I was getting cold and frustrated that the dogs were just wandering around. Brian told me to just start walking around to warm up, so up and down the road I walked. I even put on snow shoes to get the hang of them just in case the dogs did get on a good cat track.
After over three hours of waiting and watching the dogs on the GPS I was getting colder and just wanted to call it a day. It was after 2pm, we had been up since 2am and the dogs just weren't making any progress.
Brian decided to go down and see what the dogs were doing. I asked if I should go with him just in case the dogs actually did have a cat treed. He said no and that he would yell if we needed to come down but to be ready just in case because we were running out of time.
Brian got to the dogs and could see the problem, there were cat tracks all over in the draw. The two cats had been hunting the canyon and it was tough to stay on the trail. He rounded up the dogs in the area and started to hike them up the ridge hoping to cross a fresh track.
It looked like we had run out of options and he asked for me to call for Lady and Thirteen, yet that was the dogs name, Thirteen. At this point I really just wanted to head to the truck and warm up but I stayed an called for Lady and Thirteen.
Brian said looking at the GPS they were directly below me. I could hear their bell ringing but couldn't see them. I kept calling and they came up and crossed the road between Dale and I. Dale got to where they crossed and said they were up hill but were on a fresh cat track.
We jumped on our snowmobiles and tried to maneuver around and closer to the dogs. We actually passed them and had to back track. Brian didn't go past them and released all of the dogs to follow the trail. He hurried up behind them and said that he thought there was cat treed and we needed to get up the hill.
It was total chaos trying to grab my bow and get snow shoes on. Kenny was grabbing his gun and snowshoes. Brian radioed down to Dale that we should stay in the big timber coming up the hill as the snow would be better to walk on. The dogs were locked up 300 yards as the crow flies from where we were. Of course the hill was a 60 degree slope so it was a brutal 300 yards.
I was giving it everything I could to get up the hill and the dogs barks were echoing all over, trying to get a good location of where I needed to be was tough.
I finally got to the dogs, my heart was jumping out of my chest, I thought I was going to die but actually saw a cat up in the tree below the dogs.
They were all tied up and I saw Brian on the other side of the tree. I wanted to take a break but Brian said the cat was getting nervous and I better get my bow ready. I did as he said and moved over to his location. He had the best view of the cat. He told me to take off my snowshoes for a better shot. He told me where to aim. There was a limb right in front of me that I had to shoot under, there was a limb that the cat was on that I had to shoot over and another just above him that I had to shoot under. He was quartering away and the shot angle had gotten worse as I was trying to catch my breath.
The cat had moved and was looking like he was about to jump out of the tree. I didn't know that I had what it would take or the time in the day to get to the cat again. It was 3pm. It was now or never. I drew back and realized just how tough a steep angle shot was.
My first pin is a 30 yard pin and I think with the steep angle the cat was maybe at 14 yards as the crow flies. Trying to get the sight aligned and aim low with the 30 yard pin I just kept thinking make this shot count. Circle of the peep centered around the circle of the sight, put the pin 6" low, make sure the bubble is level....don't screw this up.....squeeze the release.
The easton full metal jacket tipped with an old school thunderhead broad head weighing in at 485 grains flew straight and went right into the pump house. It flat out knocked the cat off of the limb. As it fell it grabbed the limb with its right paw but couldn't hold on and fell to the ground. It was dead on arrival when it hit the ground.
The emotions were insane. Brian had filmed the whole thing. I can not express how happy I was to have this all come together and actually end with a cat dead on the ground.
Dale and the entire staff at Bearpaw outfitters worked so hard to help me get this cat. I can't thank them enough.
2018 is off to a great start for me.
