Mountain Lion Attack Stopped by my Daughter in CO...real close call!

dtrkyman

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Amazing, she was solid through the whole deal. I would have been spraying lead immediately, and my shorts!
 

mlgc20

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Wow! As a father of two daughters (10 &13) that really hits home. Glad she is ok. Can‘t imagine how anyone could handle that situation any better.

I just showed the video to my daughters. When my daughter got her Colorado elk during first rifle a few weeks ago, I had her carry her rifle each trip we made back to the carcass to get another quarter. While watching this video, I explained this is why we are always armed out there.
 

Rich M

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She did real good. Freaky experience. She didn't seem scared. Brave and solid - be proud daddy.
 

TxxAgg

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We were near Gunnison last week. Saw cat tracks on top of elk tracks...which was super cool. I'd like to see one but not that close. I've shared the video with quite a few folks.
 

Indyal

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What a composed young lady. From the audio, it sounds like she had the presence of mind to rack another round after her shot.
 

Marbles

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Awesome. She is badass. Handled it much better than the fruit loop who back peddled for 6 miles

A little unfair to the guy who backpedaled. In combat a fighting withdraw is considered one of the hardest maneuvers to pull off, in part because it involves mastering the instinct to turn and run while not having the psychological advantage of forward aggression. Even more so when one does not have the confidence added by a gun.

Waiting for a situation to develop, as this lady did, also shows a level of self mastery that even trained professionals don't always have. I would trust her to cover me, would not fault her for not extending the same to me though.
 

GotDraw?

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She did extremely well!

But holy smokes did she catch a lucky break that the cat respected modern society's need to prioritize getting the video going and then it was patient enough to sit and pose on the log long enough for her to finally unshoulder her weapon, chamber a cartridge, aim, pull the trigger...

In the heat of the moment, we all try to do the best we can and she did a great job of being pretty level headed (and of course I'm Monday morning quarterbacking from my desk). That said, I DO hope there was a learning experience there-- Gap closing. Always think about how quickly an attacker (animal this time) can close the gap to you if it suddenly goes 100% at you.

That cat could have closed the gap and been on her between the time she decided to drop the phone and the time the phone hit the ground after it left her hand. Different outcome.

1st- get the gun off your shoulder, up and a round jacked in and chambered.

Then- screw around with the urge to video.

Very happy for everyone the outcome was so wonderful. Very happy for her that she pulled the trigger, my sense is she was dead nuts right that the cat was a split second from launching at her.

JL

JL
 
OP
westdreamer
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She did extremely well!

But holy smokes did she catch a lucky break that the cat respected modern society's need to prioritize getting the video going and then it was patient enough to sit and pose on the log long enough for her to finally unshoulder her weapon, chamber a cartridge, aim, pull the trigger...

In the heat of the moment, we all try to do the best we can and she did a great job of being pretty level headed (and of course I'm Monday morning quarterbacking from my desk). That said, I DO hope there was a learning experience there-- Gap closing. Always think about how quickly an attacker (animal this time) can close the gap to you if it suddenly goes 100% at you.

That cat could have closed the gap and been on her between the time she decided to drop the phone and the time the phone hit the ground after it left her hand. Different outcome.

1st- get the gun off your shoulder, up and a round jacked in and chambered.

Then- screw around with the urge to video.

Very happy for everyone the outcome was so wonderful. Very happy for her that she pulled the trigger, my sense is she was dead nuts right that the cat was a split second from launching at her.

JL

JL
GotDraw, I agree with you and that is exactly the follow up conversation we had. Ready the gun and be prepared to defend first, then if safe to do so, grab the camera. Some of us are from the grab your gun generation and some of the younger ones are from the grab your phone generation. My family will discuss this topic a few more times as I usually drill the lessons in with repetition, as much as they will tolerate anyway...ha ha. She knew statistically that the lion should just run away very quickly, but we still need to err on the side of caution and self defense. I am very thankful to God that the lion stopped on that last log and gave her the time to transition from filming to being defense ready.
 

Squincher

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A little unfair to the guy who backpedaled. In combat a fighting withdraw is considered one of the hardest maneuvers to pull off, in part because it involves mastering the instinct to turn and run while not having the psychological advantage of forward aggression. Even more so when one does not have the confidence added by a gun.

Waiting for a situation to develop, as this lady did, also shows a level of self mastery that even trained professionals don't always have. I would trust her to cover me, would not fault her for not extending the same to me though.
It was the whining and "bargaining" with the animal, while recording video instead of picking up any of the good sized rocks all over the place that really convinced me of that guy's tactical and survival chops. It's just a matter of luck he didn't get turned into lion crap, not because of anything he did.

This young lady, on the other hand, is a rockstar.
 

Maki35

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Your daughter is a very brave & smart young lady. I'm glad she's safe.
You did a great job raising her.
 

5MilesBack

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I've been hunting Colorado for 40 years and have seen only two lions in that time. I have also never found much for sign from a lion. This year I found tracks and smelled cat pee several times while hunting. Either I had very good luck this year, or they are growing in population and covering more terrain.

Kudo's to you and your daughter. I have all girls and I cherish the time we spend together on hunts and time in the great outdoors. My 13 year old was able to see some of the cat tracks with me this year.
 
OP
westdreamer
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Nov 15, 2020
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South Carolina
I've been hunting Colorado for 40 years and have seen only two lions in that time. I have also never found much for sign from a lion. This year I found tracks and smelled cat pee several times while hunting. Either I had very good luck this year, or they are growing in population and covering more terrain.

Kudo's to you and your daughter. I have all girls and I cherish the time we spend together on hunts and time in the great outdoors. My 13 year old was able to see some of the cat tracks with me this year.
Thank you 5milesback. I have all girls and they are my hunting buddies as well. The time we spend in the outdoors together make up most of my best memories.
 
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