Crazy times checking my Cameras (PICS)

coolspringoutfitters · Jul 20, 2008

OK, so here are the photos...Check them out and then read the story.

So I went out this morning to check on my trail cameras. They are a ways out there and I didn't want to hike in the heat, so I went early. I came over the ridge to where my first camera was and looked down the ridge to see if there were any deer in sight. There wasn't any, so I looked up the hill. There is a lot of grass and stuff and out in the middle there was something that didn't look quite right. I pulled up my binos and looked. Just as fast I dropped them and grabbed my pistol and my camera. Just 50 yards away was this big old cat. We stared at each other for about 5 minutes. I was thinking "what do I do?" I recorded him for a while then decided it was his move to make or mine. I put the camera down and yelled a couple of times at him. He didn't move. So, I did what I thought was best. I fired off a couple of warning shots. The first one he just tilted his head, the second one he took off. It was VERY creepy to go right where the cat had gone to check on my cameras. I checked the first two and on the way to the third, I came across the tom's tracks. Then I realized that I might have him on film. So, these pics are from a camera, they were taken about 10 minutes before we "met"(the time is off 2 hours). Going back out of there was a little creepy too. I kept looking back, thinking about him.
I have seen bears in the wild but this was my first cat(that wasn't treed) and we were a little too close for comfort.
Let me ask you, what would you have done???

CSO

It's all about the good times...

flyingbrass · Jul 20, 2008

same as wolf
shoot,
shovel,
shutup.
Just kidding. At least on the cat. LOL.
flyingbrass
cold dead hands

slamdunk · Jul 20, 2008

I have a lot of respect for lions, but i also hate them.

I was guiding an archery elk hunter one evening and was working a bull trying to get my client a shot.

The elk just vanished and i couldn't imagine it was anything we had done wrong, wind was in our faces everything seemed perfect.

Something caught my eye right behind me in the timber, so i turnred around very slowly thinking we had another bull sneaking in.

It wasn't another bull, i was about to be dinner for big female lion that had elk meat on her mind.

I immediately jumped up and waved my arms and called her a few choice names, she didn't care and she just kept coming my way, she had already made her mind up that i was dinner for her and her two kittens.

A lot of rock thowing, yelling and 3 arrows flung at her from the extremely shaken up hunter seemed to change her mind at a mere 20-30 feet away.

That's an event i play out in my mind everytime i'm cow calling in the evenings now.

I guess you could call it "post traumatic syndrome".

CABugle · Jul 20, 2008

The only shots fired should have been AT the lion!!!!!!!!!!

CABugle

Murdoc34 · Jul 20, 2008

I would have done the same thing as you. It's interesting to read about how these cats in those situations are not afraid of humans. My dad was driving up the Oneida Narrows one winter and came around a corner only to find a cat in the road with a deer in its mouth. The cat didn't even care he was there. He had the deer by the throat and was dragging it towards the truck. After a minute of this, the cat finally dropped the deer and looked up at the truck. As soon as he did this, the deer jumped up and took off. The cat followed it up the hill out of sight. Hearing these stories really makes me wonder how many times I have been stalked by a curious cat and not even known it.

Brady

BowHuntWithaRifle · Jul 20, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Jul-20-08 AT 11:05PM (MST)[p]Is that a shed at the base of the bush in the middle of the pic. Sorry, just looks like a moose shed. Must be the lighting. Here Kitty, kitty. Aaah, I like cats. Never had one bother me. Maybe they can smell my barn cats.. huh.. Cool though.

"I shoot at wolves, I don't dance with them."

Stands With A Fist

cowslayer · Jul 20, 2008

Coolsprings,

What an amazing start to your season!!! That is awesome you caught him on camera!!! I like the pics and am glad you made it home safe and sound.

Chris

"Helping turn good tags, into great ones." - www.vipoptics.com

RACKMASTER · Jul 20, 2008

3 "S"'s work for me..
sit.
still..
sucker!
rm

Model_70_Guy · Jul 20, 2008

So, I
>did what I thought was
>best. I fired off
>a couple of warning shots.
> The first one he
>just tilted his head, the
>second one he took off.

I believe I would have "accidently undershot the over his head warning" and got the shovel and developed a case of amnesia..

mozey · Jul 21, 2008

I think you did the right thing. I usually carry my little lever-action 30-30 with me, but I've left it home my last two trips just because of the additonal weight. Your story is making me rethink whether that's really a good idea...

coolspringoutfitters · Jul 21, 2008

All I usually carry is a snub nose 38 special. I have really been thinking about upgrading to something bigger. Last year on the muzzle deer hunt my buddy took a shot at a nice 3 point and out of no where a BIG black bear came running at him. It started about 500 yards away and got to within 120 before it decided to turn off. Maybe I should try some new hunting grounds...Na, this is awesome. Its not everyday you can watch your buddy freaking out cause a big ol' boy is coming at him. When I am on the horses I think I will start carrying a rifle, But on foot, I think I will have someone with me. At least for a while. Even as I sit here, I keep checking behind me to see if it is back there...J/K...Still I think its a good idea to travel in pairs.

CSO

It's all about the good times...

