swbuckmaster
Long Time Member
- Messages
- 5,004
LAST EDITED ON May-05-08 AT 10:06PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON May-05-08 AT 09:44?PM (MST)
LAST EDITED ON May-05-08 AT 09:15?PM (MST)
Here is my story of my first lion hunt. It might be a bit long. Hope you enjoy my story. I had a great time.
My quest actually started off with always seeing the unsuccessful on my deer and turkey applications. I decided if I was ever going to draw a tag in Utah I had to apply for every tag available hoping some day I would be able to hunt. 2007 was the first year my persistence paid off. I almost forgot the deadline for cougar. It was the last day for applying and the Utah division of wildlife web pages were down. I had no idea what areas are good for cougar tags. Having just been on an archery elk hunt in the Bookcliffs I thought there had to be big cats hanging out down there. The next day I notice that the division?s pages are up and running. I quickly look up the success rates and drawing statistic for the Bookcliffs. I knew I had just bought the tag with my 2 points. I thought, ?What have I done every other area was at least 6 points for max!? I put out couple of post on a few hunting forums asking for advise. A few people responded back saying the Book Cliffs area had been over hunted, a few said it would be a hard hunt and a couple of guys even said they would help me out, one of which was Steve Mahler with Elite Outfitters. I talked to him for quite awhile and he really gave me some hope. The only problem was my wife just wrecked my car and coming up with the money was going to be hard if not impossible. I kept looking for the cheaper rout, someone that had dogs that could take me out. I had a few guys that were going to be able to help but none on the days I had taken off work. My work schedule is pretty hectic and it takes me out of town. It was going to be pretty hard getting a day off with fresh snow. Knowing I had a weekend with fresh snow in the forecast I needed to make the best of it.
Steve called me again and said he had an opening for that weekend. After a few minutes of talking with him and I decided to do it. I was so nervous because I have never hired a guide for big game before. I got in the truck and headed out in a snow storm towards Vernal. I arrived at my friend?s house at 12:00 am. Driving that far that late in a blizzard is not fun and I was pretty excited to say the least. I had to meet Steve in a parking lot at 4:00 am which was a half hour away. I didn't want to be late so I figured I would get up at 3:00 am. Needless to say I didn't get any sleep. At three I got up and went out to warm up the truck which happened to be my brothers truck. He had loaned me his truck and 4-wheeler. I accidentally locked the keys in the truck with the truck running. With any of my vehicles it is physically impossible to do this. I couldn't believe it. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with my bow locked in a running truck without a spare key. I was livid! I made my way into my friend?s house and called every locksmith in the phone book. One finally answered and agreed to come out and help me out with a catch. He said ?It's going to cost ya.? I was a little late but never the less on the road. I met Steve and we were all on our way. I was actually relieved to be hunting with someone else in charge. Steve had a few other guys cutting tracks that morning for us so he was pretty sure we could find something to chase.
One truck load of dogs. Dont know how many were in there but it sounded like a buch.
As we drove around I was like a 4 year old kid asking questions. I was trying to soak up any information Steve and Morgan had to offer on what to look for in track, where the cats typically hang out and so on. The only problem was I was now starting to see cougar tracks every where. I bet Steve and Morgan were getting tired of stopping and backing up to see it was just a deer or coyote track. I just didn't want them to accidentally pass up a track going as fast as we were. So I just relaxed and enjoyed the ride and let them do their work. At around 7:30 we found our first track walking down the road. It was with another cat. My first impression was it was a female with a cub. Steve told me he thought it was a tom with a female. We followed them for a while and decided that it was early and we might find something better. We could always come back later.
As we drove around we saw deer, elk, coyotes, turkey and even a bobcat. I can't believe how many animals we did see. I also can't believe how many dead animals we saw laying around with coyote tracks all over them. Being also a coyote hunter I was wishing I had a rifle with me to dispatch a few of them.
It was around noon and we decided to go back to the tracks we found earlier and turn a dog loose to see if we could at least tree a cat that day. Morgan took out one of his dogs named curley I believe and placed a collar on it took it over to the track.
Here is a pict of curley.
