Missed Cougar Hunt

[jwsmith1959]

My best friend from College talked me into doing a Cougar hunt with him in Southern Utah a couple of years ago. He and I did a ton of varmint/predator hunting, trapping, dove, and pretty much anything else during legal hunting seasons. My Mom inherited a large ranch in Central Texas and his family owned a few hundred acres bordering the Balcones Wildlife Refuge. We are still great friends even after 40 years.

Anyway, we got put on a wait list, and he called me middle of December and said we were a "go". Had about 3 days to get our %$#@ together and fly out. Couple of issues with me...I had just had two recent funky Doppler Sonograms on the Right Common Iliac that feeds blood to the right leg. They showed that the Stent that was placed there 3 years ago to fix a blockage was failing. 90% blockage in circulation causes pretty extreme issues when it comes to cold and stamina...something that the hunt was going to require, so I had to back out. Plus an upcoming $4K hospital stay to fix the problem. His oldest son wound up taking my spot. The outfitter suggested he bring a 22 Mag. as his main rifle...he wound up bringing a light weight 223 as a back up. He did say the hunt was pretty brutal and he finally got his Cat on the last day causing him to miss his flight. lol He has the means to do much more hunting than I do nowadays, so I somewhat live vicariously through him at times. He is recovering from major knee surgery and preparing for an Alaska hunt in about a month. Here is the Cat he got.

Phil Cougar.jpg (141.23 KiB) Viewed 5802 times

I no longer have any of my old PD contacts, but hope to find some in Texas, NM, or Oklahoma. Maybe even a field rat hunt in the PNW.

[Bill K]

Sorry to hear you missed out, but your health and well being comes first, for sure. Other hunts will gel. Very nice cat your friend got there. Thanks for sharing this.

[SecretCode]

Nice Cat for Sure. Congrats to your friend. Odd question, do you know if he ate any of the meat. I've heard they aren't all that bad.

[jwsmith1959]

Nice Cat for Sure. Congrats to your friend. Odd question, do you know if he ate any of the meat. I've heard they aren't all that bad.

Not sure, but doubtful. I know he missed his flight because he was processing the hide to take back. No mention of anything else. If it is decent, I am sure the outfitter kept it in Utah.