A Close Call With A Cougar
I was looking for a place to put up my tree stand because the Deer and Elk bow season would soon be open.
I was standing at the edge of a small green meadow where it was pretty narrow, about 50ft wide when a full grown Cougar stepped out of the tree line slightly to my left and across the meadow. I spotted him about the same time he spotted me. He was after a Deer but I think because he couldn’t get the Deer he thought he would just take the fat boy, me.
When he laid his ears back and started to snarl I was what you might call panicky, but I knew if I ran he would catch me before I could get to my truck which was about 50 yards away.
He would come close to me and go down in a crouch as if to spring on me. I would back up slowly towards my truck until I put enough ground between us so he could not reach me with one jump. Then he would come closer and go back into a crouch.
Finally I remembered I had a sling shot in my back pocket, you know one of those wrist rockets that shoots steel balls that was stored in the handle. I opened the handle and I was so nervous all the steel balls fell out onto the ground except three that stayed in my hand. I loaded one and pulled back to full draw and let go.
Can you imagine shooting an Elephant with a spit ball? That’s about the same results I got with that lion. Oh he would jump and then just look more determined.
I had to do something and quick. He was getting tired of this game and was not going to play it much longer. So I decided I had to try to beat him to my truck. When I turned to run a Horrible thought entered my mind.
I was coming up on the passenger side of my truck, and I heard the Cougar coming at full speed. Was that door locked? I could not remember if I locked it or not. If it is locked I am cat food.