Contributors to this thread:
I wanted to start a thread reflecting on my December 2015 Mountain Lion hunt in southern Utah.
Dont really have time for the whole story... but on Day 6 of 7 we had run our third big cat. Hours and hours and hours of driving and waiting for this moment. We rechecked a kill we found 5 days earlier, and had checked every day with no luck, but today there were tracks leaving the scene of the crime.
With 16" of fresh powder on the ground it was hard to determine much about the tracks but we knew from previous days that the lion that made this kill was a big Tom. The tracks left the kill and went up this mountain.
The track from a few days prior
The dogs took off from the truck and didnt make a peep!! Very odd I thought...but later to find that the track was so fresh and hot that they started cutting off the lion tracks and heading in a straight line towards the lion.
Within 20 minutes all 6 dogs were showing treed on the GPS. I was starting to get excited at this point but knew that only a few days earlier we were in this same position and the old cat slipped away.
We drove the truck around the mountain and got to within about 900 yards, as the crow flies. It was great hearing the baying dogs at a distance. Knowing there was some light at the end of the tunnel.
For anyone that has never done it...this was probably one of the toughest climbs of my hunting career. 16" of fresh powder over loose slippery rock and a really steep incline....made this a slow and steady pace. Not to mention that we were close to 7,000 feet and I live at 250 feet above sea level.
Anyway...as we closed the gap we could see the lion in the tree with its back end facing us. This really helped us approach undetected. As we peered around the edge of the large red rock...my guides say "well...I see nuts!!"
That was great news!!
This part of the hunt is what I had been dreaming of and waiting for...for quite some time. Seeing the cat react to the dogs and the dogs have zero fear of anything. They are so focused and proud to have worked hard for you.
The picture that took my breath away...
Such awesome pics of the treed cat and dogs!!
The shot...as some of you may know...can be somewhat easy. This was one of those easy shots. About 8 yards and a slight uphill angle.
My 410g arrow tipped with a 125g Hellrazor blew through the quartering away lion and disappeared off the side of the mountain. The lion had no idea what hit him and within 20 second laid dead in the tree.
It was over. All that time dreaming, all that fuel burned, all that anxiety of "am I going to be one of those 3 trip cat guys?"....all over in a matter of minutes.
An incredible experience that I would suggest to any hunter.
That night we went out looking at the local Mule Deer
Spectacular images! Thank you!
And was left with this great sunset on my last evening in Utah....
Incedible pictures!! Congrats on your cat!
Man, that was short.........but sweet ! Great looking cat and really beautiful pictures.
Especially love the one of the cat looking down on the red hound !
Absolutely beautiful pictures!
Fantastic photos and recap! Thanks for sharing.
Congrats on a great cat.
Paul
Unreal !!! Thanks for sharing !!!
Congrats.
What camera do you use?
Awesome Chris! That is a fine looking cat!! I'd like to have a drift snag from the tree he was in... would be a great addition to any cougar mount.
Congratulations! The photos are absolutely beautiful.
Awesome pics. That thing is so big compared to that dog!
Incredible photos...nice cat!
Best of Luck, Jeff
I'm not sure if you are the string king because that would be hard to measure but you most certainly are the king of mountain lion pics. I really like the one with the dogs baying in it. Maybe the best lion pic I've ever seen.
Awesome pics and cat!! Congrats!! I want one!
Congrats on the successful hunt, awesome memories, and excellent pics.
Thanks for sharing!
Sweet pics! Thanks for sharing and congrats!
spectacular in all regards. Fantastic cat, photos, story, and experience. so excellent!
Congratulations... beautiful cat and spectacular photos.
Great pics Chris.
I remember knee deep snow, ice and rock underneath. Great workout! :)
Congrats!
Fantastic, thanks for posting.
Awesome pictures great memories to have.the cat will look good in your house for sure.Hound hunts are definitely exciting .Good job with the camera.
What an amazing animal! Congrats!
Grats on your cat!
Wow, those were some incredible pictures!
Super pics! thanks!!!! Up close and personal.
Fantastic pictures and thanks for sharing. Looks like almost as much snow as when I got mine in SE Utah on the last day of my second hunt.
Congratulations, Great pictures
Fantastic Tom, hunt and pics!!!
Congrats on all three!
Mark
Congrats!! Awesome pictures!!
Awesome pics!! Congrats and thanks for posting
Outstanding and a big congrats. Ed F
Dennis, That's a great idea to have some of the dead wood from that tree as part of the mount (pretty cool to be the tree it was shot in too). That particular tree has plenty of dead wood to do so and has great character in my opinion.
I'd frame the photo of the baying dogs right below it too. All those were great photos, I just have a thing for working dogs; can't believe some of the crazy stuff they do.
Great photos!! Thanks for taking the time to post it up.
Awesome pics; congrats on your dream hunt! I am with you it's a blast to watch the dogs work not just for them but for us as well. Could not have picked a much prettier place for the tree either!
Great photos for sure! Congratulations!
Congrats and great pictures.
Outstanding pics and adventure congrats on your cat!
Ya did great!
Thanks for sharing
Good luck, Robb
awesome stuff. congrats, and thanks for sharing.
Thanks guys. It was a great hunt and amazing experience.
Great pics. And congrats on a great cat what lense were you using btw Lewis
Awesome pictures. Just curious, but how do you keep your composure while taking pictures? I would think that I would want to hurry up and get an arrow in that cat before it has a chance to split.
HOLY SMOKES!!! Fantastic pictures!!! Congrats on a gorgeous cat as well!
The pictures will add to your memories for years and years! Congrats on your lion.
Lewis: the camera has a built in lens. I sold my DSLR years ago because it was to big and cumbersome. This little Nikon takes great pictures and has awesome zoom.
Buzz: yes... I was a little nervous but had a great guide and houndsman who kept my cool. After I took the close up picture of him hissing at me.... I remember saying to him "ok... I'm done... Let's shoot now". After all my somewhat bad luck I didn't want to let this opportunity pass.
where is the video to this. I think I remember seeing the shot, but can't find it.
Bou, it was on YouTube until it was put on LiveLeak. The antihunters really made the comment section pretty bad and my wife got freaked out.... So now it's private
It was a great video but it makes all the sense in the world to keep it private. no upside to promoting it. beautiful cat, story, and documentation.
Great pics...congratulations