The dog stuck its nose in the track and took a deep breath and let out a bark/howl kind of noise. I actually thought the dog had been in the truck so long it couldn't help its self. ?Little did I know.? I have never really been around well trained or smart dogs. So I was skeptical of a dog that can smell a track that is at least 6 to 7 hours old. Morgan let out two more dogs and started following the cat tracks to get the dogs started off in the right direction.
A few pictures of the terain the cat covered.
I watched the dogs quickly run over the top of the mountain and out of sight and hearing distance. Now I thought how the heck are we going to keep up with them. Luckily Steve and Morgan new the area well and we drove up to a high point where we might be able to locate the dogs. I could hear the dogs but couldn't see them not even with my binoculars. I wanted so much to see a cat out in front of the dogs but it just didn't happen yet. As the dogs bawls went out over another hill we were forced to find another location to listen from. We drove around a few more ridges and located the dogs again. Morgan decided he was going to go after the dogs and see if they were still on the cat's tracks. As Morgan disappeared into drainage about a ? mile away, Steve said look for the nastiest place over there and that is where well find the cat. Morgan radioed back saying they are still on the track and it looks like a better cat than we had initially thought. Steve told me they might have some how got on a different track on this huge dry south facing slope and that could be why they hadn't treed it yet. Morgan confirmed this by saying the cat was still walking. I kept listening for the bawls from the dogs and noticed they were heading for the nastiest drainage which had a few tall pine trees in it. After what Steve told me I new they would catch it in there. I got my gear ready and Steve and I headed off in the direction we thought the dogs would end up. We had to traverse a nasty cliffy ledge through a dry river bottom and up a steep slick side canyon. It would only be a few minutes and I would be face to face with a real deer killing machine. When I first saw it I thought wow that is a pretty cool looking cat.
First tree location
I couldn't help notice how big this cats eyes were. I new I would have to make a decision now if I was going to take it or not. I hiked up the hill so I could get a better shot angle, I also pulled out the paper that came with my cougar tag that explains what to look for when judging cats and determine how to tell what sex it was. I didn't want to shoot a female.
We tried every thing to get this cat to lift it tail so we could tell if we were looking at and after the last stick I could find to throw it finally jumped out of the tree. It was probably ? the way up a 60 foot or taller pine tree and was down in seconds. I was in shock I thought it would have broken its legs with that kind of a fall. Before I could determine what had just happened I watched the cat run up the other side of the hill and out of site with the dogs in pursuit. I tell you there isn't a deer alive than can out run a cougar in a short race!
What took the cat and dogs a few seconds to run over took us 15 to 20 minutes of hiking to catch up. The dogs cornered the cat on a tiny ledge in a cliffy area.
Here is a picture of the first cliff.
The way the dogs were going at the cat I thought the cat was going to hurt or kill one of them. They were only a few feet away from a big cat and inches away from falling off the cliff.
Steve guaranteed me it was a tom but I wanted a visual confirmation. So we pulled the dogs back one more time and tried to get the cat to move its tail. The cat didn't want any part of that and left again with the dogs in quick pursuit. I don't know if they ran off the cliff or fell off the cliff but each one made it out on a sage brush flat where it looked and sounded like a war was unfolding before my eyes. With Dogs yelping and the cat screaming Steve said he had to get down there or we were going to have dead dogs or a dead cat. I proceeded to pick up my bow and camera gear and put them back into my pack when I heard them below me again.
When I finally got down off the cliff and over to the cat, I new I was going to have to make a decision if I was going to take this cat or not because like Steve said It was a tom.
Here is the last cliff the cat was on
I had told Steve before the hunt that if I shot a cat that was a pope and young cat it would just be a bonus. I just wanted a tom with a good hide and wanted to take it with my bow. This cat met all of my expectations.
So with Morgan behind me filming I pulled back my bow to see if I could even get a shot off at that steep of an angle. Steve asked me if I new where I was going to shoot so it would be a humane kill. I told them there was a piece of dirt or sap covering its heart. I took a deep breath and split the piece of mud with my arrow. I couldn't believe it when the cat jumped up on a ledge where it was nearly impossible to retrieve. But that's a whole other story.
Here is a video clip of the shot. It is not for the faint of heart.
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8efacc9b924ec161e763
I would like to thank Steve, Morgan, and especially Brad for risking his life retrieving my cat. I would also highly recommend these guys if you are looking for a cougar guide. It was like I was hunting with a bunch of friends I grew up with. I cant wait to do it again!
