My son's first lion
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:23 pm
Wasn't gonna run this Sunday, but woke up @ 3 to get a drink and saw a fresh snow out the window, so I made a pot of coffee and woke my son up to see if we could go fill his tag. He's never taken a lion before and it was something he really wanted to do this year, so I thought I'd do my best to make it happen.
We hit our first road about 5 am and got out to look at some tracks when a couple fish cops rolled up behind me and got out to "chat". I took a spur road and they went on ahead (good riddance). I got back to the main road and came around a corner and found a lion track and fish cop tracks (they got out to look). It wasn't huge, but looked like a tom and thought it was worth the run and we'd decide when we got to the tree if it was one my son wanted to take. We camped on the track and waited for daylight, when here come the fish cops again rolling in the dark with no headlights. They came up to tell me they had been watching me to see if I was gonna turn out early...I told them I thought they were employing sneaky tactics and I didn't appreciate it. Anyway, they left and a buddy showed up to run with us. We let the pups start the track and turned in one more experienced hound, after a couple little screw-ups they got him treed and my son decided he wanted to take him. So we set up and tied the dogs back for the shot, he made a great one, but the lion came out alive and ran a ways, my pup got bit on her foreleg, but it seemed to light a little bit of a fire in her. All in all, a good day in the woods with my boy, my dogs and a good buddy.
We hit our first road about 5 am and got out to look at some tracks when a couple fish cops rolled up behind me and got out to "chat". I took a spur road and they went on ahead (good riddance). I got back to the main road and came around a corner and found a lion track and fish cop tracks (they got out to look). It wasn't huge, but looked like a tom and thought it was worth the run and we'd decide when we got to the tree if it was one my son wanted to take. We camped on the track and waited for daylight, when here come the fish cops again rolling in the dark with no headlights. They came up to tell me they had been watching me to see if I was gonna turn out early...I told them I thought they were employing sneaky tactics and I didn't appreciate it. Anyway, they left and a buddy showed up to run with us. We let the pups start the track and turned in one more experienced hound, after a couple little screw-ups they got him treed and my son decided he wanted to take him. So we set up and tied the dogs back for the shot, he made a great one, but the lion came out alive and ran a ways, my pup got bit on her foreleg, but it seemed to light a little bit of a fire in her. All in all, a good day in the woods with my boy, my dogs and a good buddy.
Thanks Andy, definitely a day to remember...I still remember the first animal I ever took with my dad and the dogs, one of those memories that's burned into my mind forever I hope it will be for him too!