mountainlaurel3
Well-known member
Sunday morning I had a chance at a buck feeding towards private but couldn't get a shot before he crossed the fence. Driving home that night I saw my first mountain lion crossing the road then crouching a hillside. Good luck to see the best local hunter, I think. Monday I set up at first light with my back to the fence and the wind in my face. Maybe 45 minutes later I spotted a lone buck, moving quick in my general direction. Appeared to have four points on one side, but I didn't look too close, he was definitely big enough for me.
The oak brush was too high for sitting/prone, so I tucked up next to a ponderosa, chambered a shell, and waited.
Just when I was starting to get antsy and wonder whether I needed to move to cut him off, he appeared out of the gully, upwind and uphill of me.
I braced on the tree, made a weird noise to get him to stop, but couldn't quite get the crosshairs to settle. He took a few more steps, the crosshairs felt better, so BOOM. He runs off, appearing to have a bit of a limp. He cleared the finger ridge we were on, so I went to check out the spot where he was when I shot. A bit less than an inch of snow had fallen overnight, so the tracking was clear. Not a drop of blood, though, which seemed weird.
Forced myself to wait for 15 minutes before creeping over the next little ridges. The tracks were easy to follow but still no blood. He slowed down from a run to a walk. I was confused.
Came over the next little rise and nearly jumped when I found him. Both entry and exit wounds were tiny, even having gone through both shoulders. 130 grain .270, copper.
Any guesses on the cause of his left side? Looks like a chess rook. I think by cpw standards he's a 4 by 6 or 7, ha. His left ear is also split and revealed.
Got him all cut up with my buddy whose house I was out from (landlocked BLM). While heading back to the house on his four-wheeler, we went by about 40 head of elk, not that concerned by us. I had been hunting a cow in second season, largely in the same spot, but didn't see one on public, of course.
Also, I hung the quarters last night, but it was cold and they froze. I wish I had a way to keep things in the 30s. Now that they've frozen, should I thaw and process today? Would love to wait longer but don't want to be freezing/thawing more than necessary.
The oak brush was too high for sitting/prone, so I tucked up next to a ponderosa, chambered a shell, and waited.
Just when I was starting to get antsy and wonder whether I needed to move to cut him off, he appeared out of the gully, upwind and uphill of me.
I braced on the tree, made a weird noise to get him to stop, but couldn't quite get the crosshairs to settle. He took a few more steps, the crosshairs felt better, so BOOM. He runs off, appearing to have a bit of a limp. He cleared the finger ridge we were on, so I went to check out the spot where he was when I shot. A bit less than an inch of snow had fallen overnight, so the tracking was clear. Not a drop of blood, though, which seemed weird.
Forced myself to wait for 15 minutes before creeping over the next little ridges. The tracks were easy to follow but still no blood. He slowed down from a run to a walk. I was confused.
Came over the next little rise and nearly jumped when I found him. Both entry and exit wounds were tiny, even having gone through both shoulders. 130 grain .270, copper.
Any guesses on the cause of his left side? Looks like a chess rook. I think by cpw standards he's a 4 by 6 or 7, ha. His left ear is also split and revealed.
Got him all cut up with my buddy whose house I was out from (landlocked BLM). While heading back to the house on his four-wheeler, we went by about 40 head of elk, not that concerned by us. I had been hunting a cow in second season, largely in the same spot, but didn't see one on public, of course.
Also, I hung the quarters last night, but it was cold and they froze. I wish I had a way to keep things in the 30s. Now that they've frozen, should I thaw and process today? Would love to wait longer but don't want to be freezing/thawing more than necessary.
