Mtnmax vs Cougar

[mtnmax]

I have been reading way more than writing on here lately but this was way too exciting/scaring not to share.
About a week ago phoneguy posted up he was coming to Peachland to try and fill a leh doe white tail, so I offered up to show him were I have been seeing some. Sat morn Nov 10 met up with phoneguy and his 2 buddies, quick chit chat introductions and we are off. We get to a fork in the road were we will be seperating as I want to hunt a small patch of bush as a buck has been hanging around. I sent the guys down a road with lots of hope for them as the does have been consistant there. As for me it was going to be a short hunt and then back to town for kids parties and photos. I hop out of the truck,gear up, short walk and into the bush about 100yrds to find myself standing comfortably under a tree nice and dry from the rain. I was watching a small open area with lots of promise ( in my mind ). About 1/2hr goes by when I hear a slight crach of a twig come from my left. Excitiment quickly fills the body,I tell myself stay colm,turm my head to the left, HOLY $H!T :shock: thats a friggen cougar comin straight at me!!!! Talk about going from excitement to complete scared. Inside 10yrds that thing got one right between the ears, fell on the spot, I think I started breathing again after that.:oops: Everthing happened so fast as I was standing there shaking I still didn't really absorb what just happened. The one animal I have always wanted to see and never have in 13yrs of hunting and this was deffinetly not the way I figured it would happen. Anyways after a couple moments to get some thoughts I taped the tree I standing beside, left the cat were it lay and taped my way out. Quick march back to the truck, got cell service and phoned in the situation. I explained what happened to the operater ( RAPP ) and then did the same to the CO who phoned me. He gave me some insrtruction of what he wanted ( clean the cat, bring it out and meet up with him ) and a couple hours later, some conversation and the cat was off to penticton and I was going home to change my shorts.
Thanks to phoneguy and his crew for sticking around helping clean the cat and cariing it out with me. He has lots of pictures as I left my camera at home. These guys ar A1 in my mind!
The CO I delt with was also a stand up guy, answered lots questions,was very helpfull and not the sterio type throw the book at you attitude.
Every time I go hunting I learn something new.This trip I lert I can keep my head in the game when seconds count and not to pannic.
Its kind of weird,,I have the erge to go hunting even more now.:smile:
Oh ys,,it was a 3yr old female and healthy. No kittens.
Mtnmax

[Deaddog]

wow, sounds like that cat had you in mind for dinner, good for you that you were able to stay calm and take care of business. Good to hear that your experience with the co was positive.

[hunter1947]

Good for you that you dropped her. That same thing happened to me about 4 years ago ,it is a scary thing to encounter for sure ,can't wait to see the pic.

[springpin]

freaky. I have only seen cats from a good distance, and that's close enough.

[BCLongshot]

Holy poop !!!!!

It's fun hunting them but not being hunted by THEM or HER

[Bow Walker]

I must've missed something here..........was she charging or just putting the stalk on you?

If she was charging you - or even moving fast - good on you for keeping you head and acting swiftly. I don;t know whether or not I could've done the same.

[Brambles]

She had plans of making you kitty poo, hopefully everything works out for you.

[Will]

She had plans of making you kitty poo, hopefully everything works out for you.
I'll second that.....hope in the end they see it the same way as you did;-)
Thanks for the Cat tale :smile:

[gearjunkierob]

And we all know how bad kitty poo stinks....imagine if it was tainted with mtnmax??? Yuck!

Good job Mtnmax, lately we've been joking about falling asleep in the bush (which I have done whle watching clearings) and waking up with a cougar licking your face. Good incentive to stay awake - plus then I might actually see some deer!

