Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Curiosity killed the cat

I have never called in any critter in my ~30 years of hunting not a bird, predator, big game, nothing.

I purchased a Foxpro Fusion hoping to get to take it to Wyoming a few weeks ago on our antelope trip but shipping was slow and we didn't get to take it. It finally arrived and I had some free time after work. A coworker and I wandered up a skid trail into an old brushed over burn and set up for an attempt at calling in a coyote. I had watched a YouTube video by Foxpro on setting up a stand and call progression but really I had very little clue what I was doing. We set up the call and tucked into the brush and started calling.

After about 20 minutes of calling I motioned to my buddy asking if he was ready to call it a day. He motioned back he heard something in the brush to his left. A moment later he snapped his fingers at me and pointed in front of us. I started scanning the opening looking for a coyote and locked eyes with this mountain lion standing broadside at ~20 yards. I had my suppressed AR pistol loaded with 50 grain Vmax sitting in a BogPod FieldMax tripod. I put the cross hairs behind her shoulder and sent one. She bound off crashing through the head high to me brush.

We were completely in shock and my hands were shaking but dark was coming so we started looking for blood. There wasn't any blood and no clear tracks from the pads and she was covering serious ground bounding down the hill. We decided to go down into the brush and look. We got down near the creek at the bottom and my buddy said I hear it breathing! We had walked past her in the brush. We could hear labored breathing above us and then the brush started moving towards us about 25 feet away. We stood there kind of dumb waiting to see if there was going to be excitement. The breathing slowed and the brush stopped moving. We waited and the sun set. I worked my way slowly up hill toward the last spot the brush was moving. I started seeing parts of cat laying in the brush and not moving. She was dead.

She was surprisingly heavy without much to grab onto but we we toted her back up the hill to the skid trail, snapped a few pictures, admired her beauty and fierceness, and began skinning her out. The meat is in the freezer, the hide is at the taxidermist, the skull is in the crock-pot. A mountain lion was at the top of my bucket list so I'm super pumped to finally see one let alone shoot one. Now to my next bucket list item find a wolf!






Found the 50 grain Vmax on the far side against the hide




I have always heard good things about lion meat other than the risk of trichinosis. It looked really good.
The plan is mostly sausage but we'll see if I can convince the wife to cook it other ways.

cool! congrats!. Really surprised with how that 50 grain V-max held together. I would have expected it to be into pieces based on other experiences.

Real cool story. Congrats. Never crockpotted a skull. Post pics of that when done please.

Very cool experience. Getting that kind of animal in that way is about perfect

Awesome!

That's cool! Congrats on calling and killing a lion.

Congratulations No Doubt ! !

I’m glad it worked out well for you but.... sounded like it could have turned out
much diff & for worse.

A serious question. Now, will you choose that gun & load on purpose to call
Mtn Lion ?

NO criticism I promise. I would choose something bigger.

Jerry

Wow, great hunt but I don't think I want to hear anything breathing that I can't see!!

That’s an amazing story!

Thanks everyone!



Will do. Ever since the wife got an Instapot the crock pot has been available. I've done a few but it is limited to what fits in the pot. They do a great job of low and slow. Keeps me from over cooking/boiling skulls which is super lame.



Jerry, I wouldn't reach for the 10.5" 223 for mountain lion but if that is all I have I'm not passing My 12.5" Grendel would probably get the nod if I was calling specifically for lion or wolf.
I've killed a fair amount of critters with a 223 and have confidence in it. I could have shot her a few inches farther forward and probably had a quicker death. I was ~4" inches behind the shoulder instead of tucked next to it. Caught the back of the lungs instead of the center. She only went ~75 yards.



It was not a comfortable situation and I was glad I was not alone!!

Very cool - congrats!

They are around but seldom seen. Good job. Edk

Nice, I am all for eating cougars but not that kind.

Well done ,,and kudos on the "pucker factor"

Hunting with FoxPro's can be exciting.

Great write up and experience. Pucker factor indeed.

Cool hunt for a first time!

Nice job on the cat! Good luck with the wolf

Congratulations!
Cool story!

Congrats and 2 thumbs up! Report back on how you like the meat, I've never had it but understand it's quite good.

The meat really is good...very much like po9rk in all respects. Excellent and unexpected performance out of that 50Vmax!

Good job! Fun read.

It's better to be lucky... though you were good, and far better prepared than most hunters to actually shoot what showed up, not just get excited and tell us a story of how it got away.

Good follow-up tracking as well. After shooting several called ones and having a hard time tracking soft footed creature on moss and duff, we try to get an exit hole and a blood trail. Lions are fairly easy to kill, but often extremely hard to find once shot, as you found. You did well all the way.

Cool story and also love the pics of your processing help. Always good to get them involved. I can remember when my girls were young they would "help"/watch when I processed deer and the oldest was always pulling silver skin off.

Nice work!

Way too cool nimrod. Congrats!

Damn cool way to get a cat, congrats. Treat the meet like pork. My wife roasted a whole hindquarter with cloves and some kind of orange glaze, spectacular.

That is about as good as it gets. Congratulations

Cool story and nice score. The best though is the pic of your daughter running the grinder takes me back years when mine did that. Mb

Nice cat.

Nice! Well done!

I'd love to get the story on my website if you don't mind. (Happy to put in your website with it.)

She’s a trooper. Always trying to shoot up my ammo but willing to help reload too. Her older sister likes the wrapping part of putting up meat so they make a good team.




Thanks! For inspiration I’ve watched your videos and read stories on your website. You’re welcome to use my story!

