Oh, maybe that's why?

NeverStopHuntin · Nov 12, 2011

LAST EDITED ON Nov-12-11 AT 01:26PM (MST)[p]I went out to one of my favorite spots for the general rifle hunt in utah, put in a lot of miles and didn't see very many tracks. The area is very remote and i typically don't see a lot of deer but this is by far the worst i have seen it. I began to think that the deer had moved out, then i pulled my trail camera.

Then I went and pulled another trail camera that had malfunctioned, but it lasted long enough to capture another lion

And some cameras in other spots

Last weekend i hiked up a canyon to do some glassing and see what bucks had made it through the hunt. I hadn't been up the canyon more than an hour and when i hiked out there were fresh lion tracks right on top of my tracks

and to add insult to injury i was actually "stalked" by a mountain lion this morning.

I hiked down into a canyon and while hiking back out i hear a noise. I looked up to see a lion creeping towards me with his belly on the ground. He snuck about 25 yards closer and crouched down to wait me out. I got my cell phone out and tried to video him for a while (loaned my good camera out for a wedding this weekend). I wasn't too happy with the way the crappy cell phone was taking video so i tried to move a little closer. When the lion realized i had two legs instead of four he got out of there quick.

I have never put videos on here and i am not sure how to do it? If someone can help me out i'll post the videos i took this morning.

All of these trail cams and instances were in completely different spots and most of them are on harvest objective units.

I know how most houndsman feel about harvest objective units and i am also fully aware that none of these lions are big. However if someone is interested in running send me a PM. I think i will buy my wife a tag as an early christmas present because i have already shot a lion and i think she would really enjoy it.

For the record i think lions are amazing and seeing this lion creeping towards me, doing what he does best, was one of the top ten coolest things i have seen in the woods. However i feel that the deer numbers are hurting pretty bad and it would be nice to get the deer population back in check first and let the lion population follow.

legacy · Nov 12, 2011

That's a whole lotta kitty! Cool pics though!

huntinfanatic · Nov 12, 2011

Cool trail cam pics. Now you just need to find a good houndsman and go get your wife one of those cats.

Prism · Nov 12, 2011

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing. Pretty much all of my cameras had lions on them this year as well. My buddy was filming some bulls yesterday and got a lion on film sneaking in on them. I've see 3 this year. Tracks all over.
If someone doesn't think we've got a predator issue, they dont spend much time in the hills.

treedagain · Nov 12, 2011

cool pics, thanks for sharing

swbuckmaster · Nov 12, 2011

Friends camera had quite a few cats as well. But o no we don't have a cat problem.

eldorado · Nov 12, 2011

A definite need to run the hounds in that area.

Eldorado

hunt4130 · Nov 12, 2011

what a story! awesome pics!

nebo · Nov 12, 2011

Good pictures and story.

nfh · Nov 12, 2011

looks like a you got a future hunt on some cats

elkmtngear · Nov 12, 2011

Upload the video to You Tube, and then just post a link to the video.

I, for one, would love to see it!

Best of Luck,
Jeff
http://www.elkmtngear.com

DreaminOf200 · Nov 12, 2011

Great pics and great story! I would also love to see the video if you figure out how to post it up on MM or a link to it somewhere else.

slickrock · Nov 12, 2011

Just when you think you are focused... you get distracted by #####! We have had the same problem... Too many cats!

Slick

"The Road goes on forever & the Party never Ends"

NeverStopHuntin · Nov 12, 2011

I sent the videos to photobucket. Keep in mind this is my first attempt at posting video and they are off a cell phone

The first video is of the cat crouched down in the grass staring at me. He isn't that easy to see (didn't realize the video on my phone had a zoom at the time) but the trees make a triangle, he is in the middle of the triangle and you can see the black on his face and the white on his neck

http://s560.photobucket.com/albums/ss50/1ryantuttle/?action=view&current=VIDEO0003.mp4

Then i tried to get closer to him so i could get better video. When he realized i was a person he took off. This is the video of him running away. He climbs the pine tree at the end of the clip. I headed over to the tree but he jumped before i got there

http://s560.photobucket.com/albums/ss50/1ryantuttle/?action=view&current=VIDEO0004.mp4

beardog · Nov 13, 2011

Cool pics and story.

timothymarks · Nov 13, 2011

Well if the lion is staying there then there are deer. Lion wouldn't stay where it couldnt eat. They are also very transient, if your game cam is set on a pond if game trail its perfectly reasonable to see lions. However that being said if you are wanting to get a tag and need someone to do it give me a call, 801 726 5146 and we can talk.

huntsheds · Nov 13, 2011

nice pics

DoeNob · Nov 14, 2011

RELEASE THE HOUNDS!

elkhunterUT · Nov 14, 2011

Cool pics and story.

