[DallanC]

I knocked a mountain lion out of a tree once. It was a harrowing affair, for both me and the lion.

I'm hijacking the thread huh.

Is there any part of your life NOT on film? I have this mental image of Goob hiking across the uinta's in search of Ptarmigan with a helmet cam, phone on selfie stick, gopro on shotgun, couple guys recording from various distances (cameras tilted of course to make terrain appear steeper) etc etc..



-DallanC

 

[Ray]

I see no problem with what happened, for the cat, it’s a classic game of play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

if I felt like my life was in danger, I wouldn’t give it a warning shot.

 

[wyogoob]

Wasn't there, can't say for sure. But when I watched it originally (which seemed less zoomed in imo), my initial feeling was that he was wanting to shoot the cat. Maybe he did it for the gram, regardless Jeff nailed it. He didn't throw a rock, smack a stick, fire a warning shot (semi auto handgun = quick follow up if needed).

The cat also was dead right where the video first showed him. If that cat "pounced" he would have been a lot closer. They talk about the 21ft rule with a knife - a cat is a lot faster. Maybe that further justifies it? But it seems clear the cat simply stood there.

Good eye.

 

[willfish4food]

The cat also was dead right where the video first showed him. If that cat "pounced" he would have been a lot closer. They talk about the 21ft rule with a knife - a cat is a lot faster. Maybe that further justifies it? But it seems clear the cat simply stood there.

I initially thought the same thing, but when I watched it again, it seems the cat was on a pretty steep slope. At least steeper than it looks. When the camera finally gets back to the cat, and it's squirming a bit, it slides further down the slope. Giving this guy the benefit of the doubt, it may have come at him and when he shot, it slipped right back to where it was. Or maybe in the heat of the moment, what he saw as pouncing really wasn't covering much ground.

***OR it's very possible you're right and he just wanted to shot the thing. It's awful convenient that a video that keeps the cougar in frame cuts away for the shot and then he has the presence of mind to get right back on it. Also, that's pretty impressive to put a round right in it's face while it's "pouncing" at you. And I don't know about you guys, but if a cougar is coming at me, I'm gonna mag dump that thing, not take one shot and stop.

 

[High Desert Elk]

I wonder what state it happened in.

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New Mexico, Unit 2.

 

[colorcountrygunner]

Ehhh, I dunno. Could go either way. My unpopular opinion (of which I have many) is that there are a lot of rambos packing sidearms into the hills these days just itching for a chance to use them on something besides a paper bad guy. You know those super aggro black rifle coffee drinking guys with molon labe stickers on their truck always saying "I wish a mother effer would"? A couple years ago I met up with a poster on here named opportunist down in Nephi that was helping me out with some bear bait. He was an avid bear hunter. Cool guy. He showed me some videos on his phone of a decent-sized boar bluff charging him and causing a fuss. I about shat down both legs just watching it but he told me he understands bear behavior and he knew the bear was just bluffing him. I bet a lot of the "I'll be your huckleberry" crowd would've perforated an animal for far less. Needlessly.

Opportunist, where you at? Do you still post/lurk here?

 

[AF CYN]

I had a standoff with a bear while on a LE archery elk hunt. I made my presence known when he was at 50 yards, but he just kept coming toward me until we was at 40. I drew back and considered shooting him, but he just stood there looking at me. I prayed, yelled, swore, growled, raised my bow above my head, etc... Nothing worked.

I cycled through my threats periodically, but the standoff continued. I thought a lot about if I would be justified and what the DWR would do if they determined I was not. Eventually, I decided to back away. The bear advanced as I was backing away until I couldn't see it because of the angle of the slope. It was a very scary experience for me and I have to admit that I was troubled that my fear of legal action weighed heavily on me when I was in a potentially dangerous situation.

With the cougar, it was too close for a positive outcome either way.

 

[Bax*]

This topic has been really interesting to me to get perspectives.

I thought it was interesting reading DreadedBowHunter's take on the topic given that he hunts them regularly, but it was also interesting seeing Goob's wild side trying to get one out of a tree.

Truth be told, I have only knowingly seen them from a safe distance a couple times in my life and once had a situation where they made me uncomfortable. See this for the story from years ago - Hunter becomes hunted... But knowing what I know (which is little on this subject), I would have gladly been armed but cautiously retreated without shooting unless it was like that guy who was followed down the mountain by a mountain lion a while back because the one in this video didnt seem threatening to me personally. But again, Im not a mountain lion expert.

Colorcountrygunner's point about Opportunist also made me wonder what other mountain lion hunters experiences are. I know we have some houndsmen floating around here and I'd be curious to know what they would have done.

