. Partition 

A big-game ammunition roundup simply would not be complete without including one of America’s most popular whitetail deer hunting cartridges, the .243 Winchester. Of course, as most discriminating hunters know, a hunting cartridge list also would not be complete without a Nosler partition bullet. So, here I am singing the well-earned praises of Nosler’s Trophy Grade .243 Winchester Partition ammunition. 

As the cartridge’s name implies, it delivers exceptional freezer-filling results courtesy of Nosler’s iconic partition bullets. Put simply, Nosler employs a dual-core system comprised of a front core designed for rapid expansion and a rear core that retains its shape for dramatically improved rear support of the expanded front component. The result is retained weight and momentum as well as impressive expansion and penetration. Any deer hunter putting a .243 Winchester to work would be well served by Nosler’s Trophy Grade Partition ammunition.