Throwback
AH enthusiast
I just got back from this hunt last week. Sam Dieringer had a camp set up in Alpine, AZ and we hunted within about an hour and a half drive from camp, max. Sam lives in central AZ, and runs mountain lion hunts year round from his place there but sets up camp in Alpine for a few weeks each year as well.
This was booked as a 6 day hunt on horseback mainly, and some days were 7+ hours in the saddle. Up and down some beautiful countryside. Rugged at times with felled timber and rocks, but beautiful for sure. Looked like a Coors commercial. Elevation was as high as 9000 feet approximately.
I flew into Albuquerque, NM, rented a car and drove the 3.5 hours to camp. Very scenic drive by the way. Logistically this hunt had quite a few moving parts but thankfully everything went smoothly. Now, on to the hunting.
Each day started at 0300 with a drive from camp to a trailhead. We then mounted up and started riding before daybreak. At that time the hound dogs (approximately 10 or so) were also let loose to look for sign. With GPS collars on they could roam quite far as we made our day's big loop that would end again at the trailhead. With the the exception of the fourth day where we did ride in a side by side, horses were the mode of transport. We were usually back in camp by early afternoon. Supper around 6pm.
Day 1 - Being the first day I did not know exactly how the dogs worked. I learned that essentially the younger dogs had to learn from the older dogs. Point being, the younger dogs would sometimes get worked up over other animals scents such as a coyote where the older dogs had already dismissed that as not what they were looking for. One quickly learned to pay attention to the older dogs. At one point that day many of the dogs did get excited running up and down a river bank howling and trying to piece together the trail of a lion. Later that week, in hindsight, I could tell they were close on that day 1 but it did just not come together.
Day 2 - Again, some rough riding but I was optimistic as this was a six day hunt and I was enjoying myself. No cat this day, in fact, I dont even recall one dog getting exciting. That is tough but that is cat hunting.
Day 3 - In saddle as the routine was and the first two hours were good. It was more of an open trail we were on and once again, beautiful. That said, after the first two hours a storm rolled in and we had steady rain. It was about another two hours in the saddle, in the rain. We finally made it back to the trailhead, which right about that time the rain stopped (of course) and we made a fire to warm up. We literally stood around the fire drying out our clothes waiting for the other group of guys who had gone out with a group of dogs. We certainly did not see a cat that day but it was quite the adventure, and memorable.
Day 4 - It was not supposed to rain after about 10pm the night before according to the weather app. Well, right about 0330 a steady sprinkle, then rain, started coming down. We rode in a side by side this day. There were already standing puddles and everything was very wet, along with steady rain. The rain kept on for about two more hours. I thought, one step at a time, at least it had quit raining. Though everything was very wet we kept riding to different lookout points and dismounting to walk to the edge of rocky outcrops along with the dogs. Sam told me the lions liked these outcroppings to sometimes bed down in or at least to frequent. We visited approximately a dozen of these. On about three of them the dogs certainly did seem interested and Sam commented that if it had not rained around dawn we would be on a cat.
By about 1pm we were already discussing the plan for tomorrow. Then we tried one more outcropping. The dogs took about a whole three minutes and were on to something. I could tell this was something as all of the dogs were howling and got very excited. Then Sam wasn't quite sure as two of the older dogs turned back from the ruckus. We followed and when Sam turned to me and said "I think you should get that rifle, they tree'd something". What we did though was follow to about 100 yards from where the dogs had treed it, yes it was clearly a lion, and then we stopped. Sam went to get the rifle and I waited. I did not walk any closer as I did not want to spook the cat out of the tree as I heard sometimes that can happen.
When after what seemed like a long time to me (probably was 5-10 mins) Sam returned with my Ruger/Marlin 45-70 I had purchased just for this hunt. We decided to swing around about 45 degrees as branches were obstructing the shot and also get about twice as close. Well, we took about three steps and that cat jumped out of the tree bolting down the mountain away from us. The dogs were on him and ended up treeing him about 500 yards down the mountain. Sam and I were in pursuit as fast I could safely get down there. Huffing and puffing I sat down on the ground, used a tree as a rest and took the shot at the lion in the tree, he was quartering away. He was about 50 yards away. Boom, one shot in the vitals and one dead cat. It had finally come together on the end of day 4, thank God! Sam proceeded to clean and quarter the cat on the hillside and we carried out the hide, skull and quarters. Mission accomplished.
I highly recommend Dieringer Outfitters! Very professional approach to things, very experienced, multi-generational lion hunting all over Arizona. Sam, his wife and adult son along with some other cowboys put on a good, efficient camp. Everything we discussed prior to the hunt was delivered on. Anyone wanting more information please feel free to contact me. Don't hesitate to reach out to Sam and book a hunt! You will not be disappointed. Cheers!