Any houndsmen want to weigh in?

 

[Critter]

In Goobs case, everyone knows that in order to get a cat out of a tree that you just call the fire department.


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[bthewilde]

I hunt Cougars every year. Do not trust a Mountain Lion no matter what, they will change in one second to swiping with its paw from jumping 20 feet on you. They are so buff it’s scary and those pouncing skills are when you don’t expect it. I stalked a Cougar last winter that lead me into a dense area of forest then circled back and once I realized what he did I had to back off quick and pull my pistol. Curious turns to deadly in a split second. Justified shooting even when he first saw her, throw a rock or warning shot doesn’t mean it’s not hungry and gonna do what it takes to drag you up a tree before you get to your truck. View attachment 149538 Couldn’t find the video for this stalk but this cat was smart and knew how to flip the script of predator and prey.

Do you go with Dogs? I really want to try one of these hunts at least once.

I feel like we've had an uptick in Cat attacks the last couple years, I started to carry a sidearm again while out which foolishly or not, I haven't done in years.

 

[Vanilla]

Regardless of the TRUE danger at that moment, good luck convincing a jury unanimously that this guy wasn’t justified in his actions. In my opinion, the case to prosecute him is not winnable. I would not prosecute this guy.

And if I was this guy I also would not have posted the video on the internet. A little discretion goes a longs ways, fellers (and mockingjay).

 

[Critter]

In my opinion he'll get two tickets.

One for talking wildlife without the proper tag

The other will be for hunting out of season.

He'll pay his $50 and go home.

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[APD]

It's a tough gamble to give the cat the benefit of the doubt when it's that close. The cats I've run into have all gone the other way. In reality, if they don't and you don't respect them, it's going to be a steep learning curve for one of you.

 

[DreadedBowHunter]

First problem the guy was doing was he was sitting or crouching and that’s a big No-No when it comes to Cougars. I bet if he stood up and screamed like if his kid dumped a bucket of mud on his couch the cougar would have ran off scared of him but I would have just shot it and he was defending himself. If he called DWR and showed the video they would have just took the carcass and written him a warning about out of season or unit hunting etc.He still could get busted if he’s caught even years later.Young cats are like young bucks, dumb enough to want you to pet them but a cat has instincts to opportunistic

Do you go with Dogs? I really want to try one of these hunts at least once.

I feel like we've had an uptick in Cat attacks the last couple years, I started to carry a sidearm again while out which foolishly or not, I haven't done in years.

I’ve dog hunted a few times but once you learn the tricks from the dogs and mark the spots you see the pattern and then just track em slowly. Dogs make them run far and you don’t need to Track for miles because Cougars are slow methodical hunters and usually follow other tracks themselves. Hiring dogs is expensive but you’ll get to mark your tracks.

The pic is when I work the Huntin Expos so I get first dibs and get to talk to all the outfitters and vendors for a week and they get to know me before offering me super cheap deals.

 

[Kevin D]

Where’s Kevin D when you need him?


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I'm still around, just don't post as much as I used to.

My thoughts? This was just a young curious cat, I've had fawns and elk calves and even once a lion come up to me while sitting still in much the same way. You can see the dark arm bars indicating the cat is less than a year old. Was it a threat to the hunter? No, I didn't think the cats body language and demeanor indicated an imminent threat. Would the guy get prosecuted? No, he thought he was in danger and acted accordingly. What would I have done in his place? Enjoyed the moment.

 

[High Desert Elk]

I'm

I'm still around, just don't post as much as I used to.

My thoughts? This was just a young curious cat, I've had fawns and elk calves and even once a lion come up to me while sitting still in much the same way. You can see the dark arm bars indicating the cat is less than a year old. Was it a threat to the hunter? No, I didn't think the cats body language and demeanor indicated an imminent threat. Would the guy get prosecuted? No, he thought he was in danger and acted accordingly. What would I have done in his place? Enjoyed the moment.

I'm sure the imagines of that lion(ess) bluff charging that guy causing him to walk backward up the dirt road was going through his mind...

 

[Critter]

It is also interesting in the video it doesn't show the person trying to back away from the cat, but he did keep a tree between him and the cat.

I'm sure that there is a lot to his story that wasn't captured on the video.

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[High Desert Elk]

I can tell you, there are way too many cats in NM, especially unit 2.

So...

 

[hondodawg]

IMO…
SSS


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[pollo70]

A early warning shot would have been my first reaction! and went from there if the cat didn't spook then I would have went to plan B and got ready to shoot it if it kept getting closer.