Scary and amazing!

[jrjonesy]

Pretty much the only way to put it. I was out today on my favorite tree stand with my bow. Thought of bringing the rifle too just in case I saw something to big to pass just out of bow range but decided to carry in a decoy instead. Was set up for an all day sit with the video camera and got some good footage of does and button bucks. Saw about 9 by lunchtime with 3 of them feeding directly below me. I'll never tire of that! It's so cool.

Fog and rain rolled in for the afternoon reducing visibility to about 40 yards. With about 40 minutes of shooting light left a big doe materializes in the fog about 30 yards in front of me. Then another beside it. They fed towards me and I was looking forward to ending the day with these deer feeding 10 yards away from my tree.

They caught sight of my decoy (set up as a doe) and didn't know what to make of it. They didn't spook but they kept about 10 yards between them and it.

I noticed something behind them on the other side of a blow down and in the fog thought "that might be a buck following, I should get ready". I focused my attention on it and about 2 minutes later as the deer moved a few yards further, a HUGE cougar jumped over the blowdown in full stalk mode. I haven't seen a lot of cougars, but I'm pretty sure by any standards, this was a very, very big cat.

So you can imagine my excitement level as I'm watching a cougar that's only 18 yards from my stand, stalking these two deer that are now about 25 yards from me. My immediate thought was that he was going to stalk these deer out of sight.

It advances another 10 yards, using it's stalk and freeze so it's now about 10 yards from the back deer. It makes some noise when it puts it's front paws up on a downed log and gets busted! The back deer panics! It takes a bound away and then directly back towards my stand. The cougar pounced and in two jumps and less than a blink of an eye he's on top of the deer and has it down. It's like it was no effort at all for him. The deer's "baaaaing" like crazy but the cougar just lieing on him ignoring him. Oh yeah...DID I MENTION THIS IS 15 YARDS FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY TREE!!!

Foot note: For anyone who thinks they would have a nano-second to react or defend themselves against a "big" cougar attack...I just saw one...you wouldn't.

To add to the mix, the cougar now notices my decoy. You can tell he's a little confused as to why this deer hasn't taken off and isn't quite sure what to do about it.

I'll spare you all the details but I watched this guy for the next half hour as he dispatched this deer, did all sorts of cool things and kept one eye on my decoy. I'm sure you can all appreciate how amazing it was to witness something like this.

Meanwhile it was still foggy and getting darker and darker. I was getting more and more worried as to what I was going to do if he decided to feed on this deer under my tree stand. I didn't want to spend the night in my stand and I didn't want to shoot him. Now that he had a kill (and I have no experience with cougars) I didn't really want to alert him to my presence.

Again to spare the details, he did eventually pick the deer up by the throat just after shooting light was gone and drag her about 50 yards to the thick stuff and then I could here him crashing a little further into it. When he dragged her he walked straddling her body and jumped over several blowdowns this way. The strength was amazing.

I hastily gathered my stuff, got down, nocked an arrow and walked sideways out of there (felt like I was carrying a BB gun). Needless to say, I left the decoy for now. Last thing I needed was to be trolling for cougars.

Oh yeah, I had put the video camera away because it had been drizzling for the last 2 hours. So no footage. To be honest, I don't know that I'd have been composed enough to video anyways.

I think I'll start off tomorrow morning in a different stand!

[bsa30-06]

sounds like an awesome experience and a little frightening.I think i'd carry my rifle back to get that decoy.

[BearSniper]

Sounds like you had a real cool experience. :-D

One few hunters have ever witnessed. You are very fortunate.

Keep that rifle handy though.

Hope you get your Buck

[RMG]

WOW, totally amazing. Many will spend a lifetime in the forests and never see a cougar up close and personal, let alone witness such an event. Too bad you werent able to capture some pics. but such is life. A truly amazing experiance.

[endtimerwithabow]

thats way cool! I would be fairly afraid to go get my decoy alone, locked and loaded making alot of noise.:eek:

[Steeleco]

That's cool, you got to see what I think happened to me back in Oct. I heard the attack and the doe screaming. Never did see the cat but logic tells me that's all it could have been.
Too bad about the camera, but you'll not soon forget this day!!!

[mainland hunter]

that would definately be amazing to witness up close like that, bet you wont forget it too soon

[Allen50]

the cat is one of the coolest animals out there, no one realy see's them. unless your a couger hunter, we see sings of them, and as hunters we realy see them, cool to see, i bet you were woundering now, what so many times while sitting there, woundering if you could sleep in a tree stand all night, or would someone miss you not coming home, and would they know where to find you,makes you wounder and think of many thing sitting there you prouble could here your heart pumping, woundering what to do next,,, real cool,,,

[mtnmax]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[#1fishslayer]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


What he said !!!!!!

[BowSitter]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What he said!!

[islandstalker]

wow go buy a lottery ticket now . where was this?

[The Hermit]

totally awesome! Go buy a cougar tag!!

