Mountain Gun.............in the mountains
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Rpg
Member
Excellent!!
You worked for that.
You worked for that.
That's a great pic, worthy of a magazine IMO.
Any pics of the cat?
Any pics of the cat?
HarryD
US Veteran
I would love to hear more about the hunt and see a photo of your lion.
That's one of the best outdoor action photos I have ever seen. I could never hunt lions--I read a story last week and simply reading about the physical exertion required chasing the devils with hounds through mountainous terrain caused me to have to go lay down I was so tired and winded!
So was it a 686, 625, 629 or 657? Great picture! More pics of the gun and kitty?
andyo5
Member
So...you missed. Right?
Nice pic, though.
Nice pic, though.
629shooter
Member
That is awesome, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the feedback guys. The hunt was one of the toughest things I have ever done physically. Scaling down steep mountain ledges and the brutal torture of having to climb back up the next one.
Here are some pictures of the rest of the hunt...........
Here are some pictures of the rest of the hunt...........
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Wow, I would say he was pretty mature. That's a good sized cat. Good job.
johnnyflake
Member
petemacmahon
Member
THAT IS WAY COOL! Congratulations. Can you share info on the load you used and the details of the performance on the game? Where did you hit him? How far was the shot? shoot DA or SA?
lamarw
Member
I love my Model 25 Mountain Gun in .45 Colt. Yours looks like a stainless model or of the 625 series Mountain Gun. What caliber is your revolver?
My Mountain Gun (N Frame) is actually an ounce or two lighter than my Model 686 (L Frame) until you load them up. Once loaded, my Mountain Gun with the .45 Colt rounds is an ounce or two heavier than the .357 magnum 686.
Thank goodness the bobcats in this region are not as big as that trophy.
My Mountain Gun (N Frame) is actually an ounce or two lighter than my Model 686 (L Frame) until you load them up. Once loaded, my Mountain Gun with the .45 Colt rounds is an ounce or two heavier than the .357 magnum 686.
Thank goodness the bobcats in this region are not as big as that trophy.
HarryD
US Veteran
Awesome photos and a mature cat for sure! Congrats on a outstanding hunt.
trashcancharlie
Member
I am both completely impressed and utterly exhausted at the thought of that chase. Great pictures!
For those that asked. I actually had to go dig the gun out of the safe to determine what model mountain gun I had..haha. I believe I bought the gun new in 1996 and then sent it immediately to Magna Port for a new finish, tuning, porting, cylinder numbering.......etc. Received it back that same year and had Craig Spiegel custom fit a pair of grips......then it sat in my safe up for about 18 years.
I didn't have much runway prior to when I booked the lion hunt and when I had to be in Colorado so as I was packing my bags I pulled out what had been my go to hunting handgun, a Freedom Arms revolver that had put a bear rug and more than a few deer head on my walls. A week before the hunt I spoke to the outfitter and he told me that the temps had been well below zero in the mountains........the only holster I had for the Freedom Arms was an outside the waistband leather holster. This holster worked well for me in New Mexico and even in colder climates for deer as I was typically hunting in a box type blind and had the gun in my lap. I wanted a shoulder type holster for the mountain lion hunt....more comfortable, easier to access...........etc. Long story short, I found the holster (Diamond D Leather, guides choice) but couldn't find one to fit my chopped down Freedom Arms.......so I had Diamond D express ship me a guides choice holster for my 629-4. I received it a few days before I had to be in Colorado and managed to squeak in a bit of time at my gun club breaking in the Mountain Gun.
Regarding the load that I used, shot distance....etc. Nothing fancy here. I had 20 rounds of Remington 240's JHP left from my very brief practice session. The shot distance was approximately 45 yards.....the guide considered this a 'long' shot for lion hunting with a handgun. He wanted to move around the other side of the tree (which involved going further down the mountain and then up the side of another ridge) which would have cut the shot distance to 20 yards......and put leads on the dogs to ensure they were well out of harms way should a wounded cat come crashing out of the tree with some fight left in him. Well, the cat started getting antsy like it was going to take off again (we had him on a ledge 2 times and in a tree once up until this point) I assured the guide that I was quite proficient with a handgun and could cleanly anchor the cat at 45 yards. The simple truth was that I was absolutely exhausted. I didn't think I could walk another foot. It was close to 5PM never got above -5 degrees all day. We had been up since 4AM and out chasing this cat since first light. My thoughts had shifted from 'I wonder if I will get a shot at lion?' to 'God, its going to take 5 hours to get back up the mountain to where the truck is parked'. Trumping all of this was the guilt and concern I had for bringing my son along on this trip. He had witnessed his dad pack up for hunts and leave for weeks at a time over the years since he was in diapers. After speaking with the outfitter (who felt we would be on snowmobiles for a good part of the hunt) I made the decision to bring my 10 year old son on his first 'big game' hunt. As I quickly found out early in the day, mountain lions (especially when being pursued by a pack of noisy hounds) don't typically run in areas that are conducive to easy travel (either by snowmobile, truck, or foot). Well after 1PM, the outfitter looked at me and said 'you are going to earn this one.....some come easy........and some don't......and you got the later'.