[buckguy]

WOW! Can't even imagine ...good thing the twigs were a little crunchy. Always good to be aware of your surroundings, and good on ya for doing what had to be done!:eek:

[Phoneguy]

After we heard the two shots we figured MtnMax was into something so we figured we could help him out with cleaning or carrying. When we pulled up behind Ken's truck he popped out real fast, hair straight up (must of been the hat!:)) with eyes big as big as plates, talking pretty quick too!
We were glad to stay with Ken, moral support and all. Very generous of him to take us in and show us a likely area. Hasn't worked out for us and Whitetail yet but...... after leaving Ken we headed up towards Headwaters for a look for a muley buck, and ended up with a 4x7. That will be another post, but if we hadn't hung back we would have never seen it!
Hopefully I will be able to get some pics up tomorrow. We are going for one more morning hunt in Darke Lk, coming back to the inlaws house to pack and then head to the coast tomorrow night.

Thanks for the morning Ken!

James

[BlacktailStalker]

And the pictures ??

[bayou]

first story said one shot other guys say thet heard two just curious which it was.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Man! I've hardly been able to keep my eyes open lately while hunting whitetails. I think I'd better throw some Red Bulls in my pack:roll:.

Good shooting! It's good to know that you can perform at crunch time. You never know until it happens to you.

SSS

[mtnmax]

After I shot it , I wasn't really sure of were I did but that cat was floopen all over, I was a bit shaky ans nervous so kitty got a second just for good measure. As it turned out kitty didn't need the second as the first was good enough. The CO asked me that aswell. Why 2 shots? I told him the same- $h!t scare and the cat was still moving!!!!!!

[Seeadler]

Can't wait for pics.

This is the reason I buy a cougar tag, I think that I am due to see one.

[Phoneguy]

Here is a couple of pictures:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/Phoneguy_Canuck/Hunting/Nov%202007/Kens%20Cougar/KensCougar014.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/Phoneguy_Canuck/Hunting/Nov%202007/Kens%20Cougar/KensCougar008.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/Phoneguy_Canuck/Hunting/Nov%202007/Kens%20Cougar/KensCougar021.jpg

[Islandeer]

Yowser!! Good shooting!

[Brambles]

You were scared of that little thing, I'd lay a smackdown on it:twisted:

You should have tried a little "hand to hand" with her before you pulled out the "equilizer" you don't get many chances to fight a cougar "mano eh mano" you should have made the most of it:biggrin:

Nice job

Brambles

[hunter1947]

Nice pic ,and good shot ,one less cat to worry about.

[Walksalot]

That must have been an intense situation.

A few years ago my son and I had a cougar walk within 30 ft. of us. We were sitting on a scrape line when I saw movement. My first thought was "what a small deer" but then I realized it was a cougar. I whistled softy to my son who slowly turned around to watch the cat walk straight toward us. The wind was in our face so we knew the cat didn't know we were there. At 30 ft or it could have even been less it finally saw us and came to a grinding halt. It stared at us for a few seconds and then bounded away.

[rfraser]

You were scared of that little thing, I'd lay a smackdown on it:twisted:

You should have tried a little "hand to hand" with her before you pulled out the "equilizer" you don't get many chances to fight a cougar "mano eh mano" you should have made the most of it:biggrin:

Nice job

Brambles


I would have to agree :) maybe add a hunting knife for safety's sake...good shot

[Phoneguy]

I saw where he was standing and where the cougar fell. No discussion, one leap and there might have been a whole different outcome! Ken did what he felt was necessary so that he could go home and see his family. It is easy to second guess from behind a keyboard. For myself I hope I am never put in a position that I have to react that fast. I would have (tried to) do the same thing.

James

[whitetailsheds]

Friend up here in the South Peace had to put a 70-80 lb. female down near the end of this Sept. He was cow calling elk and heard some grass/ twigs moving around behind him. Turned around to find her in pounce mode. He gave a shout/ wave and she took 2 more crawling steps toward him, so he took care of what needed taking care of. C.O.'s checked her out and she was quite malnourished.

[Marc]

Good call on shooting the cat, I would have done the same thing. I've got no reason for doubting his story and those things have sharp claws and teeth and was stocking him. If the CO cleared him of any wrong doing then that's the end of it. Good on him for calling it in, many others wouldn't have.