I had several pics of a big mountain lion this year on one of my trail cams near the Skyline Drive. We have had quite a few other cats on trail cams in other areas as well in the recent past.

I was bowhunting for deer up City Creek canyon on Saturday 11/5 and saw a really big cat cut across a huge opening. He stood out like a sore thumb in the new snow that day. He walked over to a ridge and watched a herd of deer for about 10 minutes. He was only about 100 yards from the main paved road where my 8 year old son and Dad were glassing from and they saw the entire thing from a much closer vantage point. They had many treehuggers come walking/running by asking them what they were looking at and when they told them it was a Mountain Lion and they then saw it for themselves, many were shocked/scared!! My son loved the experience and I made sure to let him know you don't see a cat in the wild too often like that, especially that close.

My experience is the same as many of yours - I am seeing more and more cats and bears on trail cams and with my own eyes in the hills over the past 4-5 years.

timothymarks · Nov 14, 2011

For every lion you see i would wager you see 100 coyotes. the issue with deer herds is not lions, is not bears. It is coyotes, roads and habitat. every year more and more lions are killed yet the herds according to most dont get any better (i actually think the herds are doing well). You drive down the road and see dead deer laying everywhere. walk through the hills in the spring and see winter kills everywhere. try walking through a area where there are fences, people put there fences a few inches too high and you have dead deer draped all over the fences because they didnt make their jump. Its funny how you see a couple of lions, or 1 female lion going to water several times over a few days and the lions are out of control. you see what you think is a lion kill and freak out because the mean lion ate your precious deer. I understand the anger when you see somthing you love going down the tubes(lions for me) put that anger where it belongs, go out and shoot a couple of coyotes, ##### at the dwr about habitat. slow down at night especially areas that frequent deer.

NeverStopHuntin · Nov 14, 2011

timothymarks- I think we all agree there are a ton of factors that are contributing to the decline of muleys. Around my area i would say the biggest problem for deer is that their entire winter range is nothing but houses.

I don't think that lions are out of control and i definately don't think that they should all be wiped off the face of the planet. But I do think the deer population needs to improve before the lion population can. I had a "good" lion tag last year and i know how hard it can be to find a track to run, and nearly impossible to find a big track. However I have seemed to run into a lot of cats lately. There are at least 4 lions in the trail cams, i know that because there are 4 trail cams and they are 20+ miles from each other. Also the set of fresh tracks and the lion i had a stand off with were in completely different areas from the cameras and each other.

I have been venturing into more rugged and remote territory in search of big muleys and maybe i'm way offbase but i think the areas i have been in aren't getting hit by hounds excessively. I make trips out there in the winter and often break trail on two+ week old snow.

The main area i have been seeing the lion sign in is part of a harvest objective unit. I would really like to have my wife take a lion. I'm sure there are some good toms out there but it wouldn't be a trophy hunt and i imagine she would take the first legal lion up a tree. I'm sure that sounds bad to the die hard houndsman but i want to be upfront with someone if they are willing to take us.

swbuckmaster · Nov 14, 2011

+1 timothy shoot more cats
Lol

firemedic56 · Nov 26, 2011

Seems like a bunch of cats to me buddy,....cool pics too. I'm no lion hunting expert at all, but I agree with you that it shouldn't be a big deal to cut a good track for your wife. Wonder if any cats found our tracks up high in that sand country we went through? Gonna have to come out for a lion chase one day.....I think we'd have a fun time at that.

plainsman08 · Nov 26, 2011

I went on a call with the local biologist of a reported lion sighting. I did a little snooping before I met with him and the 2 guys that saw the cat are biologists with the AZ F&W. Anyway we go, find tracks that are blown out a bit but in my mind there was no doubt they were lion tracks. Found them in a couple of different places. I ask the bio what he thinks and he says "possible". Now this is in Nebraska, but I have hunted quit a bit in CO and WY and I have no doubt what they are. I asked if he was going to report them and was told they don't report possibles. What a joke! You don't have them if you don't admit it I guess.

"In the breast of every meat hunter there beats the heart of a secret, frustrated trophy hunter."