It’s safe to say that Dylan Ross had an epic day out during a hunting trip on November 5.
He was nearly killed by a mountain lion, but instead of going home after the incident, he continued and ended up killing a nice buck.
It’s rare enough to see a mountain lion in the woods. The elusive cat tends to keep to itself unless it’s going in for a kill, which is exactly what was about to happen when Ross noticed one that was only 15 yards away.
The Colorado man can thank his incredible shooting and staying focused under pressure for managing to walk away alive.
You can practically hear every nerve in his body screaming as his adrenaline is still kicking at a thousand miles an hour.
Here’s his account of exactly what went down on his Facebook:
“Words can’t even describe my hunting experience yesterday. I was an hour over a vertical mountain before it got light. I got to the other side and was sneaking through the timber then suddenly I hear something to my left. I turned and it was a lion! No more than 5 yards away. Right when I turned she hissed and came at me. I killed her at 8 steps away from me. It’s one of the scariest things that’s ever happened to me. I took these mountains for granted. All the way down that mountain all I could think about is I was one moment away from never seeing my family and my 2 little girls again. I killed the lion at 7:34 A.M. then came all the way back down that mountain. I reported it to DOW, I showed them all the video evidence and GPS coordinates and they said it was all legal. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to keep the lion.”
The greatest thing about the whole thing is that he didn’t leave! He decided to press on and continue his search for a buck.
Let’s just say he found it.
“So after all that mess I went back to hunting around noon still shaking like a dog from the lion. I just kept recalling that lions hiss ten steps away it was like sneaking through the woods and stepping near a 120 pound rattlesnake. Anyways I shot up the mountain to one of my favorite spots and bam there was buck right when I got there. I didn’t count points I just knew he was big enough and POW he was dead. This all happened at 130. I couldn’t figure out what the hell happend!!!! A lion tried to kill me 6 hours ago, now here I am sitting next to the nicest buck I’ve killed. I’m very thankful for November 5th, I’m also thankful for DOW Matt I didn’t get his last name, and most importantly to be alive and enjoy my family and friends and be able to share this story with them and you.”
“All I can say is watch out, I thought I was the hunter and I was being hunted. I’ve never felt fear like a lion coming at me and killing it 8 steps away. She was aged at 4 or 5 years. My buck was 26” wide and 203 pounds dressed.”