Marc.

[horshur]

Glad you made out okay--it is a surreal experience--long time ago long before I ever had dogs I had a cougar come up out of a road ditch from about a 70 feet and run right at me--a screech or throaty sound as she came. I thought it was an owl or somthin the spot on her tail floating in the air. She stopped short 10 paces and growled that throaty sound and twitched her tail as I shot her in the chest..........The CO was involved for it was October. When the dogs found her he told me "Nice shot" I had hit her dead on in the chest a little to the right. I can still see that tail twitching. I took a pic also for I had never seen one before on the Co's tailgate.

An a recent report of a hunter not so lucky or quik on the draw:


__________________________________________________ _______

Posted: Monday, Nov 12, 2007 - 11:37:48 pm MST
By JIM MANN/Daily Inter Lake

Lion pounces on hunter

Backpack saves man from more serious injuries

A big-game hunter was jumped by a stalking mountain lion Sunday in the Swan Valley’s Squeezer Creek drainage.

The young man, who was not identified by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, managed to walk several miles to reach his vehicle, then drive himself to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for treatment.

The hunter suffered a gash on his leg as well as puncture wounds and scratches, according to a press release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He was treated at the hospital and released on Sunday.


Warden Chuck Bartos interviewed the hunter several times and said the man was hunting alone Sunday morning when he heard a scream that sounded like a mountain lion. A short time later, he heard a growl and turned to see the mountain lion only 10 to 15 feet away.

“The man dropped his rifle and rushed to get behind a tree. The lion quickly caught up and pounced on the hunter’s back, knocking him into the tree,” a press release from Fish, Wildlife and Parks states. “The collision caused the lion to lose its grip and the hunter was able to reach his pistol and fire a shot.”

The noise apparently spooked the lion, causing it to flee. As it ran, the hunter fired several more shots in the lion’s general direction.

The hunter picked up his rifle and made his way back to his pickup truck, along the way encountering two hunters from Kalispell, J.B. Stone and Scott Daumiller.

“We asked him if he saw [any game] and he said, ‘a lion, but it saw me first,’” Stone told the Inter Lake Monday. “I asked him if he was OK and he told us what happened.”

The hunter’s pants and backpack were torn, but he did not appear seriously injured, Stone said.

“He was pale and his hands were shaking like a leaf,” Stone said. “He was still coming down off of this thing. I mean, he was wound up.”

Stone said the hunter told them he had run the four miles back down the road while looking over his shoulder for the lion.

Bartos said the man got to the hospital with help from relatives and received five stitches for a claw wound on his right calf. He was treated for scratches on his back and a few puncture wounds on the back of his head.

Bartos said the man’s backpack probably prevented more serious injuries because the pack was shredded, reflecting the protection it provided.

Stone agreed, saying that if he hadn’t been wearing a backpack, “he would have been screwed.”

Stone said the worst wound was on the hunter’s right calf, where the cat slashed through the man’s gaiter and pants.

He related one humorous note from the injured hunter: “He said, ‘Oh, no, my wife is never going to let me go hunting alone again.’”

Eric Wenum, a regional wildlife conflict specialist, said it was the first documented lion attack resulting in an injury in Northwest Montana in many years.

Wenum said the chances of a lion encounter increase at this time of year as hunters use calls and rattling antlers that get the attention of predators as well as deer.

As deer congregate in their traditional wintering areas, signs of mountain lions can be expected to follow.

Encounters between people and the elusive cats have been rare.

“Given the number of people who recreate in the forests of Northwest Montana, and the number of lions, there’s always lots of potential for an encounter,” said Jim Williams, regional wildlife manager. “But even considering this potential, documented attacks are extremely rare.”

Wenum said there is no response to a mountain lion that guarantees a person’s safety, but there are some rules of thumb:

• Do not run from a lion. Move slowly and back away.

• Make enough noise in lion country to avoid a surprise encounter.

• Keep youngsters close and in sight at all times.