As you can see that 250 grain mono flex from Hornady mushroomed really well. It did not exit but was up against the skin on the opposite side.
This was booked as a 6 day hunt on horseback mainly, and some days were 7+ hours in the saddle. Up and down some beautiful countryside. Rugged at times with felled timber and rocks, but beautiful for sure. Looked like a Coors commercial. Elevation was as high as 9000 feet approximately.
I flew into Albuquerque, NM, rented a car and drove the 3.5 hours to camp. Very scenic drive by the way. Logistically this hunt had quite a few moving parts but thankfully everything went smoothly. Now, on to the hunting.
Each day started at 0300 with a drive from camp to a trailhead. We then mounted up and started riding before daybreak. At that time the hound dogs (approximately 10 or so) were also let loose to look for sign. With GPS collars on they could roam quite far as we made our day's big loop that would end again at the trailhead. With the the exception of the fourth day where we did ride in a side by side, horses were the mode of transport. We were usually back in camp by early afternoon. Supper around 6pm.
Day 1 - Being the first day I did not know exactly how the dogs worked. I learned that essentially the younger dogs had to learn from the older dogs. Point being, the younger dogs would sometimes get worked up over other animals scents such as a coyote where the older dogs had already dismissed that as not what they were looking for. One quickly learned to pay attention to the older dogs. At one point that day many of the dogs did get excited running up and down a river bank howling and trying to piece together the trail of a lion. Later that week, in hindsight, I could tell they were close on that day 1 but it did just not come together.
Day 2 - Again, some rough riding but I was optimistic as this was a six day hunt and I was enjoying myself. No cat this day, in fact, I dont even recall one dog getting exciting. That is tough but that is cat hunting.
Day 3 - In saddle as the routine was and the first two hours were good. It was more of an open trail we were on and once again, beautiful. That said, after the first two hours a storm rolled in and we had steady rain. It was about another two hours in the saddle, in the rain. We finally made it back to the trailhead, which right about that time the rain stopped (of course) and we made a fire to warm up. We literally stood around the fire drying out our clothes waiting for the other group of guys who had gone out with a group of dogs. We certainly did not see a cat that day but it was quite the adventure, and memorable.
Day 4 - It was not supposed to rain after about 10pm the night before according to the weather app. Well, right about 0330 a steady sprinkle, then rain, started coming down. We rode in a side by side this day. There were already standing puddles and everything was very wet, along with steady rain. The rain kept on for about two more hours. I thought, one step at a time, at least it had quit raining. Though everything was very wet we kept riding to different lookout points and dismounting to walk to the edge of rocky outcrops along with the dogs. Sam told me the lions liked these outcroppings to sometimes bed down in or at least to frequent. We visited approximately a dozen of these. On about three of them the dogs certainly did seem interested and Sam commented that if it had not rained around dawn we would be on a cat.
By about 1pm we were already discussing the plan for tomorrow. Then we tried one more outcropping. The dogs took about a whole three minutes and were on to something. I could tell this was something as all of the dogs were howling and got very excited. Then Sam wasn't quite sure as two of the older dogs turned back from the ruckus. We followed and when Sam turned to me and said "I think you should get that rifle, they tree'd something". What we did though was follow to about 100 yards from where the dogs had treed it, yes it was clearly a lion, and then we stopped. Sam went to get the rifle and I waited. I did not walk any closer as I did not want to spook the cat out of the tree as I heard sometimes that can happen.
When after what seemed like a long time to me (probably was 5-10 mins) Sam returned with my Ruger/Marlin 45-70 I had purchased just for this hunt. We decided to swing around about 45 degrees as branches were obstructing the shot and also get about twice as close. Well, we took about three steps and that cat jumped out of the tree bolting down the mountain away from us. The dogs were on him and ended up treeing him about 500 yards down the mountain. Sam and I were in pursuit as fast I could safely get down there. Huffing and puffing I sat down on the ground, used a tree as a rest and took the shot at the lion in the tree, he was quartering away. He was about 50 yards away. Boom, one shot in the vitals and one dead cat. It had finally come together on the end of day 4, thank God! Sam proceeded to clean and quarter the cat on the hillside and we carried out the hide, skull and quarters. Mission accomplished.
I highly recommend Dieringer Outfitters! Very professional approach to things, very experienced, multi-generational lion hunting all over Arizona. Sam, his wife and adult son along with some other cowboys put on a good, efficient camp. Everything we discussed prior to the hunt was delivered on. Anyone wanting more information please feel free to contact me. Don't hesitate to reach out to Sam and book a hunt! You will not be disappointed. Cheers!
As you can see that 250 grain mono flex from Hornady mushroomed really well. It did not exit but was up against the skin on the opposite side.
