View Full Version : crazy a$$ holy $h#&
So elk hunting tonight we got into the bulls bugling like crazy. Toward the end of light they are close but never saw anything. As I am looking up the Mountain I have a large tree right in front of me I was going to use to draw my bow without being seen. I have an arrow knocked and my release clipped on the string. As I look around the tree holy fucking shitballs there is a mountain lion 20 feet from me. she is in full pounce mode stalking me. I draw my bow as it was my first instinct and call for my hunting my partner. I moved out slowly from behind the tree to make my size known and let the lion know I was not a elk. Still no movement. If she would move just an inch at me it would be her last. My buddy was coming up from behind and to my right and never saw her but when he was walking he broke a stick and she bolted up the mountain.
Also I was carrying a handgun but I was so fast to draw my bow I wasn't giving up that option. After she bolted I swapped out to handgun and flashlight. It was a long walk out!
jhood001
09-24-2011, 00:02
Good luck sleeping tonight! And I'm glad you're in one piece.
I've been stalked by a mountain lion before. Sure makes the rest of the hike interesting.
DANGERTASTIC!
09-24-2011, 00:25
Damn, first Mcntars buddy gets stalked by a bear and now you by a cougar lol.
Glad youre okay man
DD977GM2
09-24-2011, 00:36
Holy shiat, IDK if I would have had the composure not to release my arrow at the lion.
Damn the after investigation etc, but man that is some crazy shnikes.
Glad it turned out good for you[Beer]
mcantar18c
09-24-2011, 00:41
What stopped you from taking the shot?
DD977GM2
09-24-2011, 00:46
What stopped you from taking the shot?
+1 My thoughts also
Once a mountain lion is found out, it usually loses interest. Looks like he knew that.
Letting a cat get the drop isn't a very good idea, glad it worked out.
Byte Stryke
09-24-2011, 04:56
did you get the poop off of everything?
[ROFL1]
rockhound
09-24-2011, 04:57
had a female lion stalk me while i was working in summits county last summer. I was a contractor at one time, so i was doing some maintenance on a hot tub for one of my clients. looked up from behind the tub cause i just had a weird feeling and caught her as she was moving through the brush towards me.
i am sure she was just curious as to what i was because she could not see me either. she just heard me moving around, but still she was way too close.
maybe i just look delicious
So elk hunting tonight we got into the bulls bugling like crazy. Toward the end of light they are close but never saw anything. As I am looking up the Mountain I have a large tree right in front of me I was going to use to draw my bow without being seen. I have an arrow knocked and my release clipped on the string. As I look around the tree holy fucking shitballs there is a mountain lion 20 feet from me. she is in full pounce mode stalking me. I draw my bow as it was my first instinct and call for my hunting my partner. I moved out slowly from behind the tree to make my size known and let the lion know I was not a elk. Still no movement. If she would move just an inch at me it would be her last. My buddy was coming up from behind and to my right and never saw her but when he was walking he broke a stick and she bolted up the mountain.
Also I was carrying a handgun but I was so fast to draw my bow I wasn't giving up that option. After she bolted I swapped out to handgun and flashlight. It was a long walk out!wow glad you did not turn into meow mix
That is one of the few things in the wild that scares me.
sometimesright
09-24-2011, 07:24
did you get the poop off of everything?
[ROFL1]
Definitely a situation that merits a Changin' o' the Drawers. Glad to hear it worked out to where you were able to do that! Sounds like one catfight that would not bear the enjoyment others might. [Muaha]
BPTactical
09-24-2011, 07:29
Cmon now Sniper- you sure that's really the first time you've been stalked by a "Cougar"??[Coffee]
Glock Shooter
09-24-2011, 07:33
Sound like a 9.8 on the pucker factor with 10.0 being a full clench. Glad you're ok.
Holger Danske
09-24-2011, 08:03
Went Turkey hunting in section 59 this year. Supposed to be good for Turkey. Found 3 bears in the first 5 minutes. My buddy and I went to the roosting trees (still dark) and saw some movement on one of the branches, thought it was a turkey, but when I got within 20 feet saw it was a bear cub. Mama was at the base of the tree looking at me. Just backed out slowly and went down the creek to hunt elsewhere. If it was a cat I would of just packed it up and went home.
After that moment of....[Shock], I would be asking: "So...anyone have a stiff drink and fresh pair of underwear?" That's some scary stuff. Definitely smart carrying a sidearm. Glad to hear it turned out for the better and you didn't end up a kitty cat happy meal.
