Alaska Black Bear
"June 2011: Took my EOTech XPS Tan and G23 Tan magnifier, both mounted on a Remington R25 in .308 Win, on an awesome black bear adventure in Alaska. The fine aiming dot in the EOTech reticle had me shooting consistent 1" groups at 100 yards with 165 grain Trophy Bonded ammo so I was confident in my gear. This was my very first bear hunt anywhere, and I was struck by how the terrain was very green and rugged with a lot of old growth forest and tons of wildlife, although it didn't take long to realize that I should have brought better rain gear. We got soaked! I suppose you could say the foul weather was a great testament to the military ruggedness of the EOTech products, but I would have traded all that macho military stuff in a heartbeat for a bit more sunshine. Over 5 days of spot&stalk hunting we passed on over 25 bears and lost count of the number of blacktail deer we saw. We even saw 2 wolves, one black and one grey, in the middle of the day, guarding a recent kill. On Day 4 we took a mid-day break and I decided to make a short outing by myself while my hunting buddy took a nap. As luck would have it that's when I saw the bear I was after, in the middle of a clearcut all alone. After 15-20 minutes of creeping up with the wind in my face, I sat down at the edge of the clearing over 200 yards from the bear, settled the EOTech reticle behind the bear's shoulder and touched the round off. The bear immediately dove into some thick cover a few feet away. It had only gone about 40 yards before piling up, and when I found it I was of course thrilled beyond words. Then the cruel math dawned on me: 25 miles from the lodge + Sleeping unaware hunting buddy + Zero cellphone signal = Solo drag back to a spot accessible by vehicle. What an experience. Thanks, EOTech!"
