So much for being a wildlife photographer

[boneaddict]

Some wildlife photographer I am. I was watching a batch of does when I heard a buck rubbing his antlers on a bush. I stalked him and got on top of him and took a bunch of photos of him beating up this bush. I was stiffling back a cough. I finally couldn't handle it anymore and cleared my throat......

 A batch of deer exploded from right underneath me. I figure no biggie as I am at the head of this canyon and can see everywhere but about where they came from. I have a big bush in front of me so I am looking through it.The deer are fanning up the hill at a high rate of speed.  The last deer doesn;t look right....not running right and its tan. ITS A LION

I move to the side and throw up the lens but of course its out of focus. The cat leaps at this deer kind of to the left. As the cat is flying over the deer, the deer shifts to the right, sinks its weight and the cat goes over the top. Its right arm/paw pulls the deer almost over but the claw slides over the deer.  I bet that left a mark.   The deer powers out of it and gets another thrust up the hill. The cats momentum makes it do a barrel roll in the air, it whipes out onto the ground still rolling. It sprawls out.... dust flying. My last site of the cat was that it was spread out on the ground.   I thow up the lens and its not there. The world through a lens is so narrow.

I sit and watch for a long time. I should see it. The buck comes back though very nervous. All the deer are watching and trying to air the cat. Finally I decided to blow on my predator call I have in my pocket.  Its one I got from Bearmanrick.   I blow a set. Then I hear a sound. I look to my right and there the cat is at 10 feet. AGAIN no photo. Its TOO CLOSE for my camera to focus. Now all that stands between me and this hungry cat is my lens and my big voice. Obviously it all worked out.

[fair-chase]

Pics or not, that's an amazing experience that few will ever get to witness.

[boonerboy]

Wow! Thats pretty intense. Too bad no pics but Im sure the images will be fresh in YOUR mind for a while. 

[gasman]

If you had a riffle an shot that deer killer, you could have taken all the pic. you wanted 

[boneaddict]

Here is the deer horning.   I have a whole series of him but will get them up later.

[boneaddict]

This was the last pic I took before I cleared my throat.   He was looking back at the deer or cat.   I had to have been almost on the damn cat before it attacked. 

[boneaddict]

Here is the only evidence I have of the cat.   I pointed my camera and pulled the trigger a couple times while I watched the whole thing.  This is the cat as it hot the ground and was rolling over.  Its belly up and tail towards you in this pic.   

[boneaddict]

The deer had no idea where the cat went either.  The buck came back off the hill to where he was.  The deer were all winding to see if they could pick it up.  I was scanning too.  The cat went IMMEDIATELY right back where it attacked from, the only place in the whole area I couldn't see. 

[nw_bowhunter]

Sounds exciting. Maybe a video camera would have been nice in this situation.

[boneaddict]

I'm thinking that a .357 would have been the best accessory I could have had.   I would have never got a shot off with a rifle when the attack happened.  When he showed up at 10 feet out of the brush, I'd like to have introduced him to some buffalo bullets.  BIG cat too.  He was bigger than the deer by quite a bit.  That deer moved just right to avoid going down.   I'm going to watch for that deer as It had to have been ripped pretty good.

[Alpinegus]

Who wants a picture..? 

I want the video    Cool story.

Thats the kind of experience that keeps us all going back out to the woods.

[Gringo31]

Bone, I'm guessing that experience will haunt you for awhile...

To have had the opportunity to catch all of that on your camera would have been tough to beat.  I can see it in my head (cat in air reaching out for the deer) and I thank you for that. 

[Huntbear]

Dude,

The extra 3 lbs on your hip is very comforting when you get in those kind of situations... makes up for all the lugging it around when you do not need it, in a big hurry!  A .357 is not that heavy..  just saying, do not want to end up in the litter box later. 

[Hornseeker]

That would be too cool to see!!!

[Idabooner]

Wow!  What an experince, you just screwed up that cats dinner when you cleared your throat.  I can just vision the whole show.  I never seen it happen but have sorted out the tracks on  a few cougar kills, to figure out what had happened.  You are very fortunate to have seen that.