Lion hunters only: Vote for your states top lionhunter

[Mike Leonard]

You know I got to thinking about all the top bare ground lion hunters from New Mexico I could think of right off and it reads like a who's who of lion men.
Dub Evans
Albert Pickens
Homer Pickens
Bruce Bull
Hap Blackston
Richard Holcomb
Terrell Shelly
Bill Kiehne
Sewell Goodwin
Shorty Lyons
Ray Freeman
Leonard Hudson
Buddy Johnson
Quintin Hulse
Roland Rice
Jim Bobb
Mike Root
Orville Fletcher
Riley Milligan
Duncan Freeman
Bill Miller
Hap Blackston
Cecil Ralston


And that is just off the top of my head and I sure missed a bunch but any one of these in their day was a real force for the long tails to deal with.

[Lil Joes BigGame hounds]

Bridger Pettrini is also a heck of a lion hunter. I also think that Mike Leonard guy should probably be up there too!

[Big Mike]

Out of that list Mike i would put a big circle and star around Orvel Fletchers name!

Jim bobb probably said it best about him when he told me " Mike he's the best period"

Orvel's caught more lions after his 70th birthbay that most will catch in a lifetime!

[Mike Leonard]

I agree on Orville , and having a guy like Jim say that is huge.

Orville for those that don't know him is now 80 plus years old and still hunting nearly every day. He will wear men half his age out, ride mules down to their knees and his dogs are second to none.

I can say nothing better about his dogs than what our own Cowboyvon said the last ime he hunted with Orv which was just a few weeks ago.
After two days of pounding the ground on mules his Orv's pack was moving along with them and had never said a peep. All of a sudden on dog sounds off. Inocently CV says Orv. what's that dog barking at? Orville in his gruff and non emotional manner never even turns in the saddle he just says. Well he ain't barking at you, and he ain't barking at your neighbor is he? That's a 2 day old lion track. And ofcourse he was 100% correct.

[Cowboyvon]

He is tough and single minded about what he is doing. When I first started out with him I thought I would have to take it easy on him being that he was 85 years old..sheesh was I wrong. We were cutting across country that was so rough that we were leading the mules down a canyon mostly sliding on our butts and my mule laid down on his side to take a leak. We were going up the other side leading the mules and I was about to puke up a lung I thought I better slow down for this old man.. he says "whats wrong you tired" I looked back and told him no but my mule sure was... he kinda grinned and says "come on lets go lets go"

I haven't been around these guys long enough to really be able to judge who would be top but I can tell you Orville has caught alot of lions and at 85 is still capable and I kind just imagine what he was like 30 years ago..

I've heard alot about Mike Root.. they say he can catch lions in really bad places.. And of course Ben Lilly the Shellys can tell you some stories about him and about how at one point I guess he was more animal than man.. And I really like Terrel Shelly I haven't been able to hunt with him yet but I'm suppose too, I've been able to visit with him at the ropings and he sure is humble and just a great guy to be around. Sewel Goodwin is another, I never got to meet him but I've talked to Keith Wilkerson about him and I guess he needs to be up there close to the top too.. And I'm pretty sure when Warner Glenn comes over the border from Arizona to New Mexico while he's here he might be right at the top..

And there are some young guys that most don't ever hear about that are out there catching lions that are pretty damm good ..

[houndcrazyfool]

i dont think us ca people should get a vote but a good friend of mine Cody Stemler holds the pope and young record book lion in montana... I have a pic of the cat and its head looks like its the size of a basketball

[Kevin D]

Tell you what boys, being number one ain't all it's cracked up to be, there is always someone gunning for you. Every new kid with a fancy dog box and something to prove is going to show up sooner or later to knock you down. Then there's all the crap you get coming off the internet.

You even become distrustful of your friends. Are they really your friend, or are they just hanging around to capture some of your glory for themselves? You can never be sure.

Yup, that's why I've given up on being the state's greatest houndsman.......I'll let other's fight over who's number one. I'm happy just being number 2!

[Smith]

You know I got to thinking about all the top bare ground lion hunters from New Mexico I could think of right off and it reads like a who's who of lion men.
Dub Evans
Albert Pickens
Homer Pickens
Bruce Bull
Hap Blackston
Richard Holcomb
Terrell Shelly
Bill Kiehne
Sewell Goodwin
Shorty Lyons
Ray Freeman
Leonard Hudson
Buddy Johnson
Quintin Hulse
Roland Rice
Jim Bobb
Mike Root
Orville Fletcher
Riley Milligan
Duncan Freeman
Bill Miller
Hap Blackston
Cecil Ralston


And that is just off the top of my head and I sure missed a bunch but any one of these in their day was a real force for the long tails to deal with.

Mike how about Billy Kiehne , When I was 5 to 6 years old Travis Kiehne, Billy's son was our next door neibor. My dad was real good freinds with him, but since he has moved have not heard much of him. I have read that book that Billy wrote, but never had met him. Did he have some good hounds?

[Mike Leonard]

I got old Bill in my group but like everything else I spelled his name wrong. LOL!

What a character!

[Lil Joes BigGame hounds]

It is good to see Richard Holcomb up there. I have heard lots of stories about him. Some pretty wild stuff! I have only met him once but have talked to him on the phone a few times. Sure would love to hunt with some of these guys.

[Mike Leonard]

Richard was married at one time to Bruce Bull's daughter and they lived in Maxwell or Miami, New Mexico near Cimmaron. Bruce was one of the best ever bare ground lion hunters and had a lot of Dub Evan's original stock of hounds. Richard moved on to Nevada as a State Hunter after Wiley Carroll hung it up and has done very well, and is a top hunter.

[liontracker]

It's the eight wonder of the world, that there are any lions left at all in New Mexico, looking at that list!

[2black/tan]

T.Zink marion ,Mt

[liontracker]

Colorado - Van Johnson

[Idhoundsman]

Utah-John Childs