MOUNTAIN LION HUNTING IN ARIZONA

A good friend of mine Chris Williams owns Trapper Den Taxidermy in Pinetop/Lakeside in North East Arizona.   Over the years Chris has mounted more then 20 of of my animals and trophy fish.  Chris also is one of a hand full licensed guides on the White Mountain Indian Reservation in Northern Arizona that is not a tribe member.  This reservation is known mostly for it's world class elk, but there is a large population of deer, black bear, antelope, varmits and lots of very large mountain lions.

I scheduled a mountain lion hunt with Chris for January 1995.  At this time I had to assure Chris  I would be on call 24/7 and that I could be ready in 15 minutes for him to pick me up.   We were waiting for a light snow fall in order to locate fresh lion tracks for the dogs to pick up the sent.  On January 18th  I received a call at 4:30 am and we were on the road by 4:45 headed for the reservation in the middle of a light snow fall and -20 degree weatther.

The reservation was only 6 miles away but the location we wanted to hunt was a 2 hour drive in a snow storm and on a 4 wheel drive road.  We reached our destanation at 7:30 am just as the sun was rising.  It was a very cold but beautiful morning.  Perfect for tracking a mountain lion.

As luck might have it after only a half hour we came accross some very fresh lion tracks and the race was on.  The lion had crossed this back road not more then 15 minutes before we arrived.  The dogs were let loose and the chase was on and what a chase it was.  We were in very rugged country that seemed to go straight up beside being covered with 2 feet of soft snow.  This made the traveling very slow and hard.  Chris being 20 years my younger was able to keep up with the sound of the dogs.  I eventually lost the barking so I was left with following the fresh tracks.  It was only about a mile up the hill before I begain to hear the dogs.  They were at bay which indecated that they had something treed.  I was out of breath and praying that it was not a bobcat, as we had seen may signs of them along the way.  Chris begain yelling for me to hurry up and get there as he had a  big suprise for me.

Upon reaching the the top I was overwelmed to find that the dogs had treed a very large Tom Mountain Lion.  After taking some pictures with the cat in the tree I had my trophy lion with one shot from my Ruger Black Hawk 44 Magnum Pistol.  He weighed 190 pounds and made the SCI Record book and at the time was the 3rd largest Mountain Lion to taken in Arizona.  Thanks to a life size mount from Chris he is over my bar providing me memories and stories for everyone.

BACK TO ALASKA FOR BLACK BEAR

After the successful mountain goat hunt in November of 2001 with Parker Guide Service out of Juneau Alaska I booked another hunt for June of 2002 for black bear with the same company. This hunt was to be out of Sitka Alaska and I would be staying once again on the beautiful 62 foot Luxury Cruise ship the Neptune.

We would hunt each day from small skiffs by going up the many bays searching for black bears that have come down to the beach in search of food and eat the fresh grass. Each day we would see numerous bears but none that we wanted to do a stock on. At one point we came upon two large Brown Bear that were searching the beaches for food. Being in the small boat we were able to get within 30 yards of the bear's for some great pictures.

On the fourth day of the hunt we located a big bore on the beach and I agreed with my guide that this is one we should get closer for a better look. We beached our boat about a mile away from where the bear was located and began our stock. After approximately one hour we were able to close to within 100 yards of what turned out to be a very big male Alaskan Black Bear.

I found a old stump which made for a perfect rest that was only 80 yards from the unaware bear. Taking my time I was able to put a well placed shot with my 340 Weatherby that resulted in an instant kill. The Bear squared an even 8 feet with an approximate weight of between 560 to 600 pounds. According to my guide George Westcott this was one of the biggest bears he had see in 20 years of guiding in Alaska. The skull measured over 21 inches and qualified for the Boone and Crockett Record Book.

There was still 3 days left on this hunt and being the last hunt of the year I was able to take the 2 day trip back to Sitka aboard the Neptune and not by float plane. It was a beautiful trip through the Alaskan Passageway in which we viewed many whales, seals, bears and many many bald eagles. It was a beautiful way to end a fabulous experience and exciting adventure.

STONE SHEEP-BRITISH COLUMBIA

In 2004 I booked a Stone Sheep hunt for Northern British Columbia in the Coastal Cassiar Mountains with long time outfitter and guide Fletcher Day of Tahltan Outfitters.  This was to be a 10 day hunt, using horses as the main method of transportation.  After arriving in Smithers B.C. we flew to Dease Lake and from there we took a small float plane to Victoria Lake where we would spent the first night.  The next morning we would be leaving early for a 10 mile ride to our spike camp called BOONIE.  Named for a Stone Sheep that was taken in the area that scored high in the Boone and Crockett Record books.
 
This was to be our home for the next 10 days.  Each day we would wake early, have breakfast and ride to high mountain tops where we could set up the spotting scopes in search for Stone Sheep.  Sheep were spotted each day with the majority being nannies and small rams.  To be legal a ram it had to be a full curl.  On the 7th day of the hunt August 7, 2004 we spotted a group of five Rams of which three were legal.  They were located approximately 5 miles away on a grassy knoll on top of a very rugged mountain.

We were able to take the horses to within 3/4 of a mile of the Sheep through terrain that was virtually straight up.  If I hadn't been there I wouldn't believe that a horse could make the climb with a rider on his back.  I was nervous and a more than a little scared, but that is why they call it HUNTING.

We were able to stock to 230 yards of the trophy ram and with a sold rest was able to make a clean one shot kill.  I was using my 300 Ultra Light Weatherby Magnum with 180 grain Nosler Partition Bullets.  The rifle was topped with a Swarovski 3x12 scope.  My spotting scope was also a Swarovski in 20-60 x 65 HD and I was using Zeiss 10x40 Binoculars.  This proved to be the perfect combination of equipment for this Stone Sheep Hunt.

My ram scored 168 4/8 S.C.I. with both horns measuring 39 1/2 inches.  This was truly a GREAT EXPERIENCE that lead to a GREAT TROPHY.

SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL

I was introduced to Safari Club International (S.C.I.) in 1988 while moose hunting in British Columbia with legionary outfitter Red Sorensen.  I have been a member of S.C.I. ever since that hunt and have found it not only a lot of fun but also a great source of information.  They provide  great events for their members at the local and national levels and even on the international scene.  Members receive a Safari Journal every two months that is filled with great hunting adventures from around the world along advertisements by top outfitters and guides.  Since 1988 most of my hunting trips have been booked with S.C.I. recommended outfitters and all have been exciting and successful.  If you have a chance to join a local S.C.I. chapter I would recommend that you do so.  You will never regret it.