Charlie Chases Kitty by Las Vegas

[Bruce Day]

Charlie H is flying today to Las Vegas and from there by car, four wheeler and mule to chase lions on the border between Nevada and Utah. High rugged mountains and baying dogs, snow, wind , altitude, dust and thigh burning climbs. It just doesn't get any better than that.

I'll post photos when I get them.

He is hauling along some sort of 30 cal double rifle.

The way these big cats have been spreading, people may be seeing them back east. They like deer, sheep, calves, dogs, household cats and small children. I had one following me several years ago, probably no more than 50-100 yards behind me. I know it was there because the prints were fresh and still filling in with water when I doubled back, and other animals and birds stop moving. Look as I could, I never even saw it.

[Dean Romig]

What is his arm of choice?

[chris dawe]

Bruce are you gonna post some pics for Charlie? I for one would love to see some...I'm far removed from that kind of thing up here

[Richard Flanders]

"some sort of 30 cal double rifle"

My dream double rifle would be a .300 H&H. Look forward to pics of Charlies hunt

[charlie cleveland]

long as charlie will be chaseing the kitty things will be ok.but if the kitty gets to chaseing charlie then what..hope charlie gets one...charlie

[Bruce Day]

They are now driving the dust looking for a big one. They've named him after somebody we know, I won't repeat the name, but once they cross his trail, they will let the dogs loose to run down the sorry yowling SOB, shoot him and tan his hide.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

[QUOTE=Bruce Day;128531]
The way these big cats have been spreading, people may be seeing them back east.

Bruce, they are already here, despite the naysaying of the DNR's. I own an old farm in eastern Ohio and a patient who lives in that area showed me a picture of a mountain lion standing on her patio. A few days later, another patient who is a preacher told me one jumped out in front of him on a back road and crouched down in front of his car. Why would a preacher lie to me? He is also a bird hunter.
In Wheeling where I live, there have been some deer kills that were deemed to be cat kills. A patient and friend of mine who is a very proficient outdoorsmen had a mountain lion come past he and his son on the other side of the hill from the reported deer kills.
The Michigan DNR denied for years the presence of mt. lions in the UP, but now admitt to a growing population. Two were seen in Marquette County when I was there this year and was hunting in that county that day. I was hunting grouse around Republic in Marquette County 2 years ago when I ran into a gentleman hurrying out of the woods as white as a ghost--he claimed that a mt. lion had crouched down on the trail in front of him and had started stalking toward him, but then ran when his dog came running in.
They are here.

[Bruce Day]

Just have to be careful. 7/8 or 3/4 oz of #8 shot is unlikely to turn a big cat or wolf if it is coming at you or your dog.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

I used to just carry a 22 pistol when walking around the farm. Now, I grab the 12 ga 870 and stuff it with OO.

[Rich Anderson]

I always carry a Kimber 45 ACP while hunting in the U.P.

I thought maybe Charlie was using a Parker:corn:

[Bruce Day]

They have a pack of 20 lion dogs.

Feeding time. Stand back.

[Dean Romig]

What is it that is bleached into their fur?

[Stephen Hodges]

On the red one It looks like scars??

[Daryl Corona]

Lion spit.

[David Weber]

They " freeze brand" the dogs for identification purposes.

Freeze branding destroys pigment-forming (color) cells of the hair follicle. Hair continues to grow, but will grow in white.

[Jeff Davis]

what kind of dogs are those?

[Bruce Day]

When you chase a lion for 5-20 miles, you can end up with dogs scattered about thousands of acres. People can identify your dogs and call you.

Google Earth Pioche Nevada to see the kind of country they are running through. Its a bit different than Massachusetts farm fields.

Most hound men run a mix of Redbones, Blueticks or Black and Tans on big game. Out here on the plains, they run greyhounds, the big ones that are all legs, lungs and teeth and tear apart a coyote. I'm curious why lion hunters in the Great Basin country would not have a couple greyhounds in the pack....they are faster than anything else.

[Jeff Davis]

A couple of those almost look like German shorthairs with the Brown/white ticking. Can't imagine a shortahair would be part of a lion pack. At least not my little girl at 45 pounds. Maybe they are Bluetick mixes.

[Richard Flanders]

Go Charlie!! The Pioche area is gorgeous country.

[Bill Murphy]

Bruce, so you named the lion "Ed", "Murphy", or "Fox With The Runs". Which is it? I had a fourth guess, but somehow it won't print.

[Robert Delk]

We've got 'em in Iowa too.

[Bruce Day]

Charlie's photos while hunting in eastern Nevada.

The hounds are cold trail hounds and spend all day trying to cross a scent. There has been so much snow lately that everything has been holed up and not moving, and they hope there will be a break in the weather.

[Bruce Day]

So Charlie is hunting with Monty Dwire of www.bullcreeklionhunts.com who was telling an interesting story about this old gold miner's place. There were partners running a mine operation, pulling gold out but nuggets kept disappearing . They were squabbling and blaming each other for stealing gold from their supply, and the partnership fell apart in recriminations. Another fellow bought out their interest in the mine and building, and in tearing out a rotten floorboard found a packrat nest full of the missing gold nuggets.

[John Dunkle]

These pictures are amazing.... I wish I were there just to photograph the incredible country out there... Many thanks Bruce - and please keep them coming!!

- John

[chris dawe]

When I see an old stone structure like that it always has me thinking of how hard people would work for just the basic necessities of life (ie:a roof over your head )...just imaging the work that would go into building the likes of that in wild remote country ,everything was packed in ,everything was pick and shovel...everything was by hand !

