True pics, but wrong state...

snopes

The story:

Near Saluda , South Carolina ..............
Look at what Wally Tiernan hit with his car on Highway 178 approximately 16 miles East of Greenwood, South Carolina in Saluda County. The lion was barely alive and unable to move, so our neighbor called SCDNR and they came and put the lion down. A land owner believes this is the same lion he had seen a week earlier dragging a 320 lb steer out of the pasture. This lion weighed 260 lbs. while most mature male mountain lions weigh 80 to 150 lbs.
We have seen evidence of their presence through tracks in the dirt but had no idea this big guy roamed around here.

Monster cat!

I've seen this picture stated from; Co, SD, Ka, and now S. Carolina.

Doc, NONE of the facts in that story hold water.

Here is the factual account:

Marshall and Barbara Rader said that on a dark night in early December, they were driving north on Highway 64 about halfway between Williams and Valle when a huge cougar leapt in front of their Ford F350 truck.

Marshall - who hunts lions and displays mounted game animals at his Double Eagle Trading Co. in Valle - knew right off it was unusually large.

"His head was at the right front headlight, and his tail was in the other lane," Marshall said.

He had no chance to brake. The truck ran over the lion.

The couple pulled over and found the lion under a tree, alive but unable to get up. It still was able to put off a serious growl, but it clearly was beyond rehabilitation.

When they called 9-1-1 for help, the dispatcher said they couldn't put the animal down. They had to wait for a Department of Public Safety officer to arrive.

DPS officer Jason Ellico just happened to be a local Boy Scout leader who taught youngsters about hunting and processing game, so the Raders agreed to let him skin the lion as a demonstration for the boys.

It is Ellico who is posing with the lion in the photos all over the Internet, the Raders said.

Barbara Rader said people have told her the photos are making the Internet rounds, but she hasn't seen them.

"He's beautiful," she said. "He's absolutely huge.

"Fish and Game told us it's the biggest mountain lion they'd ever seen in this area."

While the Raders didn't weigh the catamount, it took three men to lift it and everyone who saw it estimated it weighed 200-220 pounds, Marshall Rader said. Its paw was about 8 inches across, and it was more than 7 feet long from head to tail. He could see its head over the hood of his truck.

"If he'd been killed with a gun, he'd probably would have been an SCI (Safari Club International) record," Rader said.

Once the mounting is done in about a year, Marshall hopes to display it at an SCI convention. SCI measures records by the size of the lion's head.

While The Courier couldn't reach the Game and Fish officer on the scene Monday, the paper e-mailed the photos to other Game and Fish officials.

"It is a very large lion," said Zen Mocarski, public information officer in the Kingman office. He and others who viewed the photos were impressed.

The Game and Fish Web site says male lions in Arizona generally weigh 80-150 pounds.

By the way, another blogger rumor that Game and Fish is going to display the cat in one of its offices is not true.

The only question in Marshall's mind is whether to display it at his store or his home.

quote:

Originally posted by Outdoor Writer:
Doc, NONE of the facts in that story hold water.

even from the snopes link?

I despise all these accounts that keep popping up in my e-mail. The last claimed to have taken place in Swenson, TX.

I generally don't even open these any more as they get harder to believe by the minute, much like the picture of a cougar through a glass window that was supposedly stalking the children inside.

Heck, if it's not some blown-out rendition of a monster game animal, it's an e-mail that "must be sent to 21 people in 3 minutes" -- or else you have 10 years of bad luck.

Some folks really need a job (or another job!) to keep them from dreaming up this stuff.

I agree Bobby, but I posted it simply b/c of the size of the cat.

I really don't care where or how it was killed. I've come to accept that a large portion of emails are BS anyway. But that doesn't change the size of that kitty!

Doc,

I didn't go to the Snopes link initially because I already knew the facts. I was referring to the snippet you included as to not being factual.

That said, I just went to the link, and Snopes has it correct. -TONY

P.S. -- I never saw a report or pix on the BC bear outting; how did it go?

Doc-

Please don't think I was referring to your post. I appreciate you posting so that the facts could be known.

I was just referring to all the e-mails filled with bogus info that circulate about things like the cougar.

Bobby

BTW, the lion I killed in AZ just a bit south of the one above about 20 years ago was probably close to the size of that one. I never weighed it, but the tanned hide measures over 8.5" from nose to tail tip.

Here's two pix of it. 1st is guide Randy Epperson of Rimrock Outfitters with the wittle pussy. 2nd is the cat in the tree minutes before I shot it. -TONY

Hey Tony, one of these days I have got to go hunting for mountain lion. I'm thinking either my 257 Wby or '06 would be more then enough. Just wondering what would be a proper bullet selection for either of these rifles would be.

Ken....

Ken,

With all of ONE lion kill, it's a bit difficult for me to make any bullet recommendations based on such limited experence. But I will anyway.

First, if you're going to do a hunt with dogs, you'll likely be shooting at the cat from very close range. I was nearly right below my lion at about 25 feet and put a 148 gr. jacketed .357 bullet from a M19 S&W into its sternum between the front legs.

So basically, about any bullet in your .257 or '06 would work in such a situation.

For an open-country hunt, i.e. no dog chase, any bullet you feel comfortable with for deer will do a job on a cat, too. -TONY

Thanks Tony.

When that opportunity comes it will be an open country hunt. I'm sure that will be a chore but what the heck, it will be a VERY interesting hunt.

Ken....

Ken,

As you probably well know already, anyone that goes out with the intention of killing a lion in AZ without using dogs could be in for the long haul.

I've been roaming the state for various critters since 1962. During that time, I have seen only two lions other than the one I killed. And that one was after three other unsuccessful dog hunts. The chance encounters occurred on the east side of the North Kaibab about 3 years apart. I saw both cats though binoculars, but they were too far away to shoot.

That said, quite a few guys do get a chance to kill one via the "opportunity" route, but those usually happen while pursuing other game animals. Even the guys chasing varmints on a regular basis rarely encounter a big cat.

So good luck. -TONY

I hear ya Tony. Haven't been hunting that long but I have heard one and it was a LONG ways off. If it takes me the rest of my hunting life then so be it. After all, the fun is in the hunt.

Ken....