muleskinner Report post Posted October 28, 2011 That is the same test that New Mexico is using. I believe Colorado was using it for a while before New Mexico instituted it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted October 28, 2011 Wahoo!!! I no longer have the smallest cat on CWT!!! Congrats... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted October 28, 2011 Every year I buy a lion tag. I don't care if it's male or female, as long it is a legal cat to kill I am going to pull the trigger. CONGRATS on your lion kill! Your trophy is your own opinion. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
25-06 Report post Posted October 28, 2011 Well said. Well said. Check your pm or give me a call at (520) 298-8558 Thanks, Terry Lambeth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Report post Posted October 28, 2011 David, I'm not faulting your effort to find the wounded cat. Sounds like you made an honest effort to do the right thing. I'm sure the vast majority of deer hunters would have done exactly what you did if given the opportunity. My problem is with the decision making process that led to the wounding of the first cat, and the eventual killing of a kitten. At 400 yards it's obviously impossible to determine anything about a lion, other than the fact that it is a cat. My state has begun requiring lion hunters to pass a gender identification test before they hunt lions. The only way to do that in the wild is to use dogs to pursue and tree the cat. Otherwise how do you know you're not killing a female with dependent kittens? Judging from some of the sentiments expressed, such as,"another deer eater down", " glad you killed it before it could eat too many deer," some could care less about respecting an awesome big game animal such as a lion. I have a big problem with opinions based on ignorance when it comes to lions. The myths about how many deer they kill has been debunked on this site previously, yet the perception still hangs on that lions are the scourge of deer populations. I guess now we can start saying things like, "another javelina killer down." I would like to suggest that you get your friend with dogs to trail and tree a cat for your son so that you can make an accurate assesment of the quality of the trophy before he pulls the trigger. A mature tom with a good head on him is much better trophy than a kitten just barely out of spots. As far as my tracking skills go, I would'nt put them up against anyone else. I'm not sure I could track myself out of the woods if i had to. Thank God for gps. Me and the guys I hunt with don't kill females if it can be avoided. That just our preference. I would like to think we will have a viable lion population for my grandkids to enjoy. I truly hope your son can harvest a trophy cat. It's an experience of a lifetime. Please accept my comments in the spirit they are offered and I wish you the best on your hunt. "Please accept my comments in the spirit they are offered" Think I just threw up in my mouth a little...The man had been hunting for 29 years and had never seen a lion...Who are you to judge the quality of his "trophy"? If you are a lion hunter and pursuit them on a regular basis then yeah, you probably wouldn't want to harvest females. I find it hard to believe the females and yearlings taken by spot and stalk methods have much impact on the population. "Me and the guys I hunt with don't kill females if it can be avoided"...What does "if it can be avoided" mean? You have killed females in the past? Congrats on your spot and stalk lion azhuntnut! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Browns Report post Posted October 28, 2011 I agree that we(Hunters)should do our best to harvest mature animals. With that said, If I have a tag and an opportunity at a Lion (female, male or yearling) I will do my best to kill it or scare the crap out of it. Any Lion in my opinon is a true TROPHY! Way to go! Congrats on a great TROPHY! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willhunt4coues Report post Posted October 28, 2011 Like I have said before no matter what you get evem if it is a monster someone will start crap or say its wrong. Congrats on a TRUE Trophy of a life time. I have been big game hunting for 22 years and never have seen a lion other than trail cam pics. SO CONGRATS ON A GREAT TROPHY!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muleskinner Report post Posted October 29, 2011 CaptainObvious....hope you did'nt choke on your own puke...I personally have never killed a female cat...one of my hunting buddies treed a female that had been killing goats...a game warden was along on the hunt due to the depredation nature of the deal...my buddie tried to talk him into tranqulizing the lion and relocating her...no deal, the game warden insisted on killing the lion...that is what I meant by "if it can be avoided". Everyone on this forum is entitled to their opinion on this subject. I respect that right. I have expressed mine and I feel that it is equally as valid as yours or anyone else. We are blessed to live in a society where we have the privilege of stating our opinion. I try to wear my big boy pants when I comment on this forum. So far i've never had to go home crying about anything that was said. Just telling you how I feel about it. Feel free to fill the walls with any cat big enough to chew its own food. That's your right. It's my right to disagree with it. I don't hunt lions in Arizona, so your not hurting my lion population. Peace be unto all who venture forth to slay El Gato. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muleskinner Report post Posted October 29, 2011 azhuntnut...I do owe you an apology for hijacking your thread...did'nt even realize how it came across until too late. I should have introduced this as another thread to be discussed. I'll try to be a little more considerate in the future. I did'nt intend for this to take on a personal nature, but I'm afrais it has. Again, I apologize. