nhunter84 Report post Posted January 3, 2012 Here is a lion I caught for my dad. It was an awesome hunt and experience to get to share with my old man and brother. On another note, I read a bunch of posts on here and other sites from deer hunters who think the woods are crawling with them things. My advice is buy a puppy and try and make a dog with no help and then come talk to me about the number of lions in the woods. They are an awesome trophy and deserve some respect. I like deer hunting and I like lion hunting. No desire to kill every deer or every lion. At the same token I have no problem with people shooting lions, just dont like reading stories about having to kill every one you see or flinging lead from absurd distances and shooting at them with the intent just to hit a lion anywhere just cause it eats a few deer. JMO Nate Ive glassed up or seen 12 over the years and enjoyed watching them do their thing. I got to watch one try and kill a coues once and honestly I was rooting for the lion. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Becker Report post Posted January 3, 2012 DANG!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yotebuster Report post Posted January 4, 2012 WOW!!! Awesome tom!! Congrats! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted January 4, 2012 That thing looks like a BEAST! Congratulations! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azpackhorse Report post Posted January 4, 2012 Holy moly, that is an impressive animal! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gr8 White Jr Report post Posted January 4, 2012 What a monster of a cat! Congrats to you and your dad on such a beast! -Tracy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted January 4, 2012 Wow that thing is huge. On another note, there are tons of lions out there and not many people will argue the fact there aren't a ton of lions. I have seen 5, all within 30 yards or less, mostly less. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted January 4, 2012 Congrats to your Dad. That's an awesome lion and thanks for sharing. Nothing like hunting with Dad to build the memory bank. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted January 4, 2012 Great lion Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted January 4, 2012 What a nice trophy! Beast Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunter4life Report post Posted January 4, 2012 Well firstcoueswas80, I guess it all depends on your definition of "tons of lions." Based on research in NM there is estimated to be 3-4/100 square kilometers of excellent habitat, and 1.2-1.7/100 square kilometers of good habitat. There has been a lot of pretty interesting research on lions done in the past few years across the Western US with GPS collars and it does not always show what people thought was true. An ongoing study in NM on Ted Turners' Ladder Ranch on the East side of the Gila found that lions there were killing one large prey species every 11-12 days, not every week as is often seen quoted by uninformed people. Just do a web search on lion studies and you will find lots of interesting reading. Luckily I had the time off work and was able to go along with my dad and brother when they killed the lion shown above. It was an awesome hunt and it ended with a huge Tom by any standard, but especially for coming from Southern NM. This lion stopped by what was likely a previous kill from a few weeks before. It was a spike elk that was smelling a bit ripe and you can see how the rib cage has a whole chewed through it so he could get at the organs. Last weekend I hiked 15 miles in a 10 day old snow in what is considered excellent lion habitat for NM and only cut one several day old lion track. Sometimes I wish there were tons of lions because then they would be easier to find when you wanted to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff Welker Report post Posted January 4, 2012 A wonderful lion - well done. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.270 Report post Posted January 4, 2012 first off, that's a big ol' tom. but why do you new mexicans keep hollerin' at us Az guys because we feel like we have a lotta lions? and 100 square kilometers is a place about 6 miles x 6 miles. a little over that actually, but a lot less than 7x7. 3 to 4 lions seems like quite a few in a 6x6 mile square. a survey done on the ladder ranch in new mexico doesn't have a lotta bearing on what we have in Az. just the fact it was done on the ladder makes me look at the "facts" sorta skepticaly. but that is big ol' tom. now bring them mutts over here and sniff some up on dry ground. you can shoot one a day in most areas. Lark. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
izquik72 Report post Posted January 4, 2012 Great looking cat. You stated earlier you had hiked over 15 miles to cut one "old" track How many miles did it take for you guys to get on the cat your father harvested? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted January 4, 2012 first off, that's a big ol' tom. but why do you new mexicans keep hollerin' at us Az guys because we feel like we have a lotta lions? and 100 square kilometers is a place about 6 miles x 6 miles. a little over that actually, but a lot less than 7x7. 3 to 4 lions seems like quite a few in a 6x6 mile square. a survey done on the ladder ranch in new mexico doesn't have a lotta bearing on what we have in Az. just the fact it was done on the ladder makes me look at the "facts" sorta skepticaly. but that is big ol' tom. now bring them mutts over here and sniff some up on dry ground. you can shoot one a day in most areas. Lark. +1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
