Mississippi Bill and the Lion

Field Journal: 02/17/2024

Weather: 
H 31° L 14°

Location: 
Fergus County, MT

Wildlife:
Mountain Lions: 4
Whitetail Deer: 25+

Activity:
Mountain Lion Hunting

Harvest: 
(1) Mountain Lion, Female 

February 17, 2024

This day marks my baby brother’s 36th birthday. In his honor, we spent it in the wild.

We met “Mississippi Bill” at Montana elk camp. In the ever-crowding mountains that we once called our own, Mississippi Bill pulled up next to our wall tent and decided to set up shop as our camp neighbor. This was well over a year ago.

Mark’s kind and welcoming demeanor calmed my frustration. Instead of acting like the entitled local (the choice I had clearly made), he decided to make introductions and offer help to the out-of-staters with thick southern drawls.

It was that decision to offer mountain hospitality to strangers that led us to bond with this newcomer from the south, aid in his search for elk, and eventually welcome him into our home in the pursuit of wild mountain cats.

This is a hunt story that isn’t mine to tell, but I take great pride in the lengths we can go to help others experience our lifestyle and our successes. When I speak of success these days, I find that helping others punch their tag gives me far more joy than punching my own.

Running our hounds after an animal that most people have never seen is something I love more than most things I do. Aiding the chase for those who consider it a once-in-a-lifetime hunt adds so much more to that experience. Knowing that we are helping control the population of big predators in our area only adds to the satisfaction of the hunt.

Without continuing to tell a story that really isn’t mine to tell, I can say this:

I am grateful that we were able to help a man with failing health and limited years in the field successfully harvest an animal he’s only dreamