AWESOME DAY!!!

[lionhunterdaves]

About ten years ago my uncle died while lion hunting, he fell off a cliff in the dolores river canyon. "BELL CANYON". I told myself and my family I wouldn't hunt that area.
For some odd reason I have had an itch to go back to where he fell.

Yesterday morning I did just that, had a little bit of snow and thought I would take the dogs. At about 10:30 I found a track and got a couple of the dogs started. I didn't think I was going to catch just do some training being how the track was almost completely burnt out. After three hours of barely moving the track I was thought about picking the dogs up and going home. I watched my older dog working the track and noticed my one year old dog was really cold trailing good and actually helping out. I decided to let them keep working and when they were done I would pick them up then. I decided to go back to the pickup and go aroud to a closer road and see what they were doing when I got there.

I took me a good hour to get to the pickup and another thirty to get to the road that was closer to the dogs. I could hear the dogs but they weren't anywhere close. I got my pack and walked to the rim. The dogs were treed in the bottom of a nasty canyon"bell canyon". Looked like they were really close to where my uncle ended up when he fell. I almost go sick to my stomach and sat down for quite a while. After getting my witt's back I started looking for a safe way down.
After a grueling hike down and around I got to the dogs. They had a female and three kittens treed high up in a huge pine.

A month after my uncle died a couple of family members took a cross into where he had fallen. Well the lion tree wasn't ten yards from the cross. Made me feel awesome. Because nine times out of ten in those conditions I wouldn't have caught, hell I wouldn't have even turned loose in that area! Every one might think I'm crazy but I know he had a part in me catching and getting in and out safe and sound. Thanks for letting me share.

[BuckNAze]

Crazy story! Thats awesome, glad your dogs are working out for ya and glad you got to visit your uncles spot down in that canyon! On top of that its not bad putting up 4 lions in one tree! You have any pics?

[lionhunterdaves]

I have some pic's and will post soon. Putting more than one lion up a tree was a fisrt for me. The kittens couldn't have weighed more than twenty or twent five pounds. Cute litte fellars!

[BuckNAze]

Those will be some nice pics! Will keep checking back

[AZDOGMAN]

great story

[Dan V]

Thank you for sharing that story.

An old friend of mine was telling me about patterns they saw with lion behavior and how lions travelled through the country after hunting the same ranches for decades and generations.

It sounds like lions like that area, and they are still using the country the same way they were when your uncle hunted it.

Dan

[MesaMan]

Great story, must have been inspiring. Thanks for putting it up here....

[liontracker]

Very nice Dallas ... Very nice!
My respects to your uncle also.

[Maverick]

Good job I'm sure that was a very special tree for you.

[lionhunterdaves]

It was a very memorable tree. I will never forget it or have one that means more. Thanks for reading!

[Ike]

Congrats on the catch lionhunterdaves, and thanks for sharing the story.........

ike

[catdogs]

Yep, great story!

[Joe Buff]

Hey Daves sounds like a pretty good hunting day. Hey let me know when your dog has pups. I got one from jerret and I finally got my wife talked into letting me get another one to get me started. Maybe give me some pointers on how to start training these pups. I read that dragging a hot dog and letting him track it helps out and that pup I got does pretty good at that but thats all I know.

[lionhunterdaves]

Joe,

My dog started having pups tonight, she's had four so far and maybe a couple still coming.

And any time you want to go hunting or need help with anything just let me know I'd be glad to help! I do have a really good started two year old dog for sale, tell angie its only a $1000. Pocket change for you!!!

[Joe Buff]

I don't know about the pocket change part but that sounds like a pretty good price. How much would you want for one of the pups. I am sure I will be talking to you quite a bit about lion hunting.