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Finally talked to Dave today. He said that Dusty hasn't shot anything yet, but he is having a BLAST!!

He also said that the mountain lion almost hit his knee w/its tail when it ran past him...I'd say that's close, wouldn't you?
Now I see why he was shaking.

BAD kitty. Cats are the devil. Big cats are really the devil.

are those boning knives sharpened yet?

If not, I hope it's because you were out looking for 'ol forky toes.

I dont' know how dave held off shooting that cat. Thats a little too close for comfort. Yikes!!!

I'd still be shaking. I'm guessing there won't be any kittys in northerndave/mrsnortherndave house any time soon.

I would say that is a little too close when claws and fangs are within arms reach! YIKES!

OH I bet Dusty is having a blast! I bet his guts are sore from laughing! Good for him and good for Dave for bringing him! That is just what he needed.

You good guy Dave. I don't care what anybody says!

Rooster,

have you been up in a tree yet? I want to see some more of those pics like you had last year about this time. Come on man.

When are those crazy 'ol boys gettin' back anyway? It sounds like Wapiti 2 will have a full load in the back too...Just like Dave did when that kitty came running by. Good thing it wasn't hungry, cuz I think Dave's just about the right size for cat food.

Rooster,

have you been up in a tree yet? I want to see some more of those pics like you had last year about this time. Come on man.

When are those crazy 'ol boys gettin' back anyway? It sounds like Wapiti 2 will have a full load in the back too...Just like Dave did when that kitty came running by. Good thing it wasn't hungry, cuz I think Dave's just about the right size for cat food.

I've only been out on the opener. Been busy as heck and now I got a belly full of stitches and "no climbing" orders from the doc so that is going to set me back even further. I would love to get some more pics like last year but those caliber of bucks are far and few between! It was pretty ironic. The last buck I shot with a bow that was worthy of getting a full head mount on was Nov. 01 1997 between 6:00 and 6:30 pm. The one last year was Nov. 01 2007 between 6:00 and 6:30 pm. I hope its not another 10 years before I see a good one again! How about you? You been slaying anything yet?

Oh and I think MRS ND said Dave and crew are headin home today.

Where are they, duluth?

I have been in the tree a grand totaly of one time. It was last friday. I saw the same little spiker twice. I'm yet to shoot a buck with my bow, but he was a tiny litte guy. I wasn't going to shoot him. He even posed for me about 5 different times just askin' to get shot.

I'm going back out on Thursday for our Tzone (antlerless only) after work. I'll be using the rifle for that.

I'm home folks.

Very tired too.

thank you all for posting & keeping things cooking while I'm gone.

dang ole cat didn't get me, but i got the wapiti!!

i'll post tomorrow.

Dave

PS, stan, that rifle is an 1895M .450 marlin brought the girl wapiti down in 2005.

this year .300 roy was the trick.

Glad you are safely back and were successful.I have an 1895SS in 45/70.
We are all looking forward to your trip report.

Stan

P.S. I have a bleached coyote skull for the cabin if you want it.

Get rested Dave so we can have a full report tomorrow.

Glad you had a good time.

Rob

I love those 1895's mine went with on the trip but never came out of the case this time.

I hear those .450 marlin's are just about right for cat killin'.

oof, yeah, that cat prolly needed killin. Easy for everyone to say "shoulda killed him dave" but unless you were there in my shoes for those few fleeting seconds it would be impossible for me to explain the thousand thoughts/considerations that raced through my head as I held & swung that rifle through that cat's run towards & past me with the safety off & about half of my 3 pound trigger pull taken up with my finger.

And then, he was gone.... And no matter what I think now, there's no changing the fact that i didn't kill him & he didn't kill me. He's just gone. Could I have "gotten away" with killing the cat? Claim self defense... I dunno, probably. But I wasn't there to hunt cats, I was there for my fat rubber nosed cow & when you consider all of my thoughts for those fleeting seconds... I know I made the right choice.

See, I can't stay quiet about a thing like that, especially something so exciting for me, I'm gonna run my mouth about it. So, I would have been on the phone with the DOW explaining where I was & what I did & all this, they wouldn't have let me keep the critter which I would have wanted... So, I basicly get the right to tell my story and maybe show some pictures here of a dead cat that I can�t keep & deal with the controversy & speculation such as �but was he really trying to kill you? Was it really self defense?�

So, then there's the other way. Keep the hide & maybe the skull, sneak it out of there risking all of my friends hunting equipment such as rifles/trucks etc... Then be my usual gabby self & end up getting busted with a cat rug back home & try explaining the truth that I was defending myself etc & probably face losing hunting privs & stuff.

See, take in the whole picture like that & it's not so plain & simple. When the cat lost his nerve on his charge because I was facing him & ready, I just held on him as he ran past & then he just kept on going. And it was over just like that.


Honestly, yeah I would have loved to shoot that big cat. Would have been fricken awesome!! But, this aint the 1800's. Sadly, we have rules & such these days & I think I did the right things with all things considered.

looka the big doe i got during early MN antlerless season....

J/K, I'll post more soon when i get a chance, at work, very busy, i been gone too long.

I think you did the right thing Dave. Good decision in the heat of the moment. If you would have shot that cat, you would always have that lingering wonder and possibly, if your like me some guilt that maybe you didn't NEED to kill it. But like you said, without being there it is hard for anybody else to judge the situation. You kept cool and ended up doing the right thing and you now have a way cool story to tell too!

Nice wapiti!

You shoot that thing in the beak or what???

yeah, I did.

not too happy about that though.

Accident. sneaking a shot which was supposed to be a grounding shot through trees at over 250 yds, was supposed to be a neck shot. maybe deflected by a stick? But luckily she moved forward & just barely clear enough for me to thread one through the cover between me & her & put one through the boiler room which grounded her pretty quickly.

Dave,

I wasn't implying that you should have shot the cat. Sorry if you thought I was. I can understand how you felt. I didn't shoot a bear that charged us while grouse hunting, kind of like your story. He past us at mere feet, I didn't shoot, she didn't stop. Still running as far as I know.

I was just giving you a little heck, becuase I know that your heart rate must have been sky high, and it would take a while to calm down. Obviously you did OK by not shooting it, and you have a wiked cool story to tell all your buddies.

Are you going to be in the woods this weekend at the camp or do you need to catch up on much needed rest and work around the home front?

Tom

Dave, this is a spot where the old .300 "Webley" came in handy, no?