Catahoula
Well-Known Member
Hey Guys, got a calling story for you!
On Thanksgiving Day, we got done with dinner & the family stuff really early. Since I have a whitetail doe tag, I decided to go to one of the 3 units it is valid for. I parked on state property & seen 2 moose right away. Kept hiking about another mile & seen no deer sign but I had been following a pair of very fresh coyote tracks. I came to a rough little canyon where I had some visibility so I decided to try to kill those coyotes. I always have a few mouth calls in my pack no matter what I am hunting because predators are my favorite critter to hunt. I had been calling less than 10 minutes when I seen something coming. I knew immediately that it was not a coyote but thought it was a bobcat. I was sitting there wishing bobcat season was open when I seen a long tail! It was a lion. It sat down near a pine tree at about 120 yards & was just watching my direction. I had a lion tag with me. I tried all my soft coaxing sounds that usually work on coyotes but it would not move closer or turn so I would have a broadside shot. I was carrying my custom 22-250 built on a Winchester action with a 28" Shilen barrel. It is a tack driver. I reload 52 grain Hornady A-Max's in that rifle. Very accurate & also a good fur bullet. I finally decided to take the shot. I slowly got my rifle up on my shooting sticks knowing the shot would have to be very precise to drop this large predator. I centered the crosshairs of my Leupold 5HD 3x15 scope on the throat of that cat & touched the trigger. I hit exactly where I was aiming! The cat dropped in it's tracks!
I have hunted/called predators for 30 years & this is the pinnacle of my calling career. There is no female quota in the unit I was in so I knew I did'nt have to worry about that. It was a female & when I checked it into the fish & game, they said it was 4-5 years old.
Thanks, Kirk
On Thanksgiving Day, we got done with dinner & the family stuff really early. Since I have a whitetail doe tag, I decided to go to one of the 3 units it is valid for. I parked on state property & seen 2 moose right away. Kept hiking about another mile & seen no deer sign but I had been following a pair of very fresh coyote tracks. I came to a rough little canyon where I had some visibility so I decided to try to kill those coyotes. I always have a few mouth calls in my pack no matter what I am hunting because predators are my favorite critter to hunt. I had been calling less than 10 minutes when I seen something coming. I knew immediately that it was not a coyote but thought it was a bobcat. I was sitting there wishing bobcat season was open when I seen a long tail! It was a lion. It sat down near a pine tree at about 120 yards & was just watching my direction. I had a lion tag with me. I tried all my soft coaxing sounds that usually work on coyotes but it would not move closer or turn so I would have a broadside shot. I was carrying my custom 22-250 built on a Winchester action with a 28" Shilen barrel. It is a tack driver. I reload 52 grain Hornady A-Max's in that rifle. Very accurate & also a good fur bullet. I finally decided to take the shot. I slowly got my rifle up on my shooting sticks knowing the shot would have to be very precise to drop this large predator. I centered the crosshairs of my Leupold 5HD 3x15 scope on the throat of that cat & touched the trigger. I hit exactly where I was aiming! The cat dropped in it's tracks!
I have hunted/called predators for 30 years & this is the pinnacle of my calling career. There is no female quota in the unit I was in so I knew I did'nt have to worry about that. It was a female & when I checked it into the fish & game, they said it was 4-5 years old.
Thanks, Kirk