Good luck sleeping tonight! And I'm glad you're in one piece.
Sleep was hard to come by last night with all the scenarios that would have happened running through my head
What stopped you from taking the shot?
Not sure really. I didn't feel as much of a threat with my broadhead pointed at its face and was kind of waiting to see what it did. I have never been soo focused. I thought to take the shot but the lion also thought we were elk and I am sure it had a oh shit moment when I leaned around the side of the tree. Either way I am glad with my decision and the outcome
BushMasterBoy
09-24-2011, 13:26
Thats sounds like more fun than walking by a bear digging in a dumpster. Finally my wolf hybrid flushed the bear out and we cornered it next to an 8 foot chain link fence. A cornered bear standing up screaming will even scare a mean ass wolf dog! I told the dog "You happy now?". He seemed happy to retreat with me back to the camper...
* Disclaimer: No animals were actually harmed in the retelling of this story.
did you get the poop off of everything?
[ROFL1]
What's funny is I had to pee for at least a half hour before that but didn't want the scent around so I has holding that in. When I saw that lion everything sucked back in and I didn't pee for at least 45 minutes. Didn't even think about it
sometimesright
09-24-2011, 13:32
Sleep was hard to come by last night with all the scenarios that would have happened running through my head
Perfectly understandable and not at all unusual. Hopefully discussing it helps somewhat. FWIW - I've seen three articles in the DP over the past couple of days having to do with cougar (four legged) encounters. I believe one was up north (maybe Weld County but I don't recall for sure) with some llamas and another involving a pet near Carbondale. I think the third involved a boy in Idaho. Certainly makes one think.
Cmon now Sniper- you sure that's really the first time you've been stalked by a "Cougar"??[Coffee]
Okay okay you got me! I was young and stupid and she offered me beer! J/k
Perfectly understandable and not at all unusual. Hopefully discussing it helps somewhat. FWIW - I've seen three articles in the DP over the past couple of days having to do with cougar (four legged) encounters. I believe one was up north (maybe Weld County but I don't recall for sure) with some llamas and another involving a pet near Carbondale. I think the third involved a boy in Idaho. Certainly makes one think.
Yeah I just read the one about the boy. His dog ended up being killed by the cat and he got scratched but luckily the dad had a gun and shot in the air. The cat was killed that nights
And to top it all off my wife called me at 430 this morning saying she was in early labor stages with our first child! So I am at the hospital now smelling in my camo! Hospital was even nice enough to have a planned power outage so no lights in the bathroom and not a drop of hot water in there for the shower.
DSB OUTDOORS
09-24-2011, 14:27
Living in the hills where I do. I have lots of critters Elk, Deer, Bears, Lions, Coyotes, Foxes, Etc. I would go try to scare off any of them except the Lions. Try shouting and yelling will only piss em off more. I always carry a pistol working outside here for just that reason. I have one running around I saw last year pushing 175 to 180 lbs. Big Bitch. You're lucky sniper!! [Beer]
Living in the hills where I do. I have lots of critters Elk, Deer, Bears, Lions, Coyotes, Foxes, Etc. I would go try to scare off any of them except the Lions. Try shouting and yelling will only piss em off more. I always carry a pistol working outside here for just that reason. I have one running around I saw last year pushing 175 to 180 lbs. Big Bitch. You're lucky sniper!! [Beer]
Yeah I feel pretty lucky.
But I was thinking about this:
Even the greatest hunter in the rockies can't stalk him. He is the most interesting man!
sometimesright
09-24-2011, 14:54
Yeah I feel pretty lucky.
But I was thinking about this:
Even the greatest hunter in the rockies can't stalk him. He is the most interesting man!
Definitely a quick-witted response and good marketing ploy. I think you should contact the ad agency for Dos Equis ASAP! Glad to hear you are taking it in stride.
By the way - those who read this just based on the title - Shame on you! [LOL]
DSB OUTDOORS
09-24-2011, 15:32
Yeah I feel pretty lucky.
But I was thinking about this:
Even the greatest hunter in the rockies can't stalk him. He is the most interesting man!
Thats DEEP! I like that. And very good point. [Beer]
Drilldov2.0
09-24-2011, 16:37
I've been stalked by a mountain lion before. Sure makes the rest of the hike interesting.
It makes the hunt more fun, um interesting.
The only animal I'm worried about, where I live, is mountain lions. There are a few and I give them a wide berth. It's interesting hiking an out and back trail and seeing kitty prints, on top of yours, on the way back.
trout_champ
09-24-2011, 17:15
I’ve never had a lion stalk me, but with all the fishing I do I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. At work we have several lions that have been seen out and about and one even killed a deer and buried it in our playground a couple years ago.
