Kyles first Cougar Hunt

December 31, 2009

WELL WORTH THE WAIT

 *Published in Eastmans Bowhunting Journal*

 

Have you ever had that one animal that you absolutely loved and admired? The cougar is that animal for me and I have always wanted to harvest one.

            This year I had my chance to fulfill my dream. My friends Mike and Frank, who live to hunt these beautiful animals, gave me a chance to come along and do it with my bow. Mike was a little nervous about the bow because he hasn’t seen a good hunt with one; but I reassured him of my shooting ability and of how often I shoot my bow. So the pressure was on, but I had faith.

            It was finally time to go! We all had a week off work and homely chores to find  some cats. A couple of mikes family members came in from Vancouver to hunt with us so the odds were in our favor. On the first day we spent the day driving the main roads looking for sign of how many cats were in the area and how big they were. It was long, but educational.

The next morning was an early one. So we hit Tim Hortons for some XL coffees and we were on the road again. The weather was cold reaching -24 C and no new snow, which meant it would be hard to see how fresh the tracks are. For a while we found nothing fresh enough to let the dogs out on, but finally some promise!  The third set of tracks we came upon, a decent cougar had crossed the road sometime during the night. So we let the dogs out to do what they do best ‘track’. The dogs followed the cat to the river and then stopped, so we went in to see what was up. The cougar had come to a canyon that was 100 to150 feet deep and crossed the only tree that had fallen across it. You wouldn’t catch me doing that! So we leashed the dogs and went around to the other side and found the track. We were at it again, but this time I learnt something that involved us going three quarters the way straight up the mountain: a cougar can loss the dogs by cutting through rock bluffs. So we ended up losing the track and headed back to the trucks.

            Now by the next morning I was excited. I had a feeling things were going to change thanks to a light snowfall that occurred overnight. But all we found were wolf tracks. At 3:00 pm the other truck found a smoking hot track. Everyone figured it would be good for pictures so we let the dogs go. This is where I learn lesson two: never let the dogs go that late in the day unless you want to come home late that night. That cat gave those dogs a run for their money, every time that cougar treed it would jump and jump and jump. Needless to say we didn’t get any pictures.

By the fifth day I had lost all thought that hunting with dogs would be easy. But today would be my day. At 9:30 am, the other truck had found a track that had promise, so we came in to investigate. It looked good so this time we walked the track out to the river then made a plan. Because of the wolves in the area the truck I was in took the long 45 minute drive around to the other side so we were closer to the dogs in case something went wrong. As soon as we were there the guys let the dogs go, they were gone and running hard. I was thinking maybe the third chase was the charm. Mike being in better shape then the rest of us, ran after the dogs while we waited for the other truck to catch

up. Finally a visual, but the cat was up a thick fur tree and looked to be around 140lbs which I would have been more then happy with. When the guys caught up, everyone started heading to where the cat was. That cat ran down and back up a small drainage that most people would walk around, STEEP! So down we went and I was glad I had my Eberlestock pack because it held my bow and protected it so I could have two hands free. Coming back up the other side, Frank was the first up and was looking at the cat. Just then it had enough and shot down the tree and took off, but those dogs were hot on his tail. All I could hear was Frank yelling, “140lbs his butt, more like 160lbs”. As soon as he said that my second wind kicked in and I was up that hill and ready to go. The cougar only made it 200 yards before it was treed again and we were right behind it. When I came into view of the cougar all I could do was stare at its size and beauty. Then it was time to focus on the shot and the shot placement. After 10 to 15 minutes the dogs were tied up, Frank and I found a good spot and it was time. Frank and one of the other guys were off to the side with 30/30’s in case something went wrong, but I wasn’t worried I had been practicing steep shots for awhile and knew I could do it. So I drew back and anchored my pin right behind the brisket for the quartering away shot. Wham! My arrow was a complete pass through and the cougar didn’t like what just happened, he spun right around and was now looking right at me. So I nocked another arrow and shot him again, but this one didn’t go throw him. He managed to grab the back of the arrow, bite it off and spit it back; but it did no good, he was done and the blood was coming out strong and he died in a matter of seconds.

            I was ecstatic! I had finally harvested the biggest trophy of my life with my bow and only by bow. After getting back home and putting the cougar on a scale we then realized just how big it was. It weighed 180lbs with an empty stomach and measured 7 foot 9 1/4 inches on the body. I will always remember and cherish this one animal. Not bad for my first cat and the end of my season!  

 

Kyle