Today I think most of us ,though we think we do ,have no clue as to what "work " is.

[Bruce Day]

These pictures are amazing.... I wish I were there just to photograph the incredible country out there... Many thanks Bruce - and please keep them coming!!

- John

John, CH has been seeing Gambel's quail. Now if a fellow had a shotgun and a bird dog........... Think about the possibilities.


Charlie and I talked last night about the hounds. I was thinking that they drove the roads looking for a lion sighting or a hot or recent scent. On the Great Plains, they look for a coyote in the fields, then let greyhounds loose to visually sight then run down the coyote. For raccoon hunting, the hound men drive about looking for hot scent, then the dogs follow by ground and or air scent. With lion hunting, the scent can be up to three days cold and is only ground scent. Lions have an oil on their pads which stays for several days, and they cruise roads and trails looking for lion paw prints. When they find that, the dogs are let loose, and they keep a low head to follow ground scent. On dry ground, the dogs learn to lick the ground when they see a print in order to re-moisturize the oil and that way they can determine if it is fresh enough to follow. So these dogs may follow a trail for up to 18 or 20 miles until the cat trees or goes into a cave. The Dwire's dogs are specially bred cold trail lion dogs from southern Arizona and it is quite valuable to have dogs that will track a three day old cold trail. One reason why they mark their dogs is to prevent theft. I asked Monty Dwire why they didn't use greyhounds to run down lions. His reply was that it wouldn't work, and of course it would not, greyhounds being sight pursuit dogs. When the lion is brought to bay, sometimes it is killed, sometimes released. The big tom cats will be as big as a six foot man, and far stronger . They will eat about 3 -4 deer per week.

The other client hunting with Charlie, a fellow from upstate New York, got a lion late yesterday afternoon. About 160 lbs with a bow. So today, two teams of dogs and both Cleave and Monty Dwire will be trying to get one for Charlie.

[Mike Shepherd]

The lions are in the Panhandle of Texas. Saw one on my lease four years ago.

Great pictures! Thanks for posting them.

[Bruce Day]

Now isn't this a cute cat. Just the type a PETA person or an anti-hunting person would want by their back yard with the kids and house dogs.

[Jeff Davis]

Holy cow. Look at the size of that thing. It's no wonder they were pretty much exterminated. On the one hand I can say wow, aren't they magnificent creatures , isn't nature grand. On the other hand I have a 4 year old son and I live in the middle of the woods- and if they were around here I'd kill every one I saw. No way I want one of those stalking him in the back yard.

[Richard Flanders]

They would be doing just that too Jeff were they around your house... The size of their paws is incredible, as is their power, I'm sure. This one looks like an African lion in size.

[Rich Anderson]

They don't compare to an African lion in either size or strength, still they are a formidale species. My sister lives in Colorado just west of Denver and a Mtn Lion killed a cow Elk in the medow above her house...the night befor she was to be married in that same medow:eek: As an FYI I was in Alaska hunting at the time:shock:

[Todd Kaltenbach]

Mountain lions are the most efficient hunters of the big cats, in others words they are more likely to be successful than any other large cat once they start a stalk. They are more widespread than most people believe. The Texas Parks and Wildlife have confirmed sightings in Dickenson which is a suburb of Houston.

[Eric Eis]

The Texas Parks and Wildlife have confirmed sightings in Dickenson which is a suburb of Houston.

Lot's of food there , kitty cats and small dogs.....:shock:

[Bruce Day]

Charlie finally got his cat late yesterday afternoon.

[Dean Romig]

Congratulations to Charlie, and thanks Bruce for keeping us up to date.

Tell us about the double rifle he took it with please.

[Eric Eis]

Nice cat Charlie, and thank you Bruce for taking us on the hunt. Same a s Dean what is the double rifle?

[Bruce Day]

Herr Herzog sprache das ist ein Otto Bock, Berlin, mit Krupp stahl. 8 x 57.

[Dean Romig]

With cheek piece I presume?

[King Brown]

Are these what we refer to in the Maritimes as eastern panther? Some say they're extinct but I believe they're here. My dear mother once told me she saw one in the back field. "Aw, c'mon, Mom. How do you know it was a panther?" My mother, a country woman and grandaughter of a full-blood Mi'kmaq who loved to snare rabbits, said, "Well, I can't say for sure. It had a tail like that curled up like a kangaroo." That's enough for me.

[John Dunkle]

With cheek piece I presume?

Yes...

[Tom Wooden]

Congratulations to Charlie!

Bruce - Thanks for keeping us informed.

Tom Wooden

[charlie cleveland]

mighty big cat and that double barrel rifle is very nice too..charlie s in better shape than i am to be chaseing those kitty s...charlie

[Bruce Day]

More snow today, the Basin and Range country is deep in snow from Ely to Pioche. It all drains into the Humboldt, which the California Trail pioneers followed from north of the Great Salt Lake all the way to Reno, then over what came to be called Donner Pass.

The mountains are up to 13,000 ft, including the Ruby Mts, which I want to hunt next fall for Himalayan Snow Grouse. Charlie was having to climb after the dogs to anywhere between 9 and 12 thousand feet. At 73 years old, it pays to stay in shape to be able to do this kind of activity.

With Charlie 73, Doc 69 and me 67, we figure we can run up these hills for at least ten more years, and we have a couple mid to early 60's kids that can carry the lunch packs. We are talking about quail hunting in the area.