"When good people work hard to achieve something great, any hardship can be endured and any obstacle can be overcome."
—James Sellers, CEO of Sellmark
Having only light perception in a very narrow visual field, my story of using Pulsar’s Night Vision Optics takes place during daylight hours. I was born with retinitis pigmentosa and have been night-blind all my life. By age 18, I was legally blind and gave up hunting for nearly 40 years due to my vision loss. A little more than a year ago, I started hunting again as a totally blind man.
Early Hunting Memories
My early hunting experiences on the family farm in southeastern Nebraska were much like those of a hunting dog. I walked along fence lines and waterways to flush game. Often, I was the first to hear the target and, on rare occasions, would accidentally see it just as another hunter made the shot.
My favorite deer-hunting memory occurred when I was around eight—before I was old enough to carry a deer rifle. My dad allowed me to tag along on a hunting trip in the sandhills of western Nebraska. My job was to walk through heavy brush between the hunters to flush out deer.
At one point, in a dried-up riverbed, I kept bending over to retrieve my hunter-orange cap, which was repeatedly knocked off my head by unseen branches. I must have been on my hands and knees searching for my hat when a huge whitetail doe almost ran me over. My dad asked, “Did you see that huge doe you scared out?” I’m certain he joked, “Be sure to make it a buck next time!”
Using Pulsar technology, it would take 48 years—until the last weekend of the 2024–2025 Texas whitetail deer season—before I finally shot my first buck. Ironically, I didn’t see it either.
Hunt Preparation
On January 2, 2025, at about 3:00 p.m., before leaving camp, I powered on the Pulsar Digex C50 scope and had my son Eric turn on the scope’s Wi-Fi. I also made sure there was a spare APS2 battery in my vest pocket in case the scope ran low on power. Hot-swapping external batteries had worked flawlessly during previous hunts.
Since this was my son’s first hunting trip, it seemed fitting that Eric and his lifelong friend Kolton—who met at the neighborhood pool when they were about four years old—were featured in a photo at the YO Ranch gate. The game on the Musgrove Family Ranch should feel fortunate that it took 14 years before Kolton’s dad, Kirk, and I started hunting together.
After Kirk and I climbed into the deer stand, I securely mounted my rifle onto a tripod. Next, Kirk launched the Stream Vision 2 app on an iPad to remotely connect to the scope. Lastly, I worked the bolt to chamber a round.
Staring Contest
At around 5:00 p.m., Kirk began whispering, “We’ve got several whitetail deer coming toward us. There’s a nice eight-point buck coming in and out of the clearing about 100 yards away. I’m not sure it’s a shooter, but if it’s old enough, I’ll try to get you a shot.”
For the next 15 minutes, Kirk kept glassing the buck as it occasionally appeared at the edge of the trees, estimating its age and deciding if it was a shooter.
Finally, Kirk told me, “Shoulder up.” As I started to adjust my seating position, he immediately grabbed my leg. I froze, holding a seated squat with my hands locked in a dip position on the chair’s arms. For several minutes, the buck and I were locked in a silent staring contest. Of course, I couldn’t see the buck—I could only hope it didn’t see me either.
The Shot
Fortunately, the buck blinked first and stopped watching us. Kirk released his grip on my leg, and I was finally able to move into shooting position. Everything started to happen very quickly.
Kirk switched his view to the iPad running the Stream Vision 2 app and told me, “Move to the left.” We were instantly on target, so I thumbed off the safety. With just a few small adjustments—“down, left, up, right”—we waited for the buck to turn. When it finally turned broadside, Kirk said, “Hold... hold... fire.”
Pulsar Technology + Good People
I’ve often found that the right technology can transform something perceived as impossible into an achievable accomplishment. With this in mind, I purchased a Pulsar Digex C50 scope before the 2024 deer season and mounted it on my left-handed bolt-action Winchester XPR. Way back in the day, I learned to shoot left-handed because my left eye was dominant. Today, both of my eyes are “dead eyes,” but holding the rifle left-handed still feels natural.
In addition to the right technology, the support of good people can make dreams come true. My wife, Wendy, provided the directional commands to guide me on target when I first used the Pulsar Digex C50. Later, Eric helped me zero the scope at the range.
Pulsar Digex C50 First Shots
Wendy and I were shooting at a 25-yard target because the purpose of this range trip was to simply verify that the Pulsar Digex C50 was securely mounted to my rifle, determine the initial Point of Impact (POI), and ensure that streaming the scope to the Stream Vision 2 application remained stable and uninterrupted by the recoil of my .300 Win Mag. After five shots, we concluded that the scope was securely mounted, based on the tight grouping of the four non-fouling shots. The POI was low and to the left with the initial settings, and the streaming performed flawlessly, with no connection loss during the session.
Pulsar Digex C50 Zeroing
For the next range trip, Wendy was glad Eric was home from college for the weekend so he could help complete the 50-yard zeroing with me. In the following video, you can see the scope’s point of view and hear Eric’s directional commands as we worked to zero the scope.
Thanking Good People
First, I want to posthumously thank my dad for taking me hunting in my early childhood. I know he would have loved the picture of the buck and hearing about his grandson enjoying his first hunt. Incidentally, my rifle is similar to the right-handed Winchester Model 70 in .25-06—now Eric’s gun—that I carried as a teenager but never fired during Nebraska deer season. I would have loved to use the Pulsar Digex C50 technology with him.
Next, I’d like to thank the talented team at Pulsar for building a solution that allows this blind man to hunt again.
Finally, to my family and friends—Wendy, Eric, and Kirk—thank you for your patience, encouragement, and contributions to making this experience unforgettable. Sharing the Musgrove Family Ranch and mentoring a new generation of hunters made this journey so much more than just my first successful buck hunt.
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