Hunting Sense

Deer scents and other lures of that type are an excellent way to coax a deer into close range, but what else might they bring to them? Depending on where you hunt, and the animals present that prey on deer as a food source, it could be more than you bargained for. Instead of an excited buck looking for a hot doe, you may end up with a mountain lion, just like my brother did on one hunt.

My brother had wanted to try out some fresh doe in estrous lure he had purchased from the local bow shop. Being bottled near where we lived and never more than a few days old, it was touted as the best thing out there. So the very next time we went hunting, he soaked a rag with it and tied it to his leg with a string to lay a trail as he walked to where he was going to set up to hunt.

Settling in just before daybreak, he had visions of the resident monster buck everyone had glimpsed but had never had the opportunity to have a shot at coming in. About 45 minutes after daybreak, he heard the snapping of twigs along a slough just over a small knoll in front of him. From the sound of it, what he thought was a deer was following the exact path of the trail he had laid with the deer scent.

He readied his black powder rifle and quietly waited for the deer to show itself. After a few minutes and more twig snapping as it approached, the animal crested the knoll. Instead of the monster buck he was hoping for, what he saw was a mountain lion.

The big cat continued along the scent trail, closing within 25 yards of my brother and kept coming. He raised his gun and yelled to try to scare it away, but it just stopped and crouched like it was getting ready to pounce, with it’s long tail twitching in anticipation of the attack. My brother then raised the muzzleloader and fired a shot over the mountain lions head.

When the smoke cleared, he spotted the cat hightailing it back the way it had came. Needless to say, he said that was the quickest reload he ever did just in case it decided to come back.

So, has anyone else ever had something similar happen to them? We’d love to hear about it if you have.

hunting, deer lures, deer scents, mountain lions, big cats, animal encounters, animal attacks