CouesPursuit Report post Posted November 11, 2020 And I'm not talking about the current state of the nation. I knew the odds of me drawing a sheep tag were slim to none, but it happened in 2019. The odds of what happened on my deer hunt this past weekend however, had to be far slimmer and certainly unbelievable without proof. Whether the destination of the day or the particular part of a ridge or canyon, I have told myself a hundred times "that is where you're going to find a lion." With an abundance of hunting pressure on opening day of the third coues hunt in the unit, I went 2.5 miles to the deepest and darkest canyon available from my hunt party's area before sunrise on Saturday. The drainage of the canyon was surprisingly void of deer at first light, so my partner and I kept on the last several hundred yards up a shale face that crested into one of the steepest and biggest Google Earth tricks that I've ever played on myself. I immediately thought, "crap it is going to be tough to find a buck in here, but this HAS to be lion country." One tucked in doe and 5 minutes later, and I had finally found what I'd been dreaming of every day on the mountain for the last 18 years. There sunning sideways on a large boulder along a steep draw, stretched out my first glassed lion with no idea we had slipped into its lair. Unbelievable. The excitement nearly doubled when my rangefinder read a number starting with one of a few magical digits, 4. With the state of cat and a series of boulders and rock faces to navigate through, I closed the number to 400 yards even and set up prone. I waited for an hour and a half as it roll occasionally from side to side. I tried to guess how everything would play out including when, how and for how long it would get up for a stretch, but I was in no mans land. I knew nothing first hand about their daytime behavior and came to the conclusion it could be hours before anything changed. With a solid rest, no kittens joining the party and a forecast of high winds picking up well before noon, it was time to put all the load and range work to use. Timed to a break in the early morning gusts, 2 quick reports and a cloud of dust rising from the rock pile beneath is all that could be seen. For the first time ever, the deer tag in my pocket didn't matter anymore. We found 3 kills all within a few hundred yards. Upon arrival, I feared the lion had crawled its way into a hole that I was going to have to dig out similar to several javelina over the years. But luck continued on my side. My first lion, a 2-3 year-old female. Another first was my young cousin's buck on Friday, his first day ever hunting. Obvious first timer with his headlamp still on his head at noon. I hadn't noticed all day or when taking the photos either! Haha. It was also my first weekend with a new pack and I couldn't have carried the lion out like I did for camp to appreciate without it. A buck on Friday and a 80-90 pound lion on Saturday - what a way to break it in. The Savage LWH has also taken a sheep, coues and lion all within the last year with the 6.5 ELD-X doing its job 3/3, dead right there. And the most unbelievable part? After 18 years behind binoculars across the state with zero lions spotted, a second lion on Sunday after creeping into just 380 yards. It didn't have a care in the world, like it knew none of us had another tag in our pocket. We watched it along with deer a couple hundred yards to both sides for an hour before we let it lay and moved along. I've always heard "anything can happen" when it comes to hunting, and after the last 2 years, it isn't so unbelievable anymore. 37 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flatlander Report post Posted November 11, 2020 Way cool. Congrats to you! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigorange Report post Posted November 11, 2020 That’s awesome...I usually never hunt without a lion tag and have never seen one. I was just thinking that I might not get a tag this year before my coues hunt. You’ve changed my mind. Huge congrats! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted November 11, 2020 Awesome! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaffer62 Report post Posted November 11, 2020 Dude!!! That’s awesome! Congrats on your cat! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DUG Report post Posted November 11, 2020 Very cool! Congrats!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewlyMinted Report post Posted November 11, 2020 First day hunting and an adventure for the books.. that's pretty good. You're the favorite cousin for sure. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eddielasvegas Report post Posted November 11, 2020 Great story and congrats. Eddie 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted November 11, 2020 You're a fantastic storyteller. Even better is you had photos to accompany your words. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Congratulations on you and your cousins' success! *Note to self, have everyone in camp buy a lion tag! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted November 11, 2020 Amazing story! Thanks for the photo. That is a great trophy. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted November 11, 2020 WOW! Huge congrats to you. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azbirdhunter88 Report post Posted November 11, 2020 That pic with the lion on pack is awesome. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NOTAGS Report post Posted November 11, 2020 What a Day! WOW! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted November 11, 2020 Man that's awesome. Great write-up and pictures too! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
high rise hunter Report post Posted November 11, 2020 Wowza! What a story and fun read. Thanks for sharing! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
