Utah Lion Hunt?
Contributors to this thread:cougar
From: Thornton
28-Jan-24
My cousin in Provo, Utah bought me and his son-in-law a lion hunt in that area for late March this year. Can anybody give me advice on this hunt? The type of lion hunting I'm familiar with involves miles and miles of driving in an ATV loaded with hounds looking for fresh tracks in the snow to drop the dogs on. Apparently, this March hunt may not have snow and the outfitter says this can be a good thing because the snow slows down the dogs.
From: RonP
28-Jan-24
i don't understand the question. it seems like there may or may not be snow. you are familar with lion hunting with hounds, what kind of advice you looking for?
From: molsonarcher
28-Jan-24
While Ihavent personally done it, I looked into it, and decided against a dry ground hunt. Sounds like you could got snow, but probably not?
The outfitters I talked to started driving roads or following horses through country with a “strike dog” very early in the morning, around 3:00. With no snow to track, they are relying on scent alone. Once it warms up, that scent leaves quickly, and therefore your chances as well.
Without a track to see and judge, I would ask the outfitter if you run a cat and decide not to shoot it will your hunt be over? Some outfitters its a one tree and done type deal.
FWIW, it sounds like you are getting a free hunt, so no matter what have fun.
From: molsonarcher
28-Jan-24
Also, there was a great write up here awhile back. Someone went to AZ and did the desert hunt. Took 2 trips if I remember right they chased the cat into a mine? Sorry I cant remember who it was, but it was a good read and cool story.
From: Thornton
28-Jan-24
My concern is it might take longer or the hounds will have a harder time locating a fresh track without snow.
From: HDE
28-Jan-24
^^^^ do those same hounds (breed) have a harder time finding a fresh bear track without snow?
From: BoggsBowhunts
28-Jan-24
My dad went on a dry ground lion hunt in west Texas back in the early 90s, he said it was a blast but neither of us have hunted them in the snow so have nothing to compare it to. He got a lion, so he has happy.
Personally I’d rather hunt dry ground with a good and proven houndsman than snow with a subpar houndsman. As said above, it would be hard to look a gift horse in the mouth in regards to a free lion hunt!
From: fuzzy
28-Jan-24
I'd avoid Utah. Alcoholism is rampant, game is scarce and the place is totally trashed. Lol
From: Thornton
28-Jan-24
Fuzzy- I've determined you just like to run your mouth. I've hunted Utah before, and found it to be the exact opposite. Beautiful women that aren't fat, very little trash, plenty of trophy game, and a society of Mormons that don't drink whiskey every day because they are depressed. Along with RK, the "Dog Killer" please do not post on my threads anymore.
From: Ursman
28-Jan-24
Good hounds don’t need snow. Shot 2 lions in Utah in June. Hunted with Charlie Leeder. And yes the hides were perfect.
From: Ursman
28-Jan-24
Good hounds don’t need snow. Shot 2 lions in Utah in June. Hunted with Charlie Leeder. And yes the hides were perfect.
From: RK
28-Jan-24
Damn. I did not know people could be kicked off a thread by the OP.
Well I don't care. Deal with it Thornton
First issue you have is the hounds have to find 2 cats to kill. One for you and one for the cousin. If they are not dry land trackers you are screwed. But it's free and like you said the girls are skinny, Mormons don't drink much and it clean and beautiful scenery. Go get 'em Thornton Come home with a cat and a new wife
Boggs- 90's lots of good dog guys in west Texas and lots of cats. Hunts and cats to send to Florida to beef up the puma numbers drove the business. Do you remember the name of the cat guy your dad went with. Billy Pat ? Where did he hu t and how big was his cat. We never killed one bigger than 192lbs but we never sent anyone home without a lion. Lots of those critters
All dry land tracking in extreme heat. Lots at night when it was cooler
Go Thornton-live a little !! You need it
From: Zackman
28-Jan-24
Bad Fuzzy!
From: bluedog
28-Jan-24
Thornton should make sure his top kitchen cabinets are extra secured on the wall right now. When he brings home that new wife she'll have 40 one gallon jugs of water on top of them the first week. ;) (yup I know Mormons)
From: Hondolane
28-Jan-24
Damn Thornton, you must be a liberal get your feelings hurt, pretty easy snowflake!!!
