I love smelling gun smoke in the morning, and the afternoon and evening too. And boy howdy, did I get a chance to be in the middle of a very smoky event from August 20–23. Invited by Larry (‘Mr. Whitetail’) Weishuhn for a visit to the three-year-old Stealth Vision’s operation in Crockett, Texas, and their nearby long-range, shooting course, I flew into Houston Bush airport, met up with Ron Spomer, and headed north in our rental car. About two hours later we pulled up to the headquarters of this new-on-the-block, optics company.
I’d been fortunate in having a chance to checkout Stealth Vision products before the trip to the Texas Piney Woods. Larry gave me the opportunity of using a Stealth Vision prototype from their spotting scope line on a recent hunt for aoudad in far west Texas near the town of Marathon. Our guide was using a Swarovski Optik spotting scope. I assumed when I compared this unknown (to me) brand, to our guide’s scope, there would be a notable lessening of clarity and speed in focus etc. I was surprised when that was not the case. The Stealth Vision spotting scope measured up to the top-of-the-line product. In fact, I found it faster for finding the distant sheep grazing in the dusty haze of the dry mountain slopes. I felt fortunate on that trip to also be carrying my trusty MG Arms Ultralight in 7mm Remington Magnum, stoked with incredibly accurate and effective handloads, made so by Hornady 162-gr ELD-X bullets.
By heading to the Stealth Vision HQ, I’d have the opportunity to try not only their spotting scopes, but binoculars, binocular-rangefinders, and of course their ‘packages’ consisting of Seekins Precision, AllTerra Arms, and Blue Mountain Precision rifles, plus Stealth Vision riflescopes. Of most interest to me was to try my skills using their rifle/scope combinations, plus uber-accurate Hornady ELD Match ammunition off a hunting rest from 4StableSticks, the Ultimate Carbon model.
The development of the Stealth Vision riflescope innovation
When John ‘Doc’ McCall began his quest to produce a true innovation in riflescope technology, especially for the long-range shooting necessary in competitions and some hunting applications, instead of starting with the scope, he used his experience as an optometrist and began with the shooter’s eye and brain. In particular, he considered the importance of correcting cant or tilting of the head and eye when mounting the stock. I learned about the importance of keeping the rifle/riflescope/face/eye as vertical as possible in multiple classes given by former snipers, who of course need incredible accuracy to protect themselves and others. With his decades of hunting (over 35 international hunting trips and safaris) and his eye-science background, Doc McCall understood the centrality of Listing’s law, which states that the eye performs with peak accuracy only when it is upright and gazing straight ahead.
Combining his many years of hunting and optometry led to the realization voiced on the Stealth Vision website, “When you shoot a rifle, you must tilt your head against the stock to see through the scope. Your eye will cyclo-rotate to attempt to remain vertical, but it is not possible for it to match the degree of head tilt. However, due to proprioception (i.e. the body’s ability to sense movement, thus allowing actions like walking without thinking about where to place each step), the brain will incorrectly tell you that what you’re seeing is vertical.” The question for Doc McCall was how to help shooters overcome their eye and brain, and their incorrect adjustment of the rifle/riflescope’s cant, causing errant shots. That question led to a simple, and yet powerful answer, his patented, ‘anti-cant, green light technology’.
Breaking in the rifles like a fine roping horse
The second major player in the Stealth Vision family, was an actual major league player before joining the company. Joe Cunningham’s dad was a Hall of Fame baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals, and Joe Jr. followed in Joe Sr.’s footsteps, playing and coaching professionally. He also became a professional rodeo cowboy, playing the role of heeler in the two-man steer roping team.
Joe checks the rifles from 500 to 1,200 yards. Most often the best load involves using Hornady factory ammunition. With rifle/scope/ammunition combinations, Joe isn’t demanding that the packages shoot 1 MOA, but rather to their guaranteed group size of 0.5 MOA, at all distances. In fact, Doc and Joe’s mantra is “under-promise, over-deliver,” and thus most of their firearms attain ~0.25 MOA accuracy. As an example, the day before I arrived, Joe fired a three-shot group at 500 yards, using a McMillan Pro Hunter stocked rifle in 7mm PRC, with Avient composite barrel technology, and topped with a 5–30x56 Stealth Vision riflescope. The photo shows the amazing results; the three shots fell into the same hole.
The bench and 4StableSticks at the Stealth Vision long-range course
I can’t claim anywhere close to Joe’s shooting prowess, but after some work off the bench, I did manage to achieve consistent 0.5 MOA groups out to the 1,000-yard plate, using multiple rifles and scope combinations. I confess I had some missteps until I became accustomed to the Stealth Vision internal bubble level and green light system, but once I did, results became consistent, and frankly amazing.
I then turned to my personal challenge. With Mr. Whitetail manning the camera (check out the video), I started the trial with the Stealth Vision Extreme SVX 5–30x56 riflescope, mounted on a Seekins Precision HAVAK PH2-NRL rifle chambered in 6mm Creedmoor. Using Hornady 108-gr ELD Match ammunition, I fired from the Ultimate Carbon rest at a distance of 500-yards. The challenge? Until that morning, I’d never touched the rifle, never used the Stealth Vision optical system, and never fired off my trusty rest at targets/animals located more than 400-yards away. In addition, the barrel was hot, both from previous shots from the bench, as well as the mid-90-degree summer temperature of the Texas Piney Woods. Finally, there was a slight left-to-right, variable breeze.
I’ll let the photograph speak to the outcome of my shooting from the hunting rest. The red bull is approximately 2 ¼ inches in diameter. The diameter of the three-shot group, with the first two Hornady ELD Match bullet impacts touching, and the third a bit lower and left, measured 2.5 inches, or 0.5 MOA, off shooting sticks, with an unknown rifle and a novel sighting mechanism. As I state in the video, John ‘Doc’ McCall’s Stealth Vision internal bubble level and green light optical innovation is incredibly effective in helping shooters hit their targets at long-range. As well, and as Larry Weishuhn likes to say, “The rifle packages reflect perfecting by Stealth Vision, with Doc’s sighting system, and Joe Cunningham’s seasoning of the barrels in finding the ultimate factory loads.” All I can say is with the Hornady ELD Match ammunition, plus rifle and Stealth optics, gunpowder smoke never smelled better.
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Author profile
Mike Arnold is professor and Head of the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia and author of the 2022 book, BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique. Mike’s book is available for purchase now at bringingbackthelions.com. You can find a description of Mike’s travels, talks, and articles at mikearnoldoutdoors.com.