Bearpaw Fall 2010 Season

[bearpaw]

Here's another nice tom cougar we caught in Washington just before Christmas.

Brian had been hunting for a couple days and had spotted 10 or 12 fresh female tracks but no fresh Tom tracks. I must admit, I was hoping they didn't kill until I could get back to Washington. I finished up some Utah cow elk hunts and set the cruise control as I headed back to Washington. Weather was pretty poor and it took longer than usual, but I made it home and went to bed for a while.

We all got up very early and headed out. I was going to hunt some country that had produced many large toms for us in prior years. The permit holder and his friend were riding with me and Brian headed out to check a different drainage that has also been one of our best hunting areas for cats. There was about an inch of fresh snow on the highway and I was fast approaching an area where cats like to cross, I started slowing down and I had just finished telling the guys that occasionally cats cross in between these houses when I spotted familliar looking tracks. I slammed on the brakes, I exclaimed "That looked like a cat" as we slowly slid to a stop. I backed up and sure enough there were the tracks of a big tom coming right out of someone's drive-way on the left side of the road and crossing into another driveway on the right side of the road. There were four different homes within two hundred yards of the tracks. The cat had huge feet and the stride was good but not overly long. I told the guys I figured it was a 140+ tom, a real nice mature tom. I also told them that I had recieved permission on three seperate occasions in the past from homeowners in this immediate area, and I was always given permission as people don't like the cats hanging this close to their homes. Brian and I have also responded to WDFW cougar complaints at one of the neighbors in the past. I figured it would be no problem getting permission. We were all excited and knew there would be some hunting action today.

I called Brian and informed him where the cat had crossed and where it was headed. We both spent several hours running all the other roads in the area checking for tracks, but the cat had not crossed anywhere else. I went back to where the tracks crossed the highway and we parked by the mailboxes that the cat had walked by. One of the guys looked behind the truck and noticed a person had come out from the home where the cat tracks were headed. I jumped out and introduced myself. I explained our situation, showed him the fresh cougar tracks walking into his driveway and going between his house and shop, and mentioned that we had a cougar permit and wanted to try and catch this cat. Turns out the guy has grandkids that come to visit and he wanted the cat removed. He said we could sit in the trucks in the driveway as we waited about 45 minutes for daylight so we could turn the dogs loose at daybreak.

Just before daylight the guy come back out and said his wife was upset and didn't like having "HUNTERS" on their property. I told him we would leave and see if one of the neighbors would mind if we went in through their place. He was nice, told us where his fence was at, and suggested we go next door and walk around his property, and he said he was sorry. I sort of felt sorry for the guy, I could tell he wanted the cat removed and that he felt bad for not letting us hunt after all.

We went to the neighbor and they were up, so I knocked on the door, they said "no problem, go get him". I told them if we were lucky and got the cat we would stop and show it to them. We walked around the neighbors fence (respecting the landowner's wife's wish) and found where the cat left his place. We turned the dogs loose and they headed up the mountain. Brian took off walking behind the dogs, the hunters and I listened from the truck as the hound music faded up the mountain. Next we drove around to the other side of the mountain trying to hear the dogs again. I could hear them but just barely, it sounded as if they were treed back towards the top above from where we started the track. So we headed back to where we had started the tracks and followed Brian and the dog's foot prints up the mountain.

We worked our way up the steep hill and could soon hear the dogs again near the top. Their howls now seemed to louden with every step we took. Finally we made it to the tree, Brian and all the dogs were already there, the cat was a dandy, he had a good head and Brent was using a bow, I figured the cat would easily make P&Y. It is always an experience for people to see a big cat up close and I like to give people time to take it in, it's an experience that few get to enjoy, and I like to make the most of it. We took some photos and video, then Brent readied for the shot. I could tell he was uncomfortable with the sharp angle up into the tree and told him to take his time, he released and "whack" his first arrow hit the tree 3 feet below the cat. Luckily the big cougar had no response to the arrow hitting the tree, I told Brent to just take his time and make sure of his anchor point and to center the peep. He settled down for the next shot and released again, "smack" a perfect hit, the cat jumped out of the tree and took off, Brian headed after it with a couple younger dogs hot on it's heels. Pretty quick he hollared back, the cat was dead less than 100 yards from the tree.  We looked over the cat, Brent had made a great shot, next we took photos, and then we loaded everything up for the pack off the mountain.