Nice job. I'm in your neck of the woods and I run across lions every once in awhile. Idaho is highly populated with them. Last weekend out riding my enduro I had one pop out on the trail in front of me that looked like the size of a African lioness. Good grief that thing was a monster. Most of them I've seen are lithe and thin but this looked like it had escaped from a zoo being big and well fed.

Outstanding write up! Thanks for sharing. You took the time to describe the hunt, took the trophy pic and even found and took pics of the bullet. Great job!

Will do. Ever since the wife got an Instapot the crock pot has been available. I've done a few but it is limited to what fits in the pot. They do a great job of low and slow. Keeps me from over cooking/boiling skulls which is super lame.


Jerry, I wouldn't reach for the 10.5" 223 for mountain lion but if that is all I have I'm not passing My 12.5" Grendel would probably get the nod if I was calling specifically for lion or wolf.
I've killed a fair amount of critters with a 223 and have confidence in it. I could have shot her a few inches farther forward and probably had a quicker death. I was ~4" inches behind the shoulder instead of tucked next to it. Caught the back of the lungs instead of the center. She only went ~75 yards.



It was not a comfortable situation and I was glad I was not alone!!


Yes Indeed !! That was my point.

I have used my 22 semi pistol WHEN it was all I had. I understand.

Congrats


Jerry

EPIC!

Congrats! I had to sort out a wounded bobcat in thick cover one time and treaded uber-lightly - I can't imagine going into the brush after one of those things.

Local friend here, got a Fox Pro, and was using the turkey call to try and call in coyotes with it...

It attracted more bear and Cougars than coyotes.... of course the coyotes may have been staying out of the area due to the amount of bear and cougars
in the hills up behind his home.

I've had cats track me when I've been out hunting at altitude, seeing their foot prints in the snow, where they have followed me from my truck on a walk and back...
seeing their foot prints in my foot prints... yet cats are as silent as a shadow....

real cool story Nimrod and congrats on your catch..... I think we all loved the pic including your daughter making sausage......

We've got a coyote running around our neighborhood, the size of a German Shepard... I'd like to take that thing down...

about 1 AM last night, I heard it real close to my place, as I heard the moans of a small puppy it had evidently caught close by, out in its yard...

I'll go look for it this morning if they is anything left of the poor puppy.

Congrats!

Good work all around!

Neat story. Hearing it breathing without being able to see the cat might have justified a “sound shot” in the dark. Just kidding 😊

In over 25 years of hunting in Colorado, I’ve only seen a couple of lions while elk hunting. I’ve also seen their tracks in my tracks in the snow. It makes you wonder…..

Very cool and I’m jealous. I’ve called in one that I know of by the tracks but I didn’t see it. Called lots of coyotes bobcat and fox still waiting to get a lion that I called.

Bet that was quite a thrill.



I’m still using my knife!

Great!!

Mountain lion is good eating. Congrats

Great story and pictures - thanks for sharing .

Best luck on the wolves !!!

bob cats, no lion so far, great eating

Great story and pics conrgats. I've called in two with a fox pro and my partner killed one, never got a chance at the other.

Very cool. There are a ton of cats out here. Nothing Idaho

Hahaha! +1

Thanks! For inspiration I’ve watched your videos and read stories on your website. You’re welcome to use my story!
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Thanks! I'll save it and post it up soon!

Awesome way to begin calling.

Didn't go that easily for me...

Cool pics, too

WOW !!!!!!!!!

Blessings, Steve

Good to see you posting again Steve.

As to the cat...that's neat as hell. I have never called one in that I am aware of. Bears, wolves, bobcats and lynx along with the more common stuff---yes, mountain lions---no. Nice work!
I've killed several over dogs and had my chance at some incidentals, but never due to a predator call.

That will be a tough act to follow w/ mere coyotes, you must have done it right. I often wonder if there are lions I am not seeing.


mike r

Excellent story. Really appreciate your report. I haven't seen a Mountain Lion in the woods. When I lived in Alaska I ran across a lynx. Thought that was pretty cool. It was enjoying a ptarmigan. I considered shooting it, but I had lunch earlier and no one shot at me. I did enjoy sitting there watching it. I may have to try one of those Fox calls. Thanks for the pictures. It's great you are encouraging your kids to be involved. Are you going to do a full body mount or just a rug?

Very cool and nicely done.

Nice!

Great story.

Man it’s good to hear from you Steve! Hope all is well.






For now I’m just having the hide tanned. I may get it rugged though. I used to be really into taxidermy but now I debate on spending the money on another hunt somewhere. The family is voting for some sort of mount though!

Nice job!

That's awesome!!

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

Good thread, thanks for sharing.

Your bullet looks great.
Take care.

I’ve been meaning to post these to answer your question. Sorry the pictures aren’t the greatest.





It was the stinkiest skull I’ve cooked and I’ve cooked a lot. I treated it twice with 20% peroxide and magnesium carbonate.

Really a great story and congrats

Skull turned out great!

Now that's a pretty neat deal. Always wanted to get a lion so congratulations on your hunt !!

Great!

Great work on the skull.

That skull came out great.

Congrats again Joel

X2

Glassed this guy high on a mountain in Namibia. My PH asked if I was interested without fee. "Let's go." We followed him for a fair bit and found him in the grass under the shade of a tree maybe fifty yards away. All I could see was his head and a bit of neck in the grass.

Great story, that skull is awesome! Congratulations.

Awesome!

Great story, beginners luck is an awesome thing. Now keep at it. Lions eat 🦌

Great story! the skull is awesome

^^^^Yes the story and the skull are awesome, congrats^^^^

I decided to have her rugged. Recently got her back and on the wall. I’m pleased with how she turned out. I called fish and game and she was 4 years old.

Good going! Meat is stand alone excellent.