[Freshtracks]

Once in a blue moon experience. What size comparision was the cat to the doe? ... and what was the dispatching method of finishing the doe? That cat should be on its kill for a few days ... get a tag ... 48 hrs ... and move your stand.;)

Great story ... tough one to top around the camp fire.

[hunter1947]

That was a very cool thing to experience for sue. As for a full blowen attack from a cougar ,yes you can stop them from an attack ,i know a few people out there that have had full blowen attacks from a cougar ,and one being my self we are lucky to be hear today.

[boxhitch]

Rack that up as a once-in-lifetime. Good for a adrenaline rush i bet.


Great story ... tough one to top around the camp fire.
X2

[TIKA 300]

GREAT STORY.I literaly would have SH@ my pants !!!!!! Good of you to keep your composure. TK

[Thunderstix]

That is one experience that you should send into Outdoor Life and they will do one of those "This happened to me" cartoons...and I am serious, do it.

[Spokerider]

Wow. No "Wild Kingdom" played out there....

Something similar happened to a buddy a while back.

He was making his way to his tree stand one day in Aug doing some pre-season deer scouting. He had been getting a dozen deer under his stand with each visit. Said it felt "different" that evening walking in, but didn't know why..... Turns out a cat had followed him to his stand and sat watching him. He figured it out after no deer arrived that evening and it was almost dark, and happened to spot the lion laying and quietly watching him, watch the cat. Said it was pretty spooky climbing down and getting back to his truck with only a big stick in hand.

You're lucky to be able to have observed a cougar making a kill.

[bigwhiteys]

Just one of the many reasons we do what we do! Great Story... I can just imagine how cool that would have been to see... Go buy a lotto ticket.

Carl

[wlbc]

Great experience, thanks for sharing!

[bruin]

That's a pretty amazing experience that very, very few people would get to see. To bad you couldn't have videod it.

[calvin L]

Ya I am @ work and you are out hunting sound about right . I have had that same sound to much this year

[jrjonesy]

Once in a blue moon experience. What size comparision was the cat to the doe? ... and what was the dispatching method of finishing the doe? That cat should be on its kill for a few days ... get a tag ... 48 hrs ... and move your stand.;)

Great story ... tough one to top around the camp fire.


I would say the doe was about a 2 1/2 year old. Don't know how to judge cougars, but I'd bet it weighed as much as me at least. (180)

[waistdeep]

Now here is another piece of that story. Saterday morning myself and two hunting partners were on that same side of the moutain and my buddy took a nice 4 point white tail, I then not 20 minutes later took another large 4 point. While I was dressing my big prize, a had a very large branch (4") break above my head and drop not 5 feet beside me. I jumped at the sound and grabbed my 45/70 and walked around the big fir tree. I know I felt something up there but could not see anything more than branches. I finished the dressing and quick as I could dragged the deer out. I swear something was up there, now that I see your story and I bet it was the same cat. Yep that was a great exciting morning.

[mark]

Now here is another piece of that story. Saterday morning myself and two hunting partners were on that same side of the moutain and my buddy took a nice 4 point white tail, I then not 20 minutes later took another large 4 point. While I was dressing my big prize, a had a very large branch (4") break above my head and drop not 5 feet beside me. I jumped at the sound and grabbed my 45/70 and walked around the big fir tree. I know I felt something up there but could not see anything more than branches. I finished the dressing and quick as I could dragged the deer out. I swear something was up there, now that I see your story and I bet it was the same cat. Yep that was a great exciting morning.

Sounds like we should get some cougar hunters on that cat, save a few whities!!!!
P.S. just by chance you guys wernt in a dark blue F-350 with a canopy were ya???

[waistdeep]

Nope, Landcruiser with 35's - oh right, two big boys in the back sleeping!

[Sikanni Stalker]

awesome story man!, thankx!

[115 or bust]

My dad saw something similar about 10 years ago. He had decided to try to get a wolf and was hunting hard north of Campbell river on ski's in the wintertime. He was following a track when he saw something drop out of the tree in front of him and thinking it was 2 cougars playing he grabbed his camera. It was actually a cougar attacking a young deer and we have a picture somewhere in the big stack of hunting albums at home of the cougar with the deer in its mouth (it was still alive) and the deers head is up so both are looking into the camera. Dad was so busy snapping pictures he didn't realize how close it was till the cat dropped the deer and made that pissed off kitty noise your housecat makes when it sees a dog. He dropped the camera and hip shot it at 8 yards.

[mark4]

You are very lucky to have seen something like that - I am very jealous- Those cats are very fast- It does get a little hairy when they weigh 180 pounds or more- that's when its name changes from a cougar to a mountain lion lol.

[Wolfman]

WoW! What an experience!

Glad you got outta there in one piece.



Wolfman

[johnes50]

You're very lucky to witness that. I doubt many people have seen anything like that in their lives.

[sfire436]

I read in feild and stream a few years ago about some poor woman who was tree stand hunting, watches a black bear B line for her and look right at her. She then realizes there are three cubs above her in the tree. She spends the next hour or so trying to keep the sow at bay with a F'in arrow.