Every year in Europe, a small group of very talented and highly motivated individuals who share a passion for the outdoors gather to discuss all things Pulsar-related. Historically, this event has been reserved mainly for Europeans, and American members of the Pulsar family had never been invited—but this year, 2024, that changed when three Americans were invited to join the European team. The destination: Vilnius, Lithuania.
It was an absolute honor for me to have been invited on this adventure halfway around the world. Luckily, I had a current passport, some extra time off from my day job, and no major family obligations to distract me during the event. All the stars had aligned, and I began researching Lithuania.
Getting there was an adventure in and of itself. The first flight, leaving on a Tuesday morning, started with a two-hour drive from my house. Three flights, two 5+ hour-long layovers, and a short cab ride later, we finally arrived at our hotel on Wednesday evening. Arriving a day early to acclimate to the time change allowed us some free time to explore the capital city of Vilnius. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Northeastern European city with a population of more than 600,000 and a history of being ruled by a handful of different countries. What I found was a fine mixture of old architecture and modern buildings. Many shop entrances were lined with fresh flowers, and the streets were bustling with lots of foot traffic. Street vendors were selling artwork with many amber accents. We explored the Vilnius Cathedral and Bell Tower, hiked the park along the Vilnia River, and made it to the top of the hill where Gediminas Tower overlooks the Old Town. My favorite part of the history of this city was learning the story of Gediminas, the founder of the city.
Gediminas Tower, Vilnius, Lithuania.
The Vilnius Bell Tower.
Legend has it that several centuries ago, Gediminas the Grand Duke of Lithuania was on a hunt for wisent, European bison, which lasted longer than expected. Exhausted, Gediminas decided to spend the night out in the valley. While asleep, he dreamt of a large iron wolf howling loudly on top of a hill. When he returned the next day, he asked his chief priest what his dream meant. The chief priest told him the iron wolf represented a castle and a city that he would build, and this city would be the capital where all Lithuanian rulers would live. To fulfill the will of the gods, Gediminas built two castles and moved his court there, declaring it the capital.
"Dream of Gediminas About the Iron Wolf" by Aleksander Lesser
The next day, we were taken along on a factory tour of Pulsar’s headquarters, where we got to see technicians assembling a multitude of optics by hand. The amount of detail and dedication I saw on this tour gave me a whole new appreciation for the term "European-made." That afternoon, we were shuttled to a shooting range where we used multiple weapons and optics in a friendly competition with five different stages. My favorite stage was the shotgun, as that is where I have the most experience, but a close second was the running boar! For this stage, an AR-style weapon was used with a Krypton 2 FXG50 on the end of a daytime scope. It was an amazing experience to spend some time on the trigger with folks from all over Europe.
The next day and a half were filled with business meetings, where I found myself inspired and impressed by the level of engagement, professionalism, and dedication shown not only by the other ambassadors but also by the folks from Pulsar in attendance. I could tell they were taking everything discussed very seriously, with a genuine intent to improve.
We spent the evenings and downtime mingling with Pulsar staff and other ambassadors, getting to know each other and discussing our shared passion for the outdoors. Learning what, why, and how these folks from Europe hunt was incredible. For most of them, the hurdles they had to overcome to pursue their passion for hunting were impressive and, in many cases, unfortunate. I can’t help but think about how humans have hunted on this earth for many thousands of years. It is a biological trait for some of us to have a desire to hunt. It is this trait that connects us and brings us together to discuss the Pulsar products we enjoy using in the field, no matter where we are in the world.
The European wisent (Bison bonasus) is a close relative of the American bison (Bison bison).
At the beginning of this adventure, I embarrassingly didn’t even know where Lithuania was on the map. It was surprisingly far north. The sun stayed up longer than expected, and the hours of darkness were quite short. The people were beautiful, spoke excellent English, the food was amazing, and the climate was wonderful. It was an overall amazing experience that I will not soon forget. I hope to find myself back there someday. Thank you, Lithuania, Pulsar, and all the people who made the trip special!
Members of the team from Pulsar Lithuania and Pulsar USA.
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