At the Stratton Open Space early this week/last week there was a small male that got killed by a bigger male. I hike that area after work sometimes and usually don’t have my weapon with me, might have to reconsider.
Randy
Crazy shit man. Good thing you spotted it when you did.
Geology Rocks
09-25-2011, 23:36
and I would have shit myself, then I would have grabbed my gun and shit myself again. Mountain lions are not to be fucked with.
joe
Crazy shit man. Good thing you spotted it when you did.
Yeah looking back had it been just a but longer it would have came around the corner of that tree maybe 5 feet or less from me. I feel pretty lucky things worked out the way they did.
This is a lesson to all you guys!!!! Make sure you bring protection!!!!!
http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss170/waxthis/c045a604.jpg
[Beer]
That's a crazy story. Glad you and the kitty were able to go your separate ways.
theGinsue
09-27-2011, 20:16
It's a really good thing you didn't take the shot unless you had absolutely had to because convincing the DOW that you shot/killed an animal without a valid permit because you were "in mortal fear of your life" is no less difficult than doing the same if you just shot/killed a person in self-defense. To be honest though, I can't say I would have had the stones to do the same as you did. My compliments!
.
.
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I've always held that I'm not really afraid of black bears in the woods, but grizzlies and mountain lions spook the sh!t out of me (okay, not literally, yet). Good thing we don't have any grizzlies (officially) here in CO.
I had a face-to-face with a black bear who charged @ me 3 times here in the Springs back in the very wee hours of the morning of Sep 13th, 2001. I stood my ground and didn't give up an inch to the bear. I later found out how stupid that was, even though I ended up treeing the bear until the DOW could arrive.
I say that was stupid because bears, both black and browns don't usually back down when they are charging just because you stand up to them, but mountain lions are usually pussies if you confront them solidly enough or tree them. It's confronting them before they attack you which is the difficult part. (The key words in this paragraph are USUALLY as all wild animals are just that - wild, and as such, are not completely predictable).
The reason I fear both brown/grizzly bears and mountain lions is that they share the same trait of stalking their prey and not letting you know they are around until they are ready to attack you, whereas a black bear usually announces his presence early enough.
Since I know the chances of running into a grizzly where I hunt elk is (for all intents and purposes) non-existent, that leaves me to consider mountain lions while I'm hiking through the woods all alone. Just *knowing* they are in my immediate vicinity puts me on edge, flinching at any little sound.
Two years ago while out hunting elk & deer I was heading up over a ridge behind our camp when I ran into a father and son who were heading down. They told me they had just seen a mountain lion about 500 yards up the mountain on a heading that would cross paths with the direction I was heading. I would have changed directions, but where I was heading offered me the best chance of harvesting a deer that evening - the last night of the season.
A 1/4 mile later I saw 3 bucks coming down the mountain in front of me but had no shot. I tracked them for about 1/2 hour but never got within range for a shot until they finally gave me the slip, right at the end of hunting light. I emptied the cartridges from my rifle before realizing that I was still in the area the mountain lion was heading. I reloaded my rifle and kept a round in the chamber with my thumb ready on the safety.
It continued to grow darker as I made my way to the road to hike back to camp. While hiking back over the ridge the way I had come in would have been a much shorter hike, it was more perilous due to the terrain and deadfall.
Once at the road I began my long hike back but by now it was pitch black out and my headlamp flashlight didn't provide much light past 10'. While keeping a round in my chamber, I slung my rifle over my shoulder for the hike. About 1/2 mile down the road I heard a sound off of the road. I stopped and listened but heard nothing more. I took another 10 steps when I heard more sounds from the same area off of the road. I stopped and listened. Nothing. I called out in case it was another hunter. Nothing.
I started walking again and made it another 10 or so steps when I heard another sound and could swear I saw movement. I unslung my rifle, put the stock into my shoulder but kept the barrel pointed down. No more movement, no more sounds. I hollered out again, "Is anybody there?". No response.
To say that thoughts of being attacked by a mountain lion were in my mind would be a major understatement. I was picturing my eviscerated remains lying beside the road until the next morning when another hunter passed by and found me. My thumb was on my safety and my trigger finger was resting beside the trigger guard. I yelled out a third time to see if what I was seeing and hearing was another person. Again, no response. By now I was starting to think I had "war nerves" and my mind was playing tricks on me.
