T
tjones
Guest
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Horn Seeker
New member
Looks good to me... but I haven't clicked on Shoot Straights trying to judge a cat thread yet!!! They are not easy... Especially in pictures. In person, if you have a while and they are not too high, you can get a pretty good idea...
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Horn Seeker
New member
I guess I did look at his thread! I thought it was new!
T
tjones
Guest
This one is new.
Gerald Martin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2009
- Messages
- 8,751
Quit with the teasin, out with the pics!
We know you did
We know you did
shoots-straight
Well-known member
Sorry Gerald, I've been busy this morning. Should a been out looking for more cats. It was a perfect condition, but little SS is gone for a few days.
We started out in the AM driving a few of the main roads in HD250. Most of those had already been driven, and we meet a lion hunting regiment coming down the road. I didn't figure they missed much so I turned old red around and headed back down the main road. Just above Painted Rocks Lake we met up with the other lion hunters. They were friends of mine. They had people out driving every available road in the area. Looked like a Wal-Mart parking lot for a while. They had cut a fresh track in the river bottom, the cat had killed a elk and had just about cleaned it up, so they were going to run it. They had two girls with cat tags,(12 and 17) so the cat was in trouble. We wished them luck and headed back on down to drainage's that we blew by in the dark. We had been in this one drainage the day before, and it had cat tracks all over. We couldn't get the track freshened up so head home. Today, we figured to run the next canyon to the north. In most areas cats seem to cross at the roughly the same spots, give or take, all the time. This area wasn't any different, and a fresh cat came across where we expected it too. It had snowed early and the track was clean. The houndsmen we talked with in the morning had lost a dog to wolves in this area last year. The good news this year, was a large part of the pack was removed, (dead) because they were killing livestock. Even though I figured it to be a female, or young Tom, the dogs needed some work, so we turned out on the track. We had followed it for around 3/4 of a mile or so, when we could here the dogs barking and raising hell. At one point one of the dogs let out a yelp. We both called for the dogs, what was weird was the the dogs had left the cat track. When we rounded up the dogs, they were acting strange and wouldn't do much on the cat track. I looked closer, and there in the snow was a wolf track. If dogs could talk. We took the dogs back to the truck, then threw the sleds out to see were that cat might have headed. We drove some roads that crossed higher on the mountain, in the general direction the lion(and wolf) were headed. Neither cat nor dog came out of that pocket of timber. With the wolf in there we figured to head back over to where we left the cats from the previous day. Once on the divide between the two drainages we headed down a ridge road. When we got to the end, there we cut a fresh track. I first thought wolf again, but on further inspection it turned out to be a nice sized cat. We followed it a short distance to where the cat had been bedded. You could plainly see tracks that indicated we jumped him with the sleds. It was now getting later in the day, so down the mountain we go, load up the dogs, sled with dog box, snowshoes, bow, backpacks (bow, and survival). Then head back up the mountain. We turned the dogs out, and old Doc lined out on the track. Funny how those dogs talk back and forth. Doc let out a funny bark, and Gus headed out with him. We were standing up on a sun baked top, and the snow there indicated it would be easy to follow dogs in without our snowshoes. (Note: take the shoes). In hindsight, we could have waited and watched the GPS that shows were the dogs are. They ran down hill then back up and around the mountain treeing the cat in the next canyon. We headed straight down, wanting to stay close to the dogs as possible. In wolf country you never know. Anyway we fell off, the ridge, and hit a closed road, and started mushing around it. The snow was terrible and on all the north and east slopes we post holed our way along. I was cussing knowing there were perfectly good snowshoes sitting on top of the dog box. The last 500 yards was the worst, and we took turns breaking trail. At 150 yards the dogs went quite. Tjones and I both thought the worst at the same time. Even though we were only 150 yards away, it might as well been a mile. We could only keep trudging along the road. After another 80 or so yards the dogs picked up barking again, and we were both relieved. Tjones climbed the hill first, and I heard him say there wasn't anything in the tree. The cat had climbed nearly to the top of the tree. Fueled up on jerky, and then had a drink. It was getting on in the afternoon, and the snow was starting to pick up. After the stick throwing contest, and some tree clubbing, I decided to take the cat. Here's the spoils from the hunt.