LAST EDITED ON May-05-08 AT 09:15?PM (MST)
Here is my story of my first lion hunt. It might be a bit long. Hope you enjoy my story. I had a great time.
My quest actually started off with always seeing the unsuccessful on my deer and turkey applications. I decided if I was ever going to draw a tag in Utah I had to apply for every tag available hoping some day I would be able to hunt. 2007 was the first year my persistence paid off. I almost forgot the deadline for cougar. It was the last day for applying and the Utah division of wildlife web pages were down. I had no idea what areas are good for cougar tags. Having just been on an archery elk hunt in the Bookcliffs I thought there had to be big cats hanging out down there. The next day I notice that the division?s pages are up and running. I quickly look up the success rates and drawing statistic for the Bookcliffs. I knew I had just bought the tag with my 2 points. I thought, ?What have I done every other area was at least 6 points for max!? I put out couple of post on a few hunting forums asking for advise. A few people responded back saying the Book Cliffs area had been over hunted, a few said it would be a hard hunt and a couple of guys even said they would help me out, one of which was Steve Mahler with Elite Outfitters. I talked to him for quite awhile and he really gave me some hope. The only problem was my wife just wrecked my car and coming up with the money was going to be hard if not impossible. I kept looking for the cheaper rout, someone that had dogs that could take me out. I had a few guys that were going to be able to help but none on the days I had taken off work. My work schedule is pretty hectic and it takes me out of town. It was going to be pretty hard getting a day off with fresh snow. Knowing I had a weekend with fresh snow in the forecast I needed to make the best of it.
Steve called me again and said he had an opening for that weekend. After a few minutes of talking with him and I decided to do it. I was so nervous because I have never hired a guide for big game before. I got in the truck and headed out in a snow storm towards Vernal. I arrived at my friend?s house at 12:00 am. Driving that far that late in a blizzard is not fun and I was pretty excited to say the least. I had to meet Steve in a parking lot at 4:00 am which was a half hour away. I didn't want to be late so I figured I would get up at 3:00 am. Needless to say I didn't get any sleep. At three I got up and went out to warm up the truck which happened to be my brothers truck. He had loaned me his truck and 4-wheeler. I accidentally locked the keys in the truck with the truck running. With any of my vehicles it is physically impossible to do this. I couldn't believe it. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with my bow locked in a running truck without a spare key. I was livid! I made my way into my friend?s house and called every locksmith in the phone book. One finally answered and agreed to come out and help me out with a catch. He said ?It's going to cost ya.? I was a little late but never the less on the road. I met Steve and we were all on our way. I was actually relieved to be hunting with someone else in charge. Steve had a few other guys cutting tracks that morning for us so he was pretty sure we could find something to chase.
As we drove around I was like a 4 year old kid asking questions. I was trying to soak up any information Steve and Morgan had to offer on what to look for in track, where the cats typically hang out and so on. The only problem was I was now starting to see cougar tracks every where. I bet Steve and Morgan were getting tired of stopping and backing up to see it was just a deer or coyote track. I just didn't want them to accidentally pass up a track going as fast as we were. So I just relaxed and enjoyed the ride and let them do their work. At around 7:30 we found our first track walking down the road. It was with another cat. My first impression was it was a female with a cub. Steve told me he thought it was a tom with a female. We followed them for a while and decided that it was early and we might find something better. We could always come back later.
As we drove around we saw deer, elk, coyotes, turkey and even a bobcat. I can't believe how many animals we did see. I also can't believe how many dead animals we saw laying around with coyote tracks all over them. Being also a coyote hunter I was wishing I had a rifle with me to dispatch a few of them.
It was around noon and we decided to go back to the tracks we found earlier and turn a dog loose to see if we could at least tree a cat that day. Morgan took out one of his dogs named curley I believe and placed a collar on it took it over to the track.
Here is a pict of curley.
The dog stuck its nose in the track and took a deep breath and let out a bark/howl kind of noise. I actually thought the dog had been in the truck so long it couldn't help its self. ?Little did I know.? I have never really been around well trained or smart dogs. So I was skeptical of a dog that can smell a track that is at least 6 to 7 hours old. Morgan let out two more dogs and started following the cat tracks to get the dogs started off in the right direction.