• Never approach a lion. Give it a way out of a close situation.

• Stay calm and talk to the lion in a confident voice.

• Do not turn your back; maintain eye contact.

• Do all you can to enlarge your profile. Do not crouch.

• If a lion behaves aggressively, arm yourself with a large stick. If the lion attacks fight back with whatever means you have.

• Pepper spray is very effective in deterring a lion attack

[Caveman]

Re: Hunter becoming the hunted??

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was out deer hunting one morning, turned around to look back up where I had just come and out of the corner of my eye caught some movement in the long grass about 15 feet away. He was crouched down, muscules rippling ready to pounce. My first thought was COOOL!!! a cougar, but then my senses kicked in and I decided I may only have one shot and felt a camera wasn't the one I should use. This was the result!

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c247/cavemn94/scan0017.jpg

So good on you Mtnmax for keeping your cool, I've been there, It's not a comfortable feeling to be on the other end of the food chain is it.

[Wildfoot]

hope you brought a touque to clean out the drawers after that!

Glad you are ok!

[bayou]

mtnmax I see you started another thread inregards to your cat that got locked. In it you say to call the CO and talk to him, I wouldnt mind talking to him about some stuff so if you could put up or send the name and number that would be great. Thanks

[jrjonesy]

After seeing what that cougar did to the tree under my stand on Saturday... you did the right thing. You may be a lot more fortunate to be unharmed than you realize. Great shot under pressure.

[mtnmax]

After seeing what that cougar did to the tree under my stand on Saturday... you did the right thing. You may be a lot more fortunate to be unharmed than you realize. Great shot under pressure.


On the weekend I was talking with a member from the South Okanagan Houndsman Club and this guy also knows the CO who delt with me and he looked me in the eye and said I was very lucky I turned my head and saw the cat when I did because the outcome otherwise could have been very serious, in favor of the cat.

I am starting to think what happened was way more serious than I think.

Ken

[Fisher-Dude]

mtnmax I see you started another thread inregards to your cat that got locked. In it you say to call the CO and talk to him, I wouldnt mind talking to him about some stuff so if you could put up or send the name and number that would be great. Thanks

Why must you insist on trolling on this website? I took a quick look at your other posts, and over 90% of them are condemnations of other posters, especially when hunting/killing of predators is involved.

This is not a "case" for you to investigate by yipping at the COs with "your opinion" on what transpired with the cat. The COs have investigated and are satisfied with what they found. Case closed.

[jrjonesy]

just notice I typed "cougar did to that tree" under my tree. Good one.:roll:

[Dragginbait]

I sat watching a clear cut yesterday for hours and got too comfortable and was dozing off a few times lying behind a log. On the way home I was thinking about being on the other end of the food chain and realizes I/you should be a little more alert! I was looking all around me as I always do, even when walking down the road looking for kitties but after reading this I think that even wear a nice warm balaclava style head warmer is going to be replaced with a good ol' fashioned toque so I have better peripheral vision from now on. I've always been aware of the fact that me and the cats are sharing the same playing field, but I shouldn't be giving them a bigger advantage by downgrading there ability to sneak up on something by having tunnel vision. So, be safe out there and if you have an encounter with a cat, do what you gotta do because you have family and friends at home waiting for you.

[kishman]

You must have nerves of steele to make such a nice shot in that kind of situation, good show!

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Heard about another close encounter in Peachland on the weekend.......

This happenned in Sept of this year.........
My neighbour's mother in law lives on the lakeside of the hwy where Princeton Ave comes down. She was crouched on the ground doing some gardening....she had a funny feeling and turned around to see a cougar crouched just behind her. She stood up and the cat hissed and growled at her most likey realizing that it's prey was a little bigger that it first thought. Luckilly, it then ran away.

SSS

[Thunderstix]

I sense an underwear change was the first thing you did when you got home! I had a friend elk hunting on Van Is and he had to hip shoot a cougar in mid air.....verrrrrry scary!