We started out in the AM driving a few of the main roads in HD250. Most of those had already been driven, and we meet a lion hunting regiment coming down the road. I didn't figure they missed much so I turned old red around and headed back down the main road. Just above Painted Rocks Lake we met up with the other lion hunters. They were friends of mine. They had people out driving every available road in the area. Looked like a Wal-Mart parking lot for a while. They had cut a fresh track in the river bottom, the cat had killed a elk and had just about cleaned it up, so they were going to run it. They had two girls with cat tags,(12 and 17) so the cat was in trouble. We wished them luck and headed back on down to drainage's that we blew by in the dark. We had been in this one drainage the day before, and it had cat tracks all over. We couldn't get the track freshened up so head home. Today, we figured to run the next canyon to the north. In most areas cats seem to cross at the roughly the same spots, give or take, all the time. This area wasn't any different, and a fresh cat came across where we expected it too. It had snowed early and the track was clean. The houndsmen we talked with in the morning had lost a dog to wolves in this area last year. The good news this year, was a large part of the pack was removed, (dead) because they were killing livestock. Even though I figured it to be a female, or young Tom, the dogs needed some work, so we turned out on the track. We had followed it for around 3/4 of a mile or so, when we could here the dogs barking and raising hell. At one point one of the dogs let out a yelp. We both called for the dogs, what was weird was the the dogs had left the cat track. When we rounded up the dogs, they were acting strange and wouldn't do much on the cat track. I looked closer, and there in the snow was a wolf track. If dogs could talk. We took the dogs back to the truck, then threw the sleds out to see were that cat might have headed. We drove some roads that crossed higher on the mountain, in the general direction the lion(and wolf) were headed. Neither cat nor dog came out of that pocket of timber. With the wolf in there we figured to head back over to where we left the cats from the previous day. Once on the divide between the two drainages we headed down a ridge road. When we got to the end, there we cut a fresh track. I first thought wolf again, but on further inspection it turned out to be a nice sized cat. We followed it a short distance to where the cat had been bedded. You could plainly see tracks that indicated we jumped him with the sleds. It was now getting later in the day, so down the mountain we go, load up the dogs, sled with dog box, snowshoes, bow, backpacks (bow, and survival). Then head back up the mountain. We turned the dogs out, and old Doc lined out on the track. Funny how those dogs talk back and forth. Doc let out a funny bark, and Gus headed out with him. We were standing up on a sun baked top, and the snow there indicated it would be easy to follow dogs in without our snowshoes. (Note: take the shoes). In hindsight, we could have waited and watched the GPS that shows were the dogs are. They ran down hill then back up and around the mountain treeing the cat in the next canyon. We headed straight down, wanting to stay close to the dogs as possible. In wolf country you never know. Anyway we fell off, the ridge, and hit a closed road, and started mushing around it. The snow was terrible and on all the north and east slopes we post holed our way along. I was cussing knowing there were perfectly good snowshoes sitting on top of the dog box. The last 500 yards was the worst, and we took turns breaking trail. At 150 yards the dogs went quite. Tjones and I both thought the worst at the same time. Even though we were only 150 yards away, it might as well been a mile. We could only keep trudging along the road. After another 80 or so yards the dogs picked up barking again, and we were both relieved. Tjones climbed the hill first, and I heard him say there wasn't anything in the tree. The cat had climbed nearly to the top of the tree. Fueled up on jerky, and then had a drink. It was getting on in the afternoon, and the snow was starting to pick up. After the stick throwing contest, and some tree clubbing, I decided to take the cat. Here's the spoils from the hunt.
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AZ402
Well-known member
Fine looking lion right there, congrats!!
T
tjones
Guest
I have the shot on video, ifn I can figure out how to post it.
highmountian
New member
Nice, Very nice! Congrats on a great cat.
Gerald Martin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2009
- Messages
- 8,751
Very nice SS! Congrats on getting a great cat! Looks to be around 130-140lbs?
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Nice work SS & Jones.
wingman1
New member
Congrats on your success guys. Looks like a great cat.
grizzly5028
New member
I wondered where my house cat went...... Congrats on the cat!
...... Congrats on the cat!
M
MN Public Hunter
Guest
Wow, that is a big cat...now I know why people get freaked out when they feel they are being stalked.
Bucnutz.wis
New member
Awesome Cat !! You guy's know how to put'm down for sure.... Congrats !!!
Dana
New member
Congrats! Loved the story and pics....thanks!
Horn Seeker
New member
nice...
I used to hunt with a guy that had a dog named Jerry that looked just like that walker there..... brings back memories;....
I used to hunt with a guy that had a dog named Jerry that looked just like that walker there..... brings back memories;....