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Report post Posted October 29, 2011 CaptainObvious....hope you did'nt choke on your own puke...I personally have never killed a female cat...one of my hunting buddies treed a female that had been killing goats...a game warden was along on the hunt due to the depredation nature of the deal...my buddie tried to talk him into tranqulizing the lion and relocating her...no deal, the game warden insisted on killing the lion...that is what I meant by "if it can be avoided". Everyone on this forum is entitled to their opinion on this subject. I respect that right. I have expressed mine and I feel that it is equally as valid as yours or anyone else. We are blessed to live in a society where we have the privilege of stating our opinion. I try to wear my big boy pants when I comment on this forum. So far i've never had to go home crying about anything that was said. Just telling you how I feel about it. Feel free to fill the walls with any cat big enough to chew its own food. That's your right. It's my right to disagree with it. I don't hunt lions in Arizona, so your not hurting my lion population. Peace be unto all who venture forth to slay El Gato. I didn't choke to bad...it just left a bad taste in my mouth...Your opinion is fine. The self-rightous way you express your opinion is...interesting? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
El Fuego Report post Posted October 29, 2011 Wahoo!!! I no longer have the smallest cat on CWT!!! Congrats... That is not true Casey. Dave has the largest kitten and you still have the smallest cat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigorange Report post Posted October 30, 2011 Every year I buy a lion tag. I don't care if it's male or female, as long it is a legal cat to kill I am going to pull the trigger. CONGRATS on your lion kill! Your trophy is your own opinion. +1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted November 1, 2011 Don't know how I missed this post David. Congratulations on your first lion and hope your son can follow in Dad's footsteps with one of his own. TJ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZwest16 Report post Posted November 2, 2011 Don't really understand how someone can criticize another hunter on what he or she considers a trophy. In the looks of that picture the cat doesn't have spots or anything else that would come off as being a kitten especially at over three hundred yards. Pretty easy to make that determination while standing underneath a tree looking up at a cat and not having to make a split second decision. Congrats to the hunter on taking such an illusive animal and I hope that his son does shoot the adult female so that deer and rabbit population wont take a big hit. lol maybe not the rabbits. All I know is Desert Bighorn sheep populations have not been on the rise as of the last ten years and a big reason for that is Lions. You take a couple of lions in the summer time and they sit water holes or trick tanks for days on ends just slaughtering the sheep. Without trapping being legal in Arizona I don't think the lion population will ever take a big hit. just my two cents 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted November 2, 2011 David, I'm not faulting your effort to find the wounded cat. Sounds like you made an honest effort to do the right thing. I'm sure the vast majority of deer hunters would have done exactly what you did if given the opportunity. My problem is with the decision making process that led to the wounding of the first cat, and the eventual killing of a kitten. At 400 yards it's obviously impossible to determine anything about a lion, other than the fact that it is a cat. My state has begun requiring lion hunters to pass a gender identification test before they hunt lions. The only way to do that in the wild is to use dogs to pursue and tree the cat. Otherwise how do you know you're not killing a female with dependent kittens? Judging from some of the sentiments expressed, such as,"another deer eater down", " glad you killed it before it could eat too many deer," some could care less about respecting an awesome big game animal such as a lion. I have a big problem with opinions based on ignorance when it comes to lions. The myths about how many deer they kill has been debunked on this site previously, yet the perception still hangs on that lions are the scourge of deer populations. I guess now we can start saying things like, "another javelina killer down." I would like to suggest that you get your friend with dogs to trail and tree a cat for your son so that you can make an accurate assesment of the quality of the trophy before he pulls the trigger. A mature tom with a good head on him is much better trophy than a kitten just barely out of spots. As far as my tracking skills go, I would'nt put them up against anyone else. I'm not sure I could track myself out of the woods if i had to. Thank God for gps. Me and the guys I hunt with don't kill females if it can be avoided. That just our preference. I would like to think we will have a viable lion population for my grandkids to enjoy. I truly hope your son can harvest a trophy cat. It's an experience of a lifetime. Please accept my comments in the spirit they are offered and I wish you the best on your hunt. Sir, I respect your oppinion, and have no idea where you hale from... however here in AZ we could have a "Witch hunt" for lions and not put a dent in them. One of my buddy's since childhood is a top houndsman in this state and some would say that he has killed every worthy cat within 10 miles of his house and yet we still get Big mature toms on trail cam in that 10 mile radius of his house... He and his hunting partner killed like 24 cats last year for clients and under ADBSS & ADA contracts across the state... bet they do it again this year. We ran a cat that we had just killed a Coues fawn 2 weeks ago but lost the trail in the bears... that cat went right back to hunting after finishing less than 1/3 of the kill, we trailed it for 5 miles zig-zagging through prime coues habitat where I have picked up lion kills in the past. I spoke to a veteran lion hunter recently about this cat we chased going right back to hunting and he told me the most fresh deer kills he ever trailed over to catch one cat was 4... 4 deer in one week killed by one cat? Guess it could be called "feast or famine"?? Good antelope hunters kill coyotes... Good Deer and Sheep hunters kill lions... atleast here in AZ. Way to go David! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