Coming off the mountain was awesome, great scenery, good dogs, friendly people, a truly memorable experience, life just doesn't get any better.

We stopped by the neighbors house who had allowed us to chase the cat, they were awestruck by the size of the cat and releived that it was gone from the neighborhood. The cat was about 150 pounds, an older tom with very yellow teeth and a good melon sized head, a definite P&Y. I attached a few photos below and will post a video after I get time to edit another one.

[MtnMuley]

Very nice cat, Bearpaw.  Best I've seen harvested this year.

[Machias]

Nice lion and great write up!!!

P.S. Have you been getting my e-mail or PMs?   

[TeacherMan]

I would love to kill a lion of that magnitude! What state? I wouldn't know what to do with it, rug it or life size mount it. Either way it would be worth it. Nice animal

[bearpaw]

Mtnmuley, the cat was not a long cat or he would have been heavier. He was definitely the oldest cat we got this year and probably about tied with one other tom for the best head. I'm sure he won't make B&C but easily in to P&Y, I will know exactly how he scores after the drying period.

Machias, I will look back for your message in my inbox and reply, thanks...

Teacherman, I have always said, "Washington has some of the best lion hunting in the world." Two different years before cat hunting was outlawed, we killed the largest cat taken in North America for the season. One of those cats used to be the P&Y world record, it has dropped a few spots since then, but it weighed 205.   

We have 3 lifesized cats in our house and if I kill another big one before quota is met, it will get life-sized too.

[jstone]

A lion hunt with a bow wood be cool. I need to put that on my bucket list..

[whacker1]

Bearpaw - very cool last story.  And the point of the program was to take the cats that are a nuisance or potential conflict to humans and livestock.  I think that animal fits that profile better than most.  Congrats to you. 

Did the guy with the wife that didn't want "hunters" on the property come out to check it out?  I bet he appreciated it more than any. 

[bearpaw]

Bearpaw - very cool last story.  And the point of the program was to take the cats that are a nuisance or potential conflict to humans and livestock.  I think that animal fits that profile better than most.  Congrats to you. 

Did the guy with the wife that didn't want "hunters" on the property come out to check it out?  I bet he appreciated it more than any. 

Actually he is a very nice guy, he used to work with a close friend, but he was gone to work so we didn't want to "harass" his wife... 

You are right though, this is exactly a cat that needed removed. 

[mulehunter]

Awsome story. I wish I had a Family who are outtfitter.  Your people are very Lucky to have you.  Congt to all your hard work.

Mulehunter   

[bearpaw]

Well the quota closed last night for my cougar tag area. I found tracks of 5 cougar yesterday but none were big enough cats so we didn't chase any. Actually 1 or 2 might have been toms, but they weren't real big. Oh well, my main reason for applying was just so we can run the dogs. Now that the quota is filled we can concentrate on catching some of these other cats just for the fun of it. 

Just for the fun of it, which tracks do you think are tom tracks and why?

[MtnMuley]

From the tracks that I can see clearly, #1 is a female and #3 is a young male.  I will say #2 might be a tom (stride length), while #4 might be a female.  As for #5, I think it might be from a wolf, as there is no apparent pad pattern......

[TeacherMan]

I would say #4 because the tracks look fresh but are deeper in the crusty snow, plus there is a lack of detail for such a fresh track. Thus meaning the pads and toes are more worn and closer together from a heavier, more filled out older animal. Now since I said all the bs I can think of you can tell I'm a teacher, I have no idea