I saw one while bowhunting just outside of Omaha (~30 miles) 7-8 years ago. At the time, I thought it was one that got loose or just moving through but since then, they have: shot and killed one a mile and a half from where I rifle hunt in St. Paul, captured one in Omaha and just this week, a man reported being attacked by one ~10 miles West of Omaha, had numerous unsubstantiated sightings across the state.

Looks like we have a small population getting a foot-hold. I kind of like the idea but ever since I saw the one while bowhunting, I really hate walking back from my stand alone in the dark. I try to always have a light and make noise and have even packed my Glock on numerous occasions. I'm not sure if that is legal but it helped with piece of mind and after all, I'd rather get a ticket than be a meal ticket!!

As a teenager in eastern VT in 1958 my mother claimed to have seen a black BIG cat with a long tail. My father saw the tracks later. The kicker is that my cousin, dog and self were camping in a back field. During the night something bothered the dog, we opened the tent flap and saw a BIG black cat. The warden stated that there was nothing like that in VT. By the way that dog chased that cat for away from the tent and was gone for the better part of 2 days. We thought he was dead.

I live in central Massachusetts. About five years ago, we had a rash of mountain lion(not panther) sightings in a wild area about 6 miles from my house. Several reliable people saw them running along a fenceline for about a 3 month period in the summer. Maybe they moved on when hunting season came and the multitudes took to the woods!!

bowhuntr

Around my other home in the NW Arizona mtns we certainly have them and numerous sightings have been made. They are very elusive generally.

I had an encounter with an aggressive one on the side of the mountain on my little ranch in July of '02 and am thankful for having a sixgun on my side at the time. While hiking down from the top of the Mtn with my yellow lab one sunny morning I looked about 15 yards ahead and saw a mtn lion in a full crouch stalking up to attack my lab about 10-12 feet from her! The dog had no clue it was there and was a half second from getting pounced. I took aim at the cat's head and fired with a .44 Special JHP in my .44 Mag S&W M629 (hitting it high in the neck I later found). It ran off and I found blood to show I'd hit it good. Realizing I then had a tracking situation on my hands I began to follow it as I did not think it wise to leave it running around wounded.

After an hour and a half of tracking it all along the sides of the mtn (very carefully I might add, constantly watching my back, etc) I had run out of water and was becoming fatigued due to the rising heat. I went back to the house, rested and refreshed myself with lunch and grabbed my .44 Mag 1894 Marlin (again only light .44 Special ammo was available - damn!) and went back out to find it. Having seen a dozen vultures circling near the top of the mtn I had a clue it must still be there and also perhaps dead if I was lucky.

I returned to where I'd last seen sign and could not find any more blood or tracks. I then decided to just hike up towards the top and look around, as I had no sign to work with. By sheer luck I came upon it (the mtn is big, it's like finding a needle in a haystack) in a cluster of boulders. When I saw the lion all I could see was it's face staring directly at me about 30 feet away and above me, calm and cold as though waiting for me (why didn't it run? There's no way it didn't hear me coming). Realizing I better work fast I took aim at it's nose and fired. It got up and started coming after me down the rocks! I fired two more quick shots at it's chest and it stumbled into a crevice in the rocks, bleeding heavily from the face/neck area so I knew he was hurt bad.

I side-stepped about 20 feet to the right to get out of it's path as it was now about 20 feet away. It began coming after me again, but by now though it was pulling itself toward me with it's front paws cuz it's rear legs were apparently not working any longer. I fired another shot (it was by now about 12-14 feet away) and decided to move again to get the hell out of it's path. Instead I tripped and fell flat on my back on the loose rocky slope - not good! I scrambled to my feet and dashed over to where I'd started and fired a couple more rounds with the last being thru the top of it's skull, ending the fight. It came to rest just about 3 feet from where I'd fallen on my a$$ a moment before. Whew!

After it was over I saw that my first shot that morning had been high in the neck but obviously not a fatal hit. My second encounter with the rifle that afternoon were all chest hits except one that shattered it's lower leg terribly. That first shot in the nose went right thru it's lower front teeth and on into the throat area, which I'm sure would have been fatal had I been able to wait 60 seconds or so, but that lion was up and determined to get me til it's last breath. I'd apparently broken it's back with one of the shots as it had to drag itself after that.

Let it suffice to say that I no longer carry .44 Special loads in my magnums, lol. The load is now the bonded core 270gr Speer JFP at 1600fps which I sure wish I'd had at the time needless to say.

Since then my nearest neighbor about 1/4 mile north of my camp has seen one right behind his house and I've found tracks within a mile of my place along a stream/wash bed.

In hindsight this lion was bold and fearless both times I encountered it that day. It was about a 90 lbs lone female. A beautiful animal indeed it was. I have a healthy respect for them and after such an experience you're never quite as relaxed in the timber when hiking again. I carry a sidearm in Arizona almost all day long as a matter of habit anyway, but that reinforces why it's better to be prepared than sorry...