RACKMASTER · Jul 21, 2008

I carry a .357 Python and take my black lab Bart!
never had a stand off with anything and my dog is super smart and stay's close and alert when ever where out!
rackmaster

mntman · Jul 21, 2008

You went one step farther than me, I don't ever carry a sidearm with me (don't even own one). If I did have one with me I would have done the same thing, no use in poaching.

Great pics/story & a memory to last a lifetime.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

eelgrass · Jul 21, 2008

I was deer hunting a few years ago and had a lion put the sneak on me. I heard that the best thing you can do is make a loud noise and throw something at it. Yep! That works!

Eel

NMHUNTNUTTG · Jul 21, 2008

Awesome pics. Thats an event you'll remember he rest of your life and I think you handled it just right. No need in killing the cat, though it sounds like you nearly had too. Thanks for sharing it.

TheGreatWhiteHunter · Jul 21, 2008

Very cool pics.

Just imagine how time that cat may of been watching you and you never knew it.

I would of done the same thing, glad every thing worked out OK for you.

THE LORD IS MY ROCK
COLORADO,USA
NRA LIFE MEMBER
HUNTING PASS IT ON

deserthorn · Jul 22, 2008

I hate lions, so I would have shot him. LOL

Jake

EROCK1313 · Jul 22, 2008

This thread reminds me of this Eastmans's elk hunt I watched.

Guy was doing some cow calls and had an "eerie" feeling and looked back and a Lion was about 20'-30' away and about to pounce!

Crazy to think about, especially since I hunt alone alot! Guess I better start watching my back better.

~Erick

coolspringoutfitters · Jul 22, 2008

So I sat down with Cowslayer last night and watched the film of our little staring contest. Wow, I didn't realize I was that close...It was really weird to watch. My adrenaline started pumping again just watching it. He is a good looking cat from the front. Thanks for all the replies, the more I think about it the more amazing it is. If I would have been 2 minutes later there is a good chance I would be cat soup. I have a camera set up about 10 yards from where he went into the trees. I may have gone in there and never came back out...WOW.

CSO

It's all about the good times...

COjack · Jul 22, 2008

Great Pics!!
Rackmaster...
funny you say that about your lab, I take mine with me all the time and when we are out she is at full alert and stays real close, when I sit down to glass she sits behind me facing the opposite direction, she will not sleep until we are in the tent or back to the truck, when i go hunting without her i notice the fact she is not watching my back rather quickly.

cowslayer · Jul 22, 2008

CSO,

That footage was amazing... a little shaky and hard to hear over the nervous breathing... but close. That lion seemed very arrogant the way he just stared you down. Definitely spooky.

The lion was in the sun with a emerald green background and was one of the best looking lions I've ever seen. He looked like he had been working out on some little two points.

Looks like we need a lion tag.

You ought to see if you can post the video up for people to see.

CS

"Helping turn good tags, into great ones." - www.vipoptics.com

Torch · Jul 22, 2008

Man, what an experience Jeff! Thanks for posting up the pics and story. I'd definitely like to see the video.

chet · Jul 23, 2008

+1 on the vid

autodink13 · Jul 23, 2008

Thats scary. Yikes!

mozey · Jul 23, 2008

Yup. Please post the vid.

Wiszard · Jul 23, 2008

When I first looked at the pics, I thought the white thing in the middle of the pics was a rabbit jumping up yelling, "Get the frick outta here! Can't you see the freakin' lion to my right walking up the hill?!"

Steve

coolspringoutfitters · Jul 23, 2008

That's funny. You crazy monster muley boys always have to try and find the little hidden gems in every pic. Its like where's waldo. Sorry to crush your imagination but its just a stump. Thanks for all the comments, I don't have a good way to get my video on the computer but I will figure it out. Don't get to excited. Its like cowslayer said its a little unstable. I'll see what I can do.

CSO

It's all about the good times...

CAelknuts · Jul 24, 2008

I think that's a very cool encounter, a great way to start your season off. Now, if the cat was inside 20 yards I'd be more concerned but at 50 yards you've got an opportunity to enjoy watching an animal that most people never get to see in the wild. I'm glad you only shot it with your camera, no need to kill him now. If you have a lion tag and see him again later, different deal. For now, you've got some neat photos and nice memories.

I do a fair amount of my hunting alone, and have only encountered lions up close once; that was in the early 1980s when I bumped a pair that were sleeping beneath a big log I was climbing over. I was elk hunting near the Lima Peaks in Montana. There was a bunch of new snow I was still hunting through and when I went to climb over this big log, WOW, an explosion of snow went flying everywhere as two 'coyotes' blew out of there right from under the log I was climbing over. One of them stopped at about 40 or so yards and turned back to look at what had just scared them from their sleep. Only then did I realize that my 'coyotes' were actually a pair of mountain lions. Apparently, they were sleeping under that big old log in a spot that protected them from the storm that had just blown through, and I picked that exact place to climb over the log. I was carrying a .300 winchester, but never thought about shooting one of them. I still think that is one of the neatest wildlife experiences I've had, and it was more than 25 years ago.

coolspringoutfitters · Jul 24, 2008

I just posted the link for the video, check it out.

http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID5/12414.html

CSO

It's all about the good times...