I learned about Fred from Bowsite years ago and put it on my bucket list. I was able to book my dates over 2 years ago and started saving up for the hunt. I also started working out 6 months ago so I could hike to the hounds if needed.
I left WI on Dec 26th and headed west. All went well and an I arrived at Fred's on the afternoon of the 27th. From this point forward the weather turned and made the hunt very difficult. Between the timing of the snow and the rain, we were not able to cut a track until day 5. It was not due to lack of effort. We were up at 1-3 AM daily searching for tracks. We put over 400 miles on just his UTV. We also used his truck and tracked 4-wheelers.
On the 5th morning, we finally cut a track 2 hours before daylight. It was warm and the snow was melting but we had to try the dogs on it. After putting the dogs on the track we were able to find a deer kill 50 yards from the trail. After that, the dogs covered the next 4.5 miles in no time. We were able to get closer to them and could hear them bayed up in some cliffs. At that point, we grabbed our gear and started straight up the muddy slope. As we got to the top, we could hear the hounds had moved to the next ridge. So, we skied down the mud slope to the bottom of the draw and started back up towards the sound of hounds going crazy. We were able to finally get below the dogs only to look up and see a lion in a 20' cedar with 3 dogs in the tree with her.
At that point, we did our best to climb the near vertical mud to the base of the tree. When we got there, Fred dug his heels in and started grabbing dogs. We were able to get all but one. He was still in the tree with the lion when Fred gave me the green light to shoot. I was able to make the 20 foot shot only to see the lion go straight down into the creek below that was full of mud.
We were able to get the hounds and ourselves down to the cat and end the hunt. In the end, the lion was a mud ball and the pictures do not look the best.
It still hasn't set in yet that I was able to take a hunt that has been a dream for many years. I have never looked at a picture or mounted lion without thinking I want to hunt them. Now, I can say I was fortunate enough to do it. Fred is a 1000% dedicated lion hunter. He worked very very hard to make the dreams a reality. I can't thank him enough. I also learned a lot on this trip. Winter travel in the mountains, sucks!! I also learned that I'm blessed to be able to chase my dreams and that my wife and family support me. It was probably one of the most mentally challenging experience of my life due to the weather and hours looking for a track.
Again, I know it was a rifle kill, but I wanted to share it because I learned about Fred from this site and a hunt like this is not about the actual kill but the process and running of the hounds.
Outstanding!
What a dang good read
Congrats man,
Robb
Can we see a picture of the rifle too? I have a Winchester 94 that my dad gave me. Not sure if it has ever been fired but someday it might knock a cat or a bear out of a tree.
Mark
