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THE GAME

Two �White-breads� bump�n down the gravel road bobbing and swaying to the base drum of rapper 50-cent insured it was going to be an interesting day. Only thing missing was Larry, Mo and Curly in the back seat sliding on the leather doing the �Curly shuffle�. Out of place would be an understatement but smooth flow of lyrics with pop and thump of mid and low range speakers helped get our blood rushing, both of us had on our game face! Like a well oiled machine, Da Boolit-Man and myself moved in tandem speaking very little but knowing the others thoughts by instinct, we headed out onto the field to play �The Game�.

I dropped off Silver Bullet on a spur road to work his magic of stealth and deception in pursuit of a bruin. I continued down the road to a trailhead and made the march to a ridge line with a vantage point overlooking several draws and canyons.





I was in no hurry to shoot another bear, especially one down in the bottom, I was just glad to be outdoors admiring what most people never experience. Glassing for bear across canyon I hear a ZZZzzzzttttttt, ZZZzzzzzttttt, the familiar sound of humming bird wings buzzing past me and turn around to see the most spectacular colors Ol Ma Nature ever created. Looking through my binoculars 10 feet away the little bird is airborne but stationary and we are eye to eye. The birds head was a reddish copper color with the shine of high polished chrome; saying it was amazingly beautiful wouldn�t do it justice.

I glassed the canyons ahead of me for about an hour more, looking for bear but couldn�t help glancing behind me every once in awhile knowing the ridge top next to me looked perfect. Its flat top and green grass screamed �bear� and I wondered aloud way a critter wasn�t there in the salad bowl. As it got later into the evening I turned and peeked at the salad and noticed a deer walking out onto the open hillside.



Lifting my binoculars to watch the deer I fingered the focus wheel and got hit square in the heart���������COUGAR!!!!! My body reacted on instinct. I�ve never seen a cougar in the wild and was complaining earlier in the day to Silver Bullet how I�ve been jipped. If he can shoot a cat from a lawn chair why am I deprived of even seeing a fleeting glimpse? My time was now; game on! My muscles moved on their own as I pulled the Leica rangefinder from its holster and zapped the distance; 325 yards. Hit the button again for confirmation; 326 yards. Dropped my binoculars and rangefinder to the ground at the same time I swung my backpack off my shoulders hugging the rock in a prone position. Using my pack as a front rest I burrowed the fore end of the .338 Ultra into the cloth and pulled my cheater-tape to read distance and drop via MOA adjustments. The tape read: 300-2, 350-3, I split the distance and dialed in 2.5MOA and got ready for the 325 yard shot. By this time, which from the time I saw the cougar to locking on crosshairs could probably be measured in milliseconds, I was overtaken with the dreaded �buck fever���I admit it, I got it good. I was shaking so bad and my heart was pounding out a steady stream of uncontrollable rhythm I was a hopeless mess. My mind was screaming the familiar drill���..slow, breath, squeeze���but my body would have nothing to do with it and as the crosshairs touched fur my index finger yanked with the force to crush a rock. The exploding boulder next to the cats head barely startled the kitty, or so it appeared. Barely missing a beat the cat continued on its path downhill and then paused�����.broadside!

The smell of burnt powder filled my nose as I can clearly see the still smoking hull of empty brass being spit from the open port. Picking up a fresh round of home-loaded 225 grain Accubond, the bolt swung forward and locked down in preparation for its next mission. Wish I could say the next shot was better than the first but I was no where near where I �should have been� with a steady sight picture. I was on a mission and apparently it was to throw lead, my head was screaming to just shoot. As the crosshairs came down on the now broadside cougar and reached its shoulder I yanked again; rewarded with the beautiful tune�����WHOP! Luck was my friend. Settling back down in the sight picture I was in time to see the cat roll downhill about 6 feet to the top edge of a cliff and come to a stop. There were legs kicking and tail twitching all over the place; I wasn�t taking any chances, hot brass out, cold brass in. Squeeze���.crack! Whop!!!...........over the cliff it rolls! It takes skill to turn an easy pack out into one of brutal consequence. At this point I have no idea what I�ve got on my hands but am fairly certain with enough time the two big holes I just delivered will do their job.

Sitting upright and looking over to the ridgeline I take in a deep breath and can�t believe what just transpired. I look around to see if I�m dreaming and then it hits me�..the REAL shakes.

Nicely done!

Rick

It's much better on the phone,but that weren't bad.

Lucky prick............................(grin)

Now that was a very cool story. Congrats Spike. Your story turned an otherwise really mundane day into something far more interesting. So tell me, how did you get the cat to smile just like you in the lower photo?

Had my hand up its ass in the first photo. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Didja find the footage?

You's running outta time..................

Lucky Skunk!

Haven't looked yet, keep forgetting. Things got a little "busy" last night and you slipped my mind.............thank God. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Liar.....................(grin)

Spike, Good story and nice cat!.
Every time I have ever happened on a lion, the hair on the back of my neck stood up..'cept when we used to run after the hounds in Arizona and shoot them out of the juniper trees with our longbows..:)..
Where were the pics taken..out toward the Wallowas?jim

Got some goodies here for you but have to leave for a 2:00 appointment, will hook up with you later.

BTW, Lucky???? Sheesh........pure skill. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Nice! That is a great story, with a great ending. Nice pics. How many holes in the kitty? Looks like a big cat too...however, I have no reference...how does it rate?

Great story! Congrats!

Two hits in the shoulder................"about an inch apart". T'was dead after the first shot but hell too many holes is better then not enough.

Weighs about 125-130lbs as a guess.

50 or so deer/elk thank you. Was the cougar stalking the deer that you saw?

Sorry, should have been more clear in the story......the "deer" I thought I saw was the cougar. The coloring is very similar to a deer losing its winter coat.

When I first saw the cat through binoculars it looked 10 feet looooong.

Great job!

Way to go. Eat any of it yet?

Jim

Spike,
Timing is everything! I hunted that same ridge just a few days before you did, except I came from the woods in the background.
Very nice kitty!
SB showed me the pics last night- Are you sure you wanted to make some of the cuts you did? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Bob

Loved the story, nice cat.

kup