From: Quinn @work
28-Jan-24
I killed a dry ground lion in Utah. I didn’t see any beautiful women. The women were chubby and there was trash all over the ground with many beer cans from all the alcoholics. The game was poorly managed too.
Good luck on your Utah hunt.
From: Hondolane
28-Jan-24
Quinn, love it very true
From: BULELK1
29-Jan-24
Ya don't even need a license to hunt them anymore.
You can just shoot them on sight.
Have a fun hunt and enjoy,
Robb
From: fuzzy
29-Jan-24
Lmao!
From: fuzzy
29-Jan-24
I had the same exact experience with Kodiak. I reckon we are bipolar opposites or maybe just bipolar. Sorry I pissed on your thread. Crap I meant "posted". Honest I don't mean any harm. I just don't like you.
From: Buskill
29-Jan-24
Bahahahahaha
From: fuzzy
02-Feb-24
From: Thornton
02-Feb-24
RK- I am the only hunter on this. You assume too much. My relative lives close to the outfitter and will be going on his own hunt. I go on more hunts than most. I Usually hunt 4 and fish days a week 3- 4 months a year.
Fuzzy- No idea who you are, nor do I care. I've been on here 13 years dealing with all the shit talking angry senior citizens. You are no different, except the odd name, reminiscent of a porcelain appliance in my bathroom.
Thanks for the experiences with "dry ground" hunting everyone else.
From: fuzzy
02-Feb-24
Lmao! And THAT is why I dislike you. Thanks for the illustration.
From: Thornton
02-Feb-24
I must've hurt your feelings LOL. Now you need support from your support group. Can't handle the hard stuff like a man LOL!!!! I'm really glad you got the message- I was worried you lived too far back in the woods with your cousins and cell service was unobtainable. Seems more like you don't have a life...
From: fuzzy
02-Feb-24
Man if some guy on the internet can hurt your feelings you're way too damn tender. You can't make me mad calling me an old, inbred, hillbilly. It's all true. I'm over 60, I'm overweight, my parents were first cousins, I grew up barefoot in the Blue Ridge Foothills in a house with no running water, I've slopped hogs, ran coonhounds, hand milked cows and made corn whiskey. The truth don't hurt me none sweetheart.
From: Thornton
02-Feb-24
Sounds like I was right. That's all that matters I guess. Just waiting on the usual suspects from the back hall of the nursing home to pipe up.
From: fuzzy
02-Feb-24
Buddy you aint hurt my feelings, my momma said worse thanyouhave about me ;)
From: Nolan McDonald
07-Feb-24
Thornton please come and kill a mountain lion in Utah we have way to many!!!
From: VAMtns
07-Feb-24
Dang Fuzzy sounds like my upbringing
From: Thornton
07-Feb-24
I usually get along with Fuzzy's type rather well. Sounds like the outdoorsmen I grew up around. I don't like it when a guy I've never met weazles in, jacks my thread, then says he doesn't like me. Nolan- I've got a plane ticket the end of March. My cousin's son-in-law is hunting this weekend. The outfitter says he has located a couple cats that seem to be loitering around one side of a mountain. I'm curious to see how their hunt goes.
From: fuzzy
08-Feb-24
No you don't
From: csalem
08-Feb-24
Thornton a hunt now with probable snow can’t really be compared with a late March maybe no snow hunt. I think it would just be best to wait until your hunt gets closer to see what conditions are and what possible cat activity is
From: csalem
14-Feb-24
Thornton Did your cousin get a cat? Run a cat? See a track?
From: Thornton
14-Feb-24
The outfitter called it off after it snowed too much. They are going to head out the next available weekend. He's pretty close to the outfitter and hunting area.
From: BULELK1
16-Feb-24
We have dang near another full week of Deep Snow fall in the mountains and a rain/snow mix in most valleys.
I hope it plays out for ya man.
Good luck, Robb
From: Thornton
17-Feb-24
My cousin and his son-in-law hunted today. The dogs found this big one. My cousin got within about 10 feet of it with his pistol but didn't shoot due to the cat being a pregnant female. I didn't realize you can't shoot females? A dog got too close and she swiped his face pretty good.
