Redmt
Well-known member
I'm not sure if this works but there's 4-5 videos of a lion bringing home the bacon.
Mountain Lions!
- Thread starter Bullshot
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Redmt
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Shortbowshot
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Last year in Utah. One morning while elk hunting I was responding to nature's call behind a convenient dead fall. I noticed something about 40 yds across the log. It took a minute to register that it was a lion. He ambled past at about 25 yds. He didn't give any indication that he knew I was there. My cellphone was somewhere near my ankles and unavailable for pictures for which I was disappointed. Overall it was a pretty cool encounter.
My Sister and BIL were hiking along the top of Copper Mtn in the Jarbidge area when my dog slid about 100 yards down the hill on a snow bank (on purpose. He loved to snow slide) and scared up this one.
The last one I saw was this last December. I walked around a point and on the next point about 250 yards away was an odd looking rock in a bare spot in the snow. After glancing a couple times thinking that’s odd, I lifted up my field glasses at the same time the cat lifted up his head and looked at me. We stared at each other for a while before he got up and strolled behind a tree.
The last one I saw was this last December. I walked around a point and on the next point about 250 yards away was an odd looking rock in a bare spot in the snow. After glancing a couple times thinking that’s odd, I lifted up my field glasses at the same time the cat lifted up his head and looked at me. We stared at each other for a while before he got up and strolled behind a tree.
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Redmt
Well-known member
You have painted a picture I didn't want to see. I'm guessing the lion had a good reason to stay away.
WNC2500
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I didn't start big game hunting until the late '60s when I was in college and working summers in Steamboat Spgs, CO. I remember seeing a couger rug that the local game warden had on his living room wall. From then on I wanted one, and for probably 40 years I would buy a lion license, just hoping to see one while I was out deer or elk hunting.
I think that I saw my first lion in the wild one summer when I was working on a road project near West Yellowstone, MT. I saw several on the county road just below my house, and even saw probably my biggest out my kitchen window one day when he was chasing some deer on the hill behind my house. My sister lives on top of a mountain just west of Denver, and she has seen quite a few lions by her house. A few winters ago, my GF and I were playing pool with my sister at her house and we saw one walking by, not 20' from her door.
So finally I gave up trying to kill a lion on my own and I booked a hunt with JT Robbins in western Colorado. I'd be in Denver anyway for Thanksgiving, so I booked the hunt for the week after.
Colorado then required you to pass a lion identification test before you can buy a license. It was a simple test with maybe 10 questions, but every time I tried to take it, it would lock up on about question 7 or 8. I tried the test of several different computers and every time I would get to that question, it would lock up.
I finally went to a Colorado FWP Regional office in Denver, took the test on their computer, and again it locked up on question 7 or 8. It just so happened that the guy that wrote the test worked there, and he came out and again after several tries we got through the test and I was able to buy my license.
It had snowed the night before my first day out with JT, and about mid morning we cut some fresh lion tracks. JT let his dogs out and it didn't take his dogs too long to tree the cat. The dogs had him treed high on a plateau above some cliffs, so to get there we wound around some old uranium exploration two track roads that we had to cross into Utah and back.
The lion was in the top of a pinion tree which wasn't very high and JT's dogs could just about climb up to the cat. I had wanted to shoot it with my Ruger .44 pistol, but because we took so long to get to the tree, and JT's dogs were so close to it, that he asked me to shoot it with my .30-30.
One shot and a 50+ dream came true here on the ground just under the tree, but on the edge of a cliff. The blood on my hand is mine, not the lion's. Just thin, old skin that easily tears going through the brush.
Back on flat ground...
And finally, here at home. His spot in front of the fireplace is just temporary until I can remodel my living room for some higher wall space.
@buffybr Thanks for sharing the stories and pictures. If I ever get the chance at hunting a lion, i will do the full mount as well.
Redmt
Well-known member
It's too bad the bassakwards state I live in doesn't realize that the lions are a deadly predator that is decimating our deer population. Wait until one of them gets the governor's poodle and see how quickly that changes.
Shortbowshot
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That he did!!You have painted a picture I didn't want to see. I'm guessing the lion had a good reason to stay away.
Who did your mount? That is some great looking work!I didn't start big game hunting until the late '60s when I was in college and working summers in Steamboat Spgs, CO. I remember seeing a couger rug that the local game warden had on his living room wall. From then on I wanted one, and for probably 40 years I would buy a lion license, just hoping to see one while I was out deer or elk hunting.
I think that I saw my first lion in the wild one summer when I was working on a road project near West Yellowstone, MT. I saw several on the county road just below my house, and even saw probably my biggest out my kitchen window one day when he was chasing some deer on the hill behind my house. My sister lives on top of a mountain just west of Denver, and she has seen quite a few lions by her house. A few winters ago, my GF and I were playing pool with my sister at her house and we saw one walking by, not 20' from her door.
