Last year, while hunting with a good friend, I called in a pack of coyotes. As I pulled the trigger on one at 50 yards, something else caught my eye. I swung right about 10 yards and there, out of the shadows, was a mountain lion. Before I could lock down on it, he was gone! This was the first time I’ve called in a lion at the same time as a pack of coyotes. Bummed about not being able to get a shot, I started to evaluate my weapon of choice. I Shoot a .204 Ruger with a Leupold 3x18 Varmint. My eyes just can’t react and adjust like they used to, so it was time to do something about it. As I shopped around, I decided on an AR-15 Colt .223 Rem., with an EOTech Holographic sight.

I mentor kids for Youth Unlimited Outdoors (YOU) and we had a kids Hunt for Javelina the last weekend of January. I went up a few days early to try out my new rifle. Early morning I loaded up my hunting rig and headed out. I found a nice ridge that overlooked a huge wash with lots of cover in it for predators. After 5 minutes of calling I could see the ears of the ‘yote over the brush as it came running up from the wash. Within 5 seconds it stopped 100 yards down wind looking right at my decoy. So I pulled up the new rifle, quickly acquired my target, squeezed the trigger and dropped him! My eyes adjusted through the sight without any hesitation. Thanks to my new equipment, I’ve got my edge back!

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