A few pictures of the terain the cat covered.
I watched the dogs quickly run over the top of the mountain and out of sight and hearing distance. Now I thought how the heck are we going to keep up with them. Luckily Steve and Morgan new the area well and we drove up to a high point where we might be able to locate the dogs. I could hear the dogs but couldn't see them not even with my binoculars. I wanted so much to see a cat out in front of the dogs but it just didn't happen yet. As the dogs bawls went out over another hill we were forced to find another location to listen from. We drove around a few more ridges and located the dogs again. Morgan decided he was going to go after the dogs and see if they were still on the cat's tracks. As Morgan disappeared into drainage about a ? mile away, Steve said look for the nastiest place over there and that is where well find the cat. Morgan radioed back saying they are still on the track and it looks like a better cat than we had initially thought. Steve told me they might have some how got on a different track on this huge dry south facing slope and that could be why they hadn't treed it yet. Morgan confirmed this by saying the cat was still walking. I kept listening for the bawls from the dogs and noticed they were heading for the nastiest drainage which had a few tall pine trees in it. After what Steve told me I new they would catch it in there. I got my gear ready and Steve and I headed off in the direction we thought the dogs would end up. We had to traverse a nasty cliffy ledge through a dry river bottom and up a steep slick side canyon. It would only be a few minutes and I would be face to face with a real deer killing machine. When I first saw it I thought wow that is a pretty cool looking cat.
First tree location
I couldn't help notice how big this cats eyes were. I new I would have to make a decision now if I was going to take it or not. I hiked up the hill so I could get a better shot angle, I also pulled out the paper that came with my cougar tag that explains what to look for when judging cats and determine how to tell what sex it was. I didn't want to shoot a female.
We tried every thing to get this cat to lift it tail so we could tell if we were looking at and after the last stick I could find to throw it finally jumped out of the tree. It was probably ? the way up a 60 foot or taller pine tree and was down in seconds. I was in shock I thought it would have broken its legs with that kind of a fall. Before I could determine what had just happened I watched the cat run up the other side of the hill and out of site with the dogs in pursuit. I tell you there isn't a deer alive than can out run a cougar in a short race!
What took the cat and dogs a few seconds to run over took us 15 to 20 minutes of hiking to catch up. The dogs cornered the cat on a tiny ledge in a cliffy area.
Here is a picture of the first cliff.
The way the dogs were going at the cat I thought the cat was going to hurt or kill one of them. They were only a few feet away from a big cat and inches away from falling off the cliff.
Steve guaranteed me it was a tom but I wanted a visual confirmation. So we pulled the dogs back one more time and tried to get the cat to move its tail. The cat didn't want any part of that and left again with the dogs in quick pursuit. I don't know if they ran off the cliff or fell off the cliff but each one made it out on a sage brush flat where it looked and sounded like a war was unfolding before my eyes. With Dogs yelping and the cat screaming Steve said he had to get down there or we were going to have dead dogs or a dead cat. I proceeded to pick up my bow and camera gear and put them back into my pack when I heard them below me again.
When I finally got down off the cliff and over to the cat, I new I was going to have to make a decision if I was going to take this cat or not because like Steve said It was a tom.
Here is the last cliff the cat was on
I had told Steve before the hunt that if I shot a cat that was a pope and young cat it would just be a bonus. I just wanted a tom with a good hide and wanted to take it with my bow. This cat met all of my expectations.
So with Morgan behind me filming I pulled back my bow to see if I could even get a shot off at that steep of an angle. Steve asked me if I new where I was going to shoot so it would be a humane kill. I told them there was a piece of dirt or sap covering its heart. I took a deep breath and split the piece of mud with my arrow. I couldn't believe it when the cat jumped up on a ledge where it was nearly impossible to retrieve. But that's a whole other story.
Here is a video clip of the shot. It is not for the faint of heart.
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8efacc9b924ec161e763
I would like to thank Steve, Morgan, and especially Brad for risking his life retrieving my cat. I would also highly recommend these guys if you are looking for a cougar guide. It was like I was hunting with a bunch of friends I grew up with. I cant wait to do it again!