So finally I gave up trying to kill a lion on my own and I booked a hunt with JT Robbins in western Colorado. I'd be in Denver anyway for Thanksgiving, so I booked the hunt for the week after.
Colorado then required you to pass a lion identification test before you can buy a license. It was a simple test with maybe 10 questions, but every time I tried to take it, it would lock up on about question 7 or 8. I tried the test of several different computers and every time I would get to that question, it would lock up.
I finally went to a Colorado FWP Regional office in Denver, took the test on their computer, and again it locked up on question 7 or 8. It just so happened that the guy that wrote the test worked there, and he came out and again after several tries we got through the test and I was able to buy my license.
It had snowed the night before my first day out with JT, and about mid morning we cut some fresh lion tracks. JT let his dogs out and it didn't take his dogs too long to tree the cat. The dogs had him treed high on a plateau above some cliffs, so to get there we wound around some old uranium exploration two track roads that we had to cross into Utah and back.
The lion was in the top of a pinion tree which wasn't very high and JT's dogs could just about climb up to the cat. I had wanted to shoot it with my Ruger .44 pistol, but because we took so long to get to the tree, and JT's dogs were so close to it, that he asked me to shoot it with my .30-30.
One shot and a 50+ dream came true here on the ground just under the tree, but on the edge of a cliff. The blood on my hand is mine, not the lion's. Just thin, old skin that easily tears going through the brush.
Back on flat ground...
And finally, here at home. His spot in front of the fireplace is just temporary until I can remodel my living room for some higher wall space.
buffybr
Well-known member
A local taxidermist that I've known for over 30 years and he's done over 50 mounts for me, Jerry Andres.
Blacktail Addiction
Active member
Biggest I’ve gotten on camera, funny within a mile of a very busy hiking trail, and he came by most nights in August. 
Ran into a few while hunting the last few years but no good looks. So guaranteed not all were cats. Had what we suspected was one circling us while we were gutting a elk and it stayed just out of range of our headlamps. Freaky experience when you are elbows deep hunched down over your elk and feel defenseless. It circled for over a hour.
Ran into a few while hunting the last few years but no good looks. So guaranteed not all were cats. Had what we suspected was one circling us while we were gutting a elk and it stayed just out of range of our headlamps. Freaky experience when you are elbows deep hunched down over your elk and feel defenseless. It circled for over a hour.
I love the big cats. Cougar, Lion, tiger, Panther, Leopard, Jaguars
Like Hank4Elk, we were in the right place to see them and over the years we saw quite a few. We hunted them in Az and Old Mexico with hounds. Very exhausting hunts. We saw a jaguar laying on a tree branch when we were on the Amazon River and it was amazing.
p.s. I might be the only one here from AZ that opposed the bill passed on April 1 regarding the hunting of young female lions in Az. I do not and did not like it and tried to not let it become law, but it passed on a 5-0 vote, so I maybe I am wrong. I sure hope so.
Like Hank4Elk, we were in the right place to see them and over the years we saw quite a few. We hunted them in Az and Old Mexico with hounds. Very exhausting hunts. We saw a jaguar laying on a tree branch when we were on the Amazon River and it was amazing.
p.s. I might be the only one here from AZ that opposed the bill passed on April 1 regarding the hunting of young female lions in Az. I do not and did not like it and tried to not let it become law, but it passed on a 5-0 vote, so I maybe I am wrong. I sure hope so.
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I have mentioned to those in my family that I want to take that Amazon trip and stay in the tree house you spoke about in a different thread . To date I have only seen the Mountain Lion, but I hope someday to see the Lion and Leopard in Africa and the Jaguar in Brazil. We heard them at night in Panama, but never saw any. I read the information you sent about the viewing of tigers while riding an Elephant through an area which has Tigers , but I have no desire to go, to that part of the world. Maybe I will change my mind in the future. We did visit that Wildlife park in southern Oregon and the lion enclosure that you drive thru, as well as the San diego wildlife park, and they just made me want to go to Africa even more. --someday !
@Gerald Martin had THE best mountain lion story and pic that I've heard/seen...
Thought I saved the pic somewhere but can't locate it.
Maybe he could find the strength to persevere through and re-post for us?
Thought I saved the pic somewhere but can't locate it.
Maybe he could find the strength to persevere through and re-post for us?
Gerald Martin
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- Jul 3, 2009
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- 8,643
Sorry. That wasn't right of me. Forget I ever brought it up.You would ask me to once again recall the trauma of that frightful day?
Gerald Martin
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- 8,643
Sorry. That wasn't right of me. Forget I ever brought it up.
Mexican Standoff With a Mountain Lion
Some dangerous wildlife encounters occur where you least expect them! I was over at my neighbor's shop yesterday when we heard his dogs going crazy outside. I got outside before him and headed up the hill where the dogs were looking. To my horror and surprise this lion popped out of the brush...
www.hunttalk.com
TheGrayRider
Well-known member
Treed this younger female lion on the first day of a hunt in Utah last year.
