Nice NE WA Cougar

[tlbradford]

I got this from a friend of a friend.  I thought I recognized the faces from someone on here, so maybe we'll get a long version of the story.  I don't know if hounds were used or not.  For now I'll keep the faces blacked out.

This is the short story from the email.

Here are some better pics, packed this bad boy out today after having to leave him on the hill last night and it took 7 hours from start to finish.  Probably one of the toughest "1 Day" packouts that I have ever had.  We loaded him onto a tobogan but the snow was deep and soft which made the dragging miserable even with 2 guys hooked up like Oxen.  We made it though! It is a Tom that weighed about 130-140 pounds walked down on foot yesterday.

Joe

[addicted]

WOW. now thats a kitty.

[flyguide]

This is funny, my face (or lack thereof) seems to wind up here regularly!  Some you may recall "who's ugly mug is this?"

I walked this Tom down on foot by myself without any dogs, in fact it was running with 2 other cats both seemingly mature.  I ran them for hours and then finally got a glimpse of one cat slithering away through the timber (after I had jumped them out of bed an hour before)  I just kept on hoofin' and after many miles got a look at one at 25 feet trying to hide behind a Pine tree.  I struggled to get the scope caps off my Contender and get the hammer cocked as I was a mess and hyped on on enough adrenaline to do most people in.  Before I could get the cat in the scope it started bounding off so I took an instinctual shot as it ran thinking that lead in the air is better than nothing!

I started sprinting down the hill after the cat when I saw that the other cats had just run out from right below me, so I had my choice of tracks to follow.  I picked the cat I shot at simply because they went straight for a big brushy missletoe fir tree and then I saw that it was bleeding and my "miracle" shot..... had gotten a piece of him.  I moved on him fast and hard for another 20 minutes crawling over, under, around, and  through dozens of brush and stump piles and then finally caught him sneaking by me at 30 yards!


He was trying to give me juke move so I squared up for a shot (an emotional wreck at this point), and ther scope was encased in snow from having fallen down at least 100 times.  I cleared the scope, could barely see through it, then fired on a dead round (or at half cocked) still not sure.  I threw the shell out and dropped in a live round without even looking at the one I pulled.  I had a tough shot but made sure that what I was looking at through the scope was the cat and squeezed off a careful shot.  The cat was hit and tumbled back and then ran down the hill.  Now I knew for sure I would get him.  I shot 2 mored times as I chased him down hill through some deadfall and eventually after some more trailing he holed up under a fir tree and I nailed him one last time.  It was awesome.

I have to attribute being able to keep up with these cats to getting on the Cam Hanes workout program as I had to cover a massive amount of ground at high speed without stoppping.  Only those who don't run scorn it!  That and shooting a bigger caliber than I used to helps a lot, a 35 Remington knocks 'em down when in the past I have had cats ignore a 223 impact.

[GoldTip]

Awesome cat and story, congrats!

[Machias]

Nice cat, congrats!

[shoot-em-dead]

nice cat, but I think we need to change your name to insane or psycho.

[bucklucky]

Nice job on the Lion!

[Ray]

Indeed - lead in the air is better than nothing. Nice job on your cat.

[Hillbilly270]

nice work joe.   Send me some steaks.   

[whacker1]

Wow very nice cat - even better story

[mtndew]

Nice, BIG cat! Congratulations

[MtnMuley]

Great story flyguide and congrats on a fine tom!  Makes you wonder about others that brag on their 185lb cougars they've shot.  Glad to see that this big guy fell to a hunter with the desire to put in the hard work.

[longstevo]

Holy crap, dude.  That's a big kitty.

And a big story too.  Awesome.

[TheHunt]

Great cat Joe...  Congrats

[slayer1]

Awesome,  thats a big lion.  Wonder how old he is?  To bad they don't let us get a second tag anymore.