A winter storm had finally moved out of the area, leaving a
fresh batch of snow across Northern Arizona.
Perfect for cutting a fresh lion track!
The day started early, 2 a.m. early!
Everyone was out fighting the subzero temperatures running roads in
hopes of cutting a track. Somewhere
between 3 and 4 in the morning, P.T. Carter, Clay Stephens and Bryant McGee found what they
were looking for. A couple phone calls
were made to get everyone to meet up at the same spot while the two continued
checking roads to find the last place the cat had crossed. As the daylight began to creep in, the crew
began to wake up and climb out of their idling trucks ready for the chase
ahead.
As the first dogs hit the ground, the hounds let out quick
bays as the smell of lion filled their nose while they worked tracks lined out
in the snow. The dogs were moving at a
fairly good pace, a good sign for the day ahead. The lion traveled several miles when Rick
Murphy from Six Shooter Molly’s turned back to move a truck around to a
location that might be closer to the direction the hounds were trailing. Shortly after Rick caught back up with the
gang, the dogs blew up and started to get ahead of the hunters. When everyone finally caught back up with the
dogs, they had the lion bayed up in a cave less than a hundred yards from the
Road Rick had moved his truck to!
The lion was too far back in the cave for any shots or
pictures. Eventually the lion shot out
of the cave and topped the rim with dogs hot on his trail! The dogs put the lion up a large pinion tree
just a short distance away, and as the hunting crew caught back up with the
action, they were finally able to get their first good look at the lion! Pictures and video were taken as the dogs put
up a concert of their own. The lion
suddenly jumped from the tree and headed back to the rim it had just left! Again, the dogs did their job by putting the
lion on a ledge in a crevice that could be seen from above giving more
opportunity for pictures, but more importantly giving Baily a shot.
After the cameras were stowed back into packs, Baily prepared
a shot with her dads pistol. At the
sound of the first shot, the racket coming from the hounds switched from rapid
barks to long drawn out bawls. The one
shot from Baily’s pistol was all that was needed, now all was left was to get
the big cat out. Clay Stephens hefted
his way down the crevice and was able to lug the lion out!
The smile says it all as Baily posed for the last pictures
of the day!
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