From: Huntcell
17-Feb-24
Is that an ethics decision or a game regulation concerning harvesting a pregnant female?
From: bghunter
17-Feb-24
Awesome photo.
From: BULELK1
18-Feb-24
Sweet Pic!!
Sure, you can harvest a female but most guide don't as the females are what increases the Mnt. Lion population.
Good luck, Robb
From: fuzzy
18-Feb-24
Good pic!
From: TMac
18-Feb-24
Great pic Thornton
From: fuzzy
18-Feb-24
Ok I'll be the one to say it. There's no shame in bagging a pregnant cougar.
From: Thornton
18-Feb-24
Thanks, my cousin took it. My hunt isn't until next month.
From: Thornton
18-Feb-24
Thornton's Link
Here's the video. True to the nature of a Thornton, my cousin climbed into the hole by himself with his pistol in hand. He estimated 6 feet from the cat at one point. I guess his son-in-law wouldn't go near it. They had to "sprint" 900 yards uphill to catch up to the hounds. Judging by how steep it is, I don't think they sprinted very far. This video has me all riled up and I can't think straight now. I'm stuck at work and I want to be in that hole with my .45 Colt!!!
From: BULELK1
19-Feb-24
Nice vid, although, I was hoping for the 6ft kill shot! haha
Congrats to your cousin,
Robb
From: Nick Muche
29-Mar-24
Gonna need an update on your cat hunt!
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
Thanks for bringing this up Nick. I saw nothing, and shot nothing.
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
My cousin's son in law Levi, shot one in this canyon a week before I got there.
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
This is the cat he shot with a 9mm. Reportedly emptied 2 mags, hit it 7 times while it ran from ground to tree, tree to ground, ran at Levi and his friend, then ran into a cave and grabbed a hound by the head. He had to crawl in and shoot it at 2 feet so the hound didn't die. Other than a nasty laceration on his throat, the hound appeared to be operating fine when I hunted with him.
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
Failure to expand: Hornady Critical Defense 9mm hollowpoint
Failure to expand: Hornady Critical Defense 9mm hollowpoint
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
Doesn't appear this one even got penetration on the scapula
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
Outfitter in the middle. Super nice guy, very professional acting. Only problem I had was he refused to hunt after noon. Had several excuses including: too hot for dogs and no scent, too wet for dogs and no scent, not enough snow, then we got snow and he still wouldn't hunt, can't tree a cat at dark, etc. Found out later he was subcontracted by his friend that owns Hound Crazy Outfitters, so who knows why he did this. I'm glad I didn't pay a dime for the hunt or the plane tickets. Had a good time though and hiked 22 miles in 3, half days of hunting.
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
Dogs seemed to know their business. Only thing they found was a skunk though.
Dogs seemed to know their business. Only thing they found was a skunk though.
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
Saw some beautiful country. Deer and elk numbers seemed to be down. Lots of winter kill laying everywhere. Some areas had no deer sign. Elk sign was few and far between with multiple carcasses found.
From: Groundhunter
29-Mar-24
Thorton, thanks for the post, why did he choose a 9mm,? Was it a back up to his rifle or bow?
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
He wanted to use his bow but there was no room to shoot it in the cave on the pregnant cat they found a month ago. He didn't want to lug around a rifle and he doesn't own a carbine. I took an 1892 lever action in 44-40, and carried my Ruger single action in 45 Colt.
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
Hiked in two miles and we were at the end of the canyon and these guys drove in behind us, even after clearly standing off from a distance and determining we were hunting. The gate lock had previously been cut by someone else, and the fence torn down so folks could drive in when they weren't supposed to. These guys knew exactly what they were doing. I showed the video to a warden the next day and he claimed he had been watching the area to ticket motorized vehicles accessing the canyon. I'll post most of the video after I upload it to my channel.
From: Thornton
29-Mar-24
Thornton's Link
From: Groundhunter
29-Mar-24
You should have given him the Colt. I was in LE, my whole career. I remember when the state was changing to the 9mm, because of FBI. I was grandfathered in, to keep my 45. Carried it till retirement,, then they went to 40, again FBI, another weak gun.
But enjoyed your lion hunt post
From: Hondolane
29-Mar-24
From: BULELK1
31-Mar-24
Thanks for the update.
Good luck, Robb
