Mountain lion encounters

[boardwalk72]

How many of you have ever run into a mountain lion while archery hunting? I did a couple of years ago. We had a 50 yard staring contest before light early in the morning for about a half hour before it moved on. I came around a bend heading to a spot I wanted to sit and there it was. Didn't want to turn my back and go up the way I came down because it was a good climb back so I just hung out and waited.

 

[Seeknelk]

I was hunting in SW MT and got to a potential ambush spot before first light. At daylight about 200 yards away I noticed a couple dark shapes. Binos showed 4 good size lions, all the same relatively full size , walking out of the lodgepole and I watched them cross 500 yards or more of short grass alpine. Thought I was in the Serengeti for a minute.
Another time walking a grassy gated road at the bottom of a clear cut to where the creek below had a wallow, my buddy nearly stepped on a Mt lion laying a foot off the road. I saw it run by me where I had dropped to go after a grouse.
We then proceeded to nap by the wallow for 4 hrs and later I noticed a hoof sticking out of a pile of junk. The cat had just killed it that morning and then we ran it off and slept in the shade on its kill

 

[grfox92]

Closest I have ever come was having lion tracks in my morning boot tracks on the way out in the afternoon. I was able to follow the tracks where they came from and determined that cat was in a tree 20 yards off the trail when I walked by it that morning.

This year in Southern WY my uncle was sitting against a tree cow calling and caught movement to his left. It was a lion crouched down walking away from him. He was attentively watching for elk and has no idea how it got so close to him before he saw it.

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[gabenzeke]

In weminuche wilderness a few years back we woke up multiple mornings in different places with lion tracks around our tents. Never saw one that trip. Saw one in southern Colorado as we were getting our packs on. It came flying down the trail toward the trailhead and ran off into some thick brush. I assume someone ahead of us scared it.

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[jdmaxwell]

We had one in SW Colorado way to close. I saw it at 40 yds as it walked to my wife who was sitting.. I jumped up and hollered to spook it...
It was 15 yds from her...she was afraid to move.

 

[MallardSX2]

I keep a fist full of catnip in my friends hidden backpack pocket. No worries from this guy.

 

[SoloWilderness]

Spiked out on a ridge a few years ago, was eating my breakfast and glassing the basins below when a good size cat came strolling out of the trees about 100 yards from where I had been sleeping an hour earlier, looked at me and ghosted back into the trees. Spooky.

 

[MattB]

Not me but a month ago a buddy was sneaking on some bucks and ran out of light. When he turned around to head back to his Jeep he noticed that there was a mountain lion 25 yards behind him. It blew out of there as soon as he made eye contact. Seems he was stalking deer and it was stalking him.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Saw this younger female mountain lion in a tree along a thick creek bank in central Utah. No problems. She was not acting aggressive or vocal. Happy hunting, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

 

[Valumpessa]

Deer hunting in 2011. Working my way back to the truck through thick timber and underbrush breaking branches and clearing a trail as I went. Right as I came out into a small opening I caught a flash of brown fur directly to my right. First thought was I jumped a deer, but soon realized it was a lion, about 10 yards away! She had been perched up on a stump just waiting to see what was making all the noise in the brush. She jumped down and just stood there broadside staring at me. Plenty of time to shoulder my rifle and take a shot. Not a huge cat but man that was unnerving having one so close.

 

[Koyote]

Had 3 encounters under 50 yds in the last few years. Had a staring contest at 42 yds with one for a few minutes. Another time we scared one off a deer kill at about 6 yds. When we came back by the next morning, there was a calf elk nearly completely eaten in the exact same spot. Must've been a female with kittens to be eating that much

 

[Seeknelk]

Remembered another one....was still hunting with my yew self bow hoping to fill a doe tag. It was wet and quiet going. Saw a large brown hindquarter that was too low to the ground to be a deer, slide behind some trees/cover at about 45-50 yards. I had a lion tag and it was slowly dawning on me thats what it was as it came out the other side of the trees blocking my view. I quickly knocked an arrow and it stopped with a small balsam fir blocking it's vitals partly. I center punched it. The tree. Not the cat. I ran after it a little barking trying to tree it but that didn't work.

 

[TripleJ]

We have so many here anymore, I see an average of 1 a year while hunting, between deer and elk season. Called in 1 this year during archery elk season. I always have a cougar tag, one of these years it will work out and and I will get one.

 

[TheHammer]

Last year in central Co with a young male at 30yds, he didn’t as so much blink, just looked straight through me, of course my pack was too heavy and I left my pistol at the truck.. thankfully we went separate ways. This year in southern co I ran into a very large cat, when I noticed it, it was about 100yds away. It didn’t seem to like I was near by and it trotted off. Had me a little paranoid for a day.

 

[Dust Rider]

Three different encounters in SW MT. Two archery hunting one rifle hunting. One encounter in eastern MT pheasant hunting.

scariest run in was a cat on a angus calf carcass. It did not like me 40 yards away as I walked up a cow trail totally oblivious to it and its kill. I was 21. Backed away with an arrow knocked. Cat was hunched up and making a low growl. Went that afternoon to Bob Wards and bought my first 44mag.

During rifle we were tracking a few cow elk in snow and a lion got between us and the elk about 150 yards away. The Tom looked at us for a minute and kept stalking after the cows. We let him have that hunt. Quota was already filled for the unit so we couldn’t shoot him.

 

[Maverick1]

3 times.
First time a lion was chasing a mule deer and they went tearing through about 40 yards away.

Second time I cow-called one into 90 yards; promptly stopped calling!

Third time I was over a water hole, 6’ up in a tree. Male came in to take a drink at 13 yards, walked right under the tree I was in.

 

[khart_6882]

One year guiding it was midday and upper 90’s. I took this ol boy from Wisconsin down into a dark draw where an old logging road had kinda washed out and the creek kinda flooded the road. We sat under a tree 30 yards away, I told him he can cow call if he wants or just hang out.

I laid back and put my hat over my face to catch a nap in the shade. I was dang near asleep when I heard him hit his hoochie mama one time. Not 20 seconds later I heard his bow let an arrow loose.

I sat up like the frickin Undertaker and asked him what happened. He shouted “I shot a gol dang puma!”

Once he gathered his composure he told me as soon as he hit that cow call the cat stuck his head up on the other side of the logging road from us, maybe 15 yards away. He shot it right under the chin, cat maybe went 30 yards and was dead.


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[RuggedYogi]

Not a lion, but my buddy’s GSP treed this bobcat a couple weeks ago. We walked up expecting to flush grouse and saw this guy instead!

 

[griebel303]

Last day of Colorado archery this year hiking in at first light, 4 lions coming down the hill I was going up. By the time we all saw each other they were about 40 yds away and proceeded to blow out the opposite direction, only making a few chirps before disappearing. One was definitely larger than the other 3 so I suspect a female with juveniles. Bird chirps and squirrel barks had me thinking they were coming back for me all day.

Outside of archery I have run into lions two different times during November rifle hunts. Both at first light, one a mature Tom who watched me for a minute then casually walked the other way and the other seemed to be a bit younger and was after some mule deer and missed his stalk. I watched him for a bit playing with a stick before the wind shifted and then he ran. I ended up killing a nice buck 100 yards from where I saw them 30 minutes later.

 

[def90]

I’ve been in Colorado 23 years now and have yet to see one in person.