Back to the moment of truth. As the outfitter urged me to get closer I got down on one knee and did everything I could to hold steady and took the shot you see in the picture in my earlier post. I flat out missed the lion The shot was low and went right under the cats chest. He jumped up and spun around and looked the other way. The second shot broke his shoulder, clipped his heart and lung. He came crashing down and the hunt was over. After some pictures and high fives it was back to work. With the sun setting and the temps getting colder we had to skin and pack the cat out and get back to the truck which was at the top of the mountain. The guide and I made a fire while the other guide started skinning. It was during the 30 min that it took the guide to skin the cat, that I gave my son the pep talk he needed (we both needed) to get the adrenaline pumping again for the biggest challenge of the day.......getting back to the top of the mountain.
Well, it didn't take 5 hours to get back to the truck, but it took close to 3. Those 3 hours were absolutely grueling. The guides were even laboring. My son, who is a very mature and polite young man had meltdown on our way back up the mountain. I had never heard my son use a bad word up until this point. About an hour and half into the ascent, my son took a step up and pulled himself up a few feet only to slide back down and into some conifers......looked at me with tears in his eyes and said "Dad this was really a ****** stupid idea, we should have went fishing". At the time.......he was 100 percent correct. I put him in way over his head. That being said, he performed like a Navy Seal. On the hour long truck ride out of the mountains back to the guides ranch...and after drinking 3 bottles of water, he looked at me said 'Dad, I'm not sure lion hunting is my thing, I thinking I'm more of a deer hunter'...haha.
Thanks for reading guys.......it gave me a chance to relive precious time with my son.
-marc
I didn't have much runway prior to when I booked the lion hunt and when I had to be in Colorado so as I was packing my bags I pulled out what had been my go to hunting handgun, a Freedom Arms revolver that had put a bear rug and more than a few deer head on my walls. A week before the hunt I spoke to the outfitter and he told me that the temps had been well below zero in the mountains........the only holster I had for the Freedom Arms was an outside the waistband leather holster. This holster worked well for me in New Mexico and even in colder climates for deer as I was typically hunting in a box type blind and had the gun in my lap. I wanted a shoulder type holster for the mountain lion hunt....more comfortable, easier to access...........etc. Long story short, I found the holster (Diamond D Leather, guides choice) but couldn't find one to fit my chopped down Freedom Arms.......so I had Diamond D express ship me a guides choice holster for my 629-4. I received it a few days before I had to be in Colorado and managed to squeak in a bit of time at my gun club breaking in the Mountain Gun.
Regarding the load that I used, shot distance....etc. Nothing fancy here. I had 20 rounds of Remington 240's JHP left from my very brief practice session. The shot distance was approximately 45 yards.....the guide considered this a 'long' shot for lion hunting with a handgun. He wanted to move around the other side of the tree (which involved going further down the mountain and then up the side of another ridge) which would have cut the shot distance to 20 yards......and put leads on the dogs to ensure they were well out of harms way should a wounded cat come crashing out of the tree with some fight left in him. Well, the cat started getting antsy like it was going to take off again (we had him on a ledge 2 times and in a tree once up until this point) I assured the guide that I was quite proficient with a handgun and could cleanly anchor the cat at 45 yards. The simple truth was that I was absolutely exhausted. I didn't think I could walk another foot. It was close to 5PM never got above -5 degrees all day. We had been up since 4AM and out chasing this cat since first light. My thoughts had shifted from 'I wonder if I will get a shot at lion?' to 'God, its going to take 5 hours to get back up the mountain to where the truck is parked'. Trumping all of this was the guilt and concern I had for bringing my son along on this trip. He had witnessed his dad pack up for hunts and leave for weeks at a time over the years since he was in diapers. After speaking with the outfitter (who felt we would be on snowmobiles for a good part of the hunt) I made the decision to bring my 10 year old son on his first 'big game' hunt. As I quickly found out early in the day, mountain lions (especially when being pursued by a pack of noisy hounds) don't typically run in areas that are conducive to easy travel (either by snowmobile, truck, or foot). Well after 1PM, the outfitter looked at me and said 'you are going to earn this one.....some come easy........and some don't......and you got the later'.
Back to the moment of truth. As the outfitter urged me to get closer I got down on one knee and did everything I could to hold steady and took the shot you see in the picture in my earlier post. I flat out missed the lion The shot was low and went right under the cats chest. He jumped up and spun around and looked the other way. The second shot broke his shoulder, clipped his heart and lung. He came crashing down and the hunt was over. After some pictures and high fives it was back to work. With the sun setting and the temps getting colder we had to skin and pack the cat out and get back to the truck which was at the top of the mountain. The guide and I made a fire while the other guide started skinning. It was during the 30 min that it took the guide to skin the cat, that I gave my son the pep talk he needed (we both needed) to get the adrenaline pumping again for the biggest challenge of the day.......getting back to the top of the mountain.
Well, it didn't take 5 hours to get back to the truck, but it took close to 3. Those 3 hours were absolutely grueling. The guides were even laboring. My son, who is a very mature and polite young man had meltdown on our way back up the mountain. I had never heard my son use a bad word up until this point. About an hour and half into the ascent, my son took a step up and pulled himself up a few feet only to slide back down and into some conifers......looked at me with tears in his eyes and said "Dad this was really a ****** stupid idea, we should have went fishing". At the time.......he was 100 percent correct. I put him in way over his head. That being said, he performed like a Navy Seal. On the hour long truck ride out of the mountains back to the guides ranch...and after drinking 3 bottles of water, he looked at me said 'Dad, I'm not sure lion hunting is my thing, I thinking I'm more of a deer hunter'...haha.
Thanks for reading guys.......it gave me a chance to relive precious time with my son.
-marc
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