Continued from my opening days alpine 4 point thread
So got the 4 point packed up fully boned out and with a rough trim and started to head back to camp. a rough 600m walk through a rough cut to the trail to camp. I get to camp and it is now pitch black but it’s only 8 and the trail home is an old logging road so its open, pretty flat and best of all it’s mostly downhill all the way back to car a roughly 6km walk, no problem done it before with a buck in previous years.
Start walking, all good 120# pack just trucking along and then I see two big eyes staring right back at me 11-12 yards to my left and off the road a few feet. Immediately I assess the situation as dangerous animal encounter. Draw my rifle from my pack in about 1 second and then chamber a round.
I have hiking poles in one hand. .308 savage mode 11 in the other and I immediately go on the offensive kicking dirt, yehawwin and then fire a shot in front of it into the ground.
Doesnt blink
Now I’m taking it to next level and rushing through my brain is a couple options.
Shooting what I assume is a cougar and then dealing with that situation. Continuing to the car Turning around and getting the cat then back home and I work the next day and then taking To a CO and sorting that whole situation out.
Really not what I wanted to do 2 days into the deer season. But ofcourse this does not trump option 2 which is
I don’t shoot and then maybe the cougar makes the attack and then I have to shoot into darkness and make a low odd shot and have to deal with a cougar attacking me.
I want to buy some more time to assess the situation further and still try and scare the cat away
So i shoot at it again into the dirt and it turns its head
complete darkness now and complete silence.........
couple seconds go by and it is half the distance closer and you know Im staring straight back right into two big eyes again.
So now all I’m thinking is I’m going home tonight and I’m taking this f*kin deer with me. And if that’s a problem for this cougar then bring it on
i know it’s either shoot now or remove myself from the situation immediately. I point the gun right at its face and full beast mode just kicking and yehawwwin right at it walk by. Continue to check my 360 degree every 20 seconds for a good hour
The reason I didn’t shoot was because even though I know it was a cougar I couldn’t actually see it to make that ID even though without a doubt in my mind it was a cougar scoping me out as a Wounded deer. I even looked the part with antlers on top on my pack Smelled like fresh meat. It’s eyes were huge. it was completely silent and it’s mannerisms the whole situation say cougar to me
So with all that I think this is a safe assumption to make that this was ofcourse a 100% official confirmed fact evidence of Sasquatch.
Stay safe out there