With no more sounds and no further evidence of movement I started walking again but I didn't make it more than a few steps when I KNEW I saw movement and it was headed straight towards me from the darkness of the woods just feet away. As I started to raise my rifle up towards the movement and release my safety when a figure not 10' away broke into my light - it was a hunter! Right behind him was another hunter. A father & son, but not the same two that I had encountered earlier. I lowered my rifle and ensured my safety was firmly set before I started in on these two. Each of them had about 50% of the required blaze orange - one with an orange cap and the other with an orange vest. Neither carried a light.
My first question to them was "Didn't you hear me yelling?". They responded that they had heard me but thought I must be talking to someone else since they didn't know anyone around this area. That confused me. Turns out this duo had come out from California to give hunting in the Rockies a try. I informed them that there was a mountain lion spotted in the area ~ probably less than 1/2 mile from where we were standing and that by moving around in the woods and not responding to my yelling that they came close to getting shot - particularly when they headed out of the woods straight towards me. The looks on their faces was unforgettable. Not because they were shocked, but because they were clearly clueless how lucky they had just been.
After inquiring where their required blaze orange was they showed me the items that I could already see. I informed them what the state requirement is for EACH hunter (not cumulative for the team) and how they were in violation of the requirements. They still seemed oblivious.
I quickly parted ways with them even though they were headed down the road the same direction I was going as I wanted all of the distance between them and me that I could get. Within a 1/2 mile I was able to raise someone back in camp on the radio and about a 1/2 mile later someone was there to pick me up and give me a ride back to camp. During that last mile walk along the road my thoughts weren't on the possibility of a mountain lion attacking me; they were on this father and son and how dangerous they were to themselves and to other hunters.
While I never did see that mountain lion I did experience an even greater fear that night - the fear you get when you realize just how close you've come to pointing a loaded rifle at another person while hunting.
It's a really good thing you didn't take the shot unless you had absolutely had to because convincing the DOW that you shot/killed an animal without a valid permit because you were "in mortal fear of your life" is no less difficult than doing the same if you just shot/killed a person in self-defense.
Given the opportunity I'd rather argue with DOW than argue with a big cat any day!
Given the opportunity I'd rather argue with DOW than argue with a big cat any day!
Yep, had I taken the shot, I have a hard time believing they would be able to do much to me. 20 feet away, arrow through the frontal area of the lion, where it ended up being the chest or the face. tracks leading down toward me, hadn't killed anything so it isn't like I was picking the lion off my kill, or saw it in a tree and took it out. It was stalking me, even though it thought I was an elk, it was coming down hoping for an easy meal and damn near made its last move.
Ginsue, I think I would have walked back with those hunters you ran into. best to tell them you will lead the group so you have them behind you![Muaha]
Holy Sh!t...That sounds pretty awesome, only but only because you didn't get eaten.
I had a face-to-face with a black bear who charged @ me 3 times here in the Springs back in the very wee hours of the morning of Sep 13th, 2001. I stood my ground and didn't give up an inch to the bear. I later found out how stupid that was, even though I ended up treeing the bear until the DOW could arrive.
Totally off topic, but I think I'm willing to bet my bottom dollar why you can name the exact date of this occurrence (for those of you who haven't fully awoken yet, minus 2 days).
I've encountered mountain lions, bears, and angry (rut) elk. Bears (the black ones) are pretty wimpy when you make noise, remember, they're more afraid of us. Lions, well they scare the caca outta me too, but DOW does state make yourself big and make noise. One thing that scares me more though, it has to be those western diamondback rattlers. Not only does the rattler give you chills, but they strike at heat- more specifically, body heat. I've encountered one in the SE Plains before and nothing gets your heart racing more than that "ZRRRRRRRRRR!" Luckily it wasn't close enough to strike and we could back away in time before it got too angry.
Byte Stryke
09-29-2011, 12:04
Yep, had I taken the shot, I have a hard time believing they would be able to do much to me. 20 feet away, arrow through the frontal area of the lion, where it ended up being the chest or the face. tracks leading down toward me, hadn't killed anything so it isn't like I was picking the lion off my kill, or saw it in a tree and took it out. It was stalking me, even though it thought I was an elk, it was coming down hoping for an easy meal and damn near made its last move.
Ginsue, I think I would have walked back with those hunters you ran into. best to tell them you will lead the group so you have them behind you![Muaha]
you tell em the story and you then go
"OR.... I Stalked this big cat, walked right up in front of it and then when I was close enough to smell her breakfast, I took the shot."
[ROFL1]
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