Little Big Man MT Chris
Well-known member
Living and hunting for years in the Oregon coast range I knew cougars were out there and even bought a few cougar tags , there otc like 16 bucks on the off chance I saw 
one , picked up a great cougar pic on trail cam in 2018
Archery hunting that area in 2019 we ran into 2 hunters that got a glimpse of one less than a mile from the trail cam location.
A few years later I cut a cat track one spring out scouting around in the middle of a mud logging road it was walking down.
Then last November I was hiking in on a old logging road that is now nothing more than a trail that is grass and small trees growing up on it , an hour before daylight to get to a high ridge to glass at first light 2 days before my rifle opener and as walking the old road in a light rain with a small river to my left and as the road made a 6 to 10 foot rise in elevation I caught the reflection of animal eyes 40 ish yds in front of me as my head snaps and my headlight directly hits is in the pitch black it drops low and spins and is gone in flash , as my mind processes what just happened, my instincts go cat , I’m frantically pulling my pistol from under my rain gear and grabbing a hand held flashlight from my coat pocket . To bring more light , standing in the dark , pistol drawn I just stand there for awhile shining light ahead and to my right knowing the small river to my right is ripping pretty good and deep from the latest rain it ain’t going left , so I feel safe on that side , but it’s so dark in this canyon I’m hiking the lights I have are giving me visibility of about 15-20 yds then fades to darkness.
my mind process was that a bobcat or cougar , I rule out black bear by just how the animal slunk low and spun , but in my mind I feel the eyes where wide enough to be a cougar, so I collect myself , not sure how much time passed before I went ahead down the road maybe 5 minutes on edge for sure , pucker factor 10 ! I couldn’t get out of here fast enough, there was an old wooden bridge 10 min or so ahead and I felt when I get across that I would be safe. Was it a cougar or bobcat creeping on the old road in the dark that morning I’ll never know but I know I’ll always remember that experience .
My only cougar encounter in Montana was at Scheels an outdoor/athletic everything store
one , picked up a great cougar pic on trail cam in 2018 Archery hunting that area in 2019 we ran into 2 hunters that got a glimpse of one less than a mile from the trail cam location.
A few years later I cut a cat track one spring out scouting around in the middle of a mud logging road it was walking down.
Then last November I was hiking in on a old logging road that is now nothing more than a trail that is grass and small trees growing up on it , an hour before daylight to get to a high ridge to glass at first light 2 days before my rifle opener and as walking the old road in a light rain with a small river to my left and as the road made a 6 to 10 foot rise in elevation I caught the reflection of animal eyes 40 ish yds in front of me as my head snaps and my headlight directly hits is in the pitch black it drops low and spins and is gone in flash , as my mind processes what just happened, my instincts go cat , I’m frantically pulling my pistol from under my rain gear and grabbing a hand held flashlight from my coat pocket . To bring more light , standing in the dark , pistol drawn I just stand there for awhile shining light ahead and to my right knowing the small river to my right is ripping pretty good and deep from the latest rain it ain’t going left , so I feel safe on that side , but it’s so dark in this canyon I’m hiking the lights I have are giving me visibility of about 15-20 yds then fades to darkness.
my mind process was that a bobcat or cougar , I rule out black bear by just how the animal slunk low and spun , but in my mind I feel the eyes where wide enough to be a cougar, so I collect myself , not sure how much time passed before I went ahead down the road maybe 5 minutes on edge for sure , pucker factor 10 ! I couldn’t get out of here fast enough, there was an old wooden bridge 10 min or so ahead and I felt when I get across that I would be safe. Was it a cougar or bobcat creeping on the old road in the dark that morning I’ll never know but I know I’ll always remember that experience .
My only cougar encounter in Montana was at Scheels an outdoor/athletic everything store
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I was shed hunting one spring day, with my GSP Buck. I stopped back at the truck for lunch, then I was going back out in the afternoon to check out another spot. It was getting hot, so I wanted to lighten my load. I decided to leave my camera in the truck since there probably wouldn’t be any animals or anything to take pictures of in the heat of the day anyway. I was walking through a large marshy meadow that was covered with brightly colored purple and yellow flowers. All of a sudden, a big tom cougar appeared, tip towing across the meadow, trying desperately to keep his feet dry. He was so intent on not stepping in the water that he didn’t see me standing there in the open. I had Buck train to heal when I gave him a particular soft whistle, so I was able to keep him under control while we stalked closer and closer to the cat. I was kicking myself at that point, for leaving the camera in the truck. The cat was so amazingly beautiful walking through that flowery meadow. I got to within about 40 ft. or so of the cougar, when I stepped in a muddy spot which caused my foot to make that awful sucking sound as I took another step. That got his attention. He turned his head and just stared at me for a moment then took off running with Buck right on his tail. He got to the edge of the meadow, stopped and turned back ready for a fight. Buck was no dummy, he turned tail sped back to me as fast as he could. I still can’t believe I left my camera in the truck.
