idelkslayer
WKR
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2013
- Location
- Idaho
During February I went out during the last week of the month to search for shed antlers and try to call in some coyotes. I chose an area that is a primary wintering area for the local deer herds thinking that since that's where the food is that is where the predators would be. I also thought it might be a good area to cross paths with a mountain lion. Over the past few years I have read several articles about calling in mountain lions so it was always a wishful possibility.
I planned to hike in and look for shed antlers until I found a good place to sit and call for the predators. The first place I stopped I began glassing the surrounding hills and spotted over 200 deer in about a dozen groups but I decided to move to a different spot to call. I made it to the next ridge and sat down. Before calling I got the binoculars back out and looked around and spotted more deer.
After about 10 mintues I got out my rabbit in distress call and gave it few minutes of calling. The wind was blowing so hard I doubted that anything could hear me. After trying a second time I checked on a herd of deer across the canyon to see if they were reacting at all. They didn't seem to have heard me but a few minutes later they started acting very spooked and I soon spotted a mountain lion sitting on a kill on the hill below them. I began figuring out how to get over to the lion without it seeing or smelling me but I also had to wait until the deer and another herd of deer nearby left so that I wouldn't spook them and scare of the lion. The deer finally ran off when the lion moved up the hill to bed down beneath a juniper bush. As the deer ran away they took the second herd with them so the hillside was clear. If I approached from upwind I would have a close shot but risk the lion smelling me. If I approached from downwind it would be longer shot and there was a good chance it would see me before I could get a shot.
I decided to approach from upwind but to hike higher on the hill above the lion so that my scent would hopefully pass high above it. I made the hike around to the otherside of the canyon and began climbing a ridge, two ridges over from the lion. Once I was high enough I side-hilled towards it. When I first crawled to the crest of the ridge I couldn't see the cat and thought that maybe it had moved down to feed again. I dropped down the ridge and every twenty yards I snuck up to the edge and looked for the lion. At about the 3rd spot I saw its tail underneath the juniper. I had to sneak down another 40 yards to get a clear view for a shot.
As I tryed to get a good rest on a rock the lion looked in my direction but I don't know if ever saw me, if it did in never showed any reaction. It was laying down and curled so the its right shoulder was quartering away from me. At this point I was 120 yards away and I settled the crosshairs on the shoulder and fired. I heard the bullet hit and immediately the lion started rolling down the hill. After about 15 feet it stopped. I sat on the hill and watched it for a good 15 minutes before I approached. I had spotted it just before 10:00 AM and it was now 11:00. She measured about 7' 6" laying there on the hill. As you can see in the picture her worn teeth suggest she was very old. I have since done some research and everything I have found indicates a maximum life span of 12 years in the wild and she must have been close. Even so she was in good physical condition besides her teeth. She was missing 6 incisers and one molar, the remaining incisors were all worn down to the gum line. Her canines had all been worn down to the point of exposing the nerves and one had a pea sized cavity.
This link has a diagram of tooth wear compared to age: Cougar: The American Lion, A Book from Mountain Lion Foundation
Based on that diagram I am thinking that see is very old but it will be at least another 10-12 months before I can get the results of the lab aging. The skull measured 7 3/4" long and 5 3/4" wide.
It was a chance encounter but whenever I go out I always have my tags for whatever may be in season just in case such an opportunity presents itself, for my first Mtn Lion I couldn't have hoped for better circumstances.
I planned to hike in and look for shed antlers until I found a good place to sit and call for the predators. The first place I stopped I began glassing the surrounding hills and spotted over 200 deer in about a dozen groups but I decided to move to a different spot to call. I made it to the next ridge and sat down. Before calling I got the binoculars back out and looked around and spotted more deer.
After about 10 mintues I got out my rabbit in distress call and gave it few minutes of calling. The wind was blowing so hard I doubted that anything could hear me. After trying a second time I checked on a herd of deer across the canyon to see if they were reacting at all. They didn't seem to have heard me but a few minutes later they started acting very spooked and I soon spotted a mountain lion sitting on a kill on the hill below them. I began figuring out how to get over to the lion without it seeing or smelling me but I also had to wait until the deer and another herd of deer nearby left so that I wouldn't spook them and scare of the lion. The deer finally ran off when the lion moved up the hill to bed down beneath a juniper bush. As the deer ran away they took the second herd with them so the hillside was clear. If I approached from upwind I would have a close shot but risk the lion smelling me. If I approached from downwind it would be longer shot and there was a good chance it would see me before I could get a shot.
I decided to approach from upwind but to hike higher on the hill above the lion so that my scent would hopefully pass high above it. I made the hike around to the otherside of the canyon and began climbing a ridge, two ridges over from the lion. Once I was high enough I side-hilled towards it. When I first crawled to the crest of the ridge I couldn't see the cat and thought that maybe it had moved down to feed again. I dropped down the ridge and every twenty yards I snuck up to the edge and looked for the lion. At about the 3rd spot I saw its tail underneath the juniper. I had to sneak down another 40 yards to get a clear view for a shot.
As I tryed to get a good rest on a rock the lion looked in my direction but I don't know if ever saw me, if it did in never showed any reaction. It was laying down and curled so the its right shoulder was quartering away from me. At this point I was 120 yards away and I settled the crosshairs on the shoulder and fired. I heard the bullet hit and immediately the lion started rolling down the hill. After about 15 feet it stopped. I sat on the hill and watched it for a good 15 minutes before I approached. I had spotted it just before 10:00 AM and it was now 11:00. She measured about 7' 6" laying there on the hill. As you can see in the picture her worn teeth suggest she was very old. I have since done some research and everything I have found indicates a maximum life span of 12 years in the wild and she must have been close. Even so she was in good physical condition besides her teeth. She was missing 6 incisers and one molar, the remaining incisors were all worn down to the gum line. Her canines had all been worn down to the point of exposing the nerves and one had a pea sized cavity.
This link has a diagram of tooth wear compared to age: Cougar: The American Lion, A Book from Mountain Lion Foundation
Based on that diagram I am thinking that see is very old but it will be at least another 10-12 months before I can get the results of the lab aging. The skull measured 7 3/4" long and 5 3/4" wide.
It was a chance encounter but whenever I go out I always have my tags for whatever may be in season just in case such an opportunity presents itself, for my first Mtn Lion I couldn't have hoped for better circumstances.
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