BOWUNTR
Member
I drew the only non resident tag in a limited area in northern Utah. It took me 6 points to draw and I applied on the recommendation of a friend. I hunted with my houndsman friends from California and a new houndsman friend from Utah. This was a unique hunt as I am used to being in control of most all the planning of my DIY hunts. This hunt would be dependant on the weather and my friends schedules. I was pulling my hair out looking at the weather reports 10 times a day.
I went on a 3 day hunt at the end of January. In perfect conditions after a snow, on the first morning we found six different lion tracks. One stood out and according to these guys was a giant. The dogs blew up on the track and took it right to a fresh 5 point elk kill. It looked like at least three different cats were feeding on this thing the night before and the dogs were never able to find the right track out of there. The next two days we hunted for that lion and passed on others both days.
This past friday I drove out to Utah solo and met the houndsmen there. Late in the day I found two tracks that were too cold to track. The next morning I found the same two tracks on a cow elk kill. One of the tracks looked like a good one. The track was smoking and the dogs were all over it. It went probably a mile and over three ridges before it treed. I was able to get above it and come down on top of it. As we got close to the tree it jumped out and ran right past us. That was real cool. It quickly treed again and we were able to get some great pics and video of it 15 feet up in a cedar. I put two arrows in it real quick. As it was expiring, one of the dogs climbed up the tree and as a last act of defiance, the cat grabbed the dog by the face and they both fell out. The cat would not let go and when it finally did, the dog was right back in the fight. JUst miised getting his eye taken out. The drive these dogs have is unbelieveable. The cat expired and the celebration began.
My goal was a mature lion as I probable will never get the opportunity to hunt them again. The lion was a big mature female. I am very happy... to say the least. I will finish the story with a few pics. Ed F
I went on a 3 day hunt at the end of January. In perfect conditions after a snow, on the first morning we found six different lion tracks. One stood out and according to these guys was a giant. The dogs blew up on the track and took it right to a fresh 5 point elk kill. It looked like at least three different cats were feeding on this thing the night before and the dogs were never able to find the right track out of there. The next two days we hunted for that lion and passed on others both days.
This past friday I drove out to Utah solo and met the houndsmen there. Late in the day I found two tracks that were too cold to track. The next morning I found the same two tracks on a cow elk kill. One of the tracks looked like a good one. The track was smoking and the dogs were all over it. It went probably a mile and over three ridges before it treed. I was able to get above it and come down on top of it. As we got close to the tree it jumped out and ran right past us. That was real cool. It quickly treed again and we were able to get some great pics and video of it 15 feet up in a cedar. I put two arrows in it real quick. As it was expiring, one of the dogs climbed up the tree and as a last act of defiance, the cat grabbed the dog by the face and they both fell out. The cat would not let go and when it finally did, the dog was right back in the fight. JUst miised getting his eye taken out. The drive these dogs have is unbelieveable. The cat expired and the celebration began.
My goal was a mature lion as I probable will never get the opportunity to hunt them again. The lion was a big mature female. I am very happy... to say the least. I will finish the story with a few pics. Ed F
I know the drive my bird dogs have and can imagine the drive that those cat dogs also have. I can just read thier eyes... "Where's the cat, let's get going".
