If you’re no stranger to my writing, then you know I love first time experiences! For years the idea of predator hunting simply didn’t interest me. I see now that it was based on emotion rather than facts, because with the little time I’ve invested in researching these incredible animals, I now see the damage they can do on elk and deer herds. I suppose conservation doesn’t show favoritism and all animals need to be managed as the human population continues to increase. While I’ve hunted multiple predators to-date, I had never hunted one that would stare into your soul. It’s quite eerie actually, thinking about all the days I’ve spent on the mountain without seeing a cougar but knowing they’re there and have 100% seen me.
When I did finally wrap my head around it all, I decided mountain lion was near the top of animals I’d like to hunt. However, I didn’t think I’d ever get to. Things escalated quickly when Nevada had a fresh snow and Bull Ridge Guide Service had an opening. Next thing I knew, my husband and I were headed West for a Valentine’s Day weekend hunt!
Day 1 - 2nd Female Mountain Lion Treed // PC: Brady Harang
The first day was action packed as the guys cut a track and came across a fresh mule deer kill. The tracks appeared to show 3 lions, so they let the hounds out and were able to tree two of them. Both turned out to be females which I was fine with taking but Trevor said there were larger ones in the area. Obviously I would never question the one that has been doing this since he was a little kid. As the saying goes, they were “treed and freed” and we hiked back to the truck! Day 2 was really slow simply because of the weather. It was supposed to quit snowing but it didn’t, paired with extremely high winds, which made it very difficult because the tracks continued to get covered up. The ones they came across could’ve been fresh, but due to the conditions they all appeared to be older, making it tough to cut a track. By the way, when I say “cut a track,” I’m referring to driving the roads and looking for a fresh mountain lion track. To all the newbies reading, you’re welcome!
Day 3 was more promising as we let the hounds work two different tracks. The first was a little older track but it ran into dry ground which becomes difficult for the dogs to stay on, and the 2nd track had the dogs running 8-10 miles then we ran out of light. It can get sketchy pretty quick being stuck on some of those mountains, and we were in some rugged terrain.
PC: Brady Harang // @highmark_pictures
On the 4th day of my hunt, it all came together. I had a feeling it would, but you never really know. Even when you can watch them on the Garmin devices (handheld, collars, and screen all linked) and clearly see that you have a cat treed, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll shoot. It comes down to personal preference and I really wanted a nice mature cat. The conditions were just perfect. The temperature had dropped to 3 degrees, it snowed throughout the night then stopped, and the wind was mild. Sure enough, Trevor cut a track super early that morning and we ended up waiting for over an hour for it to lighten up before releasing the dogs! The guys seems to think that there might’ve been more than one lion this time too, but I was just looking for one :)
I feel really lucky because the cat circled back, which meant that I was able to watch the dogs work directly toward us. Typically you release the dogs and don’t see them again until you reach the tree, but on special occasions you might get to watch them zig-zag down a hillside with their nose to the ground ant tails wagging, doing what they do best. It’s incredible what they’re capable of and how much passion they have for it. Similar to other hunts with dogs (upland game, waterfowl, hog hunting, and blood tracking), they’re just hungry for it. The live for it and nothing makes them happier than treeing a cat. While I did have a tag in my pocket and I made a good shot, the dogs are the real MVPs on a hunt like this. Of course, we must give credit to the person behind them too, and I’m very grateful for the experience I had with Trevor and his crew!
Looking back, I’d say that mountain lion hunting is one of the most diverse hunts I’ve been on because it can go from 0 to 100 real quick. Furthermore, the hounds may tree a lion miles away or right off the road. It simply depends on when the cat decides to stop running. I can see how houndsmen get addicted to the chase because it’s not often that you see a pack of dogs working together so flawlessly, then witnessing the ultimate predator at 10 yards away, or get taken to the type of terrain that mountain lions like to live in. I wouldn’t personally go play around on cliffs if I wasn’t following the dogs - just saying! As always, hunting provides me with new experiences that open my eyes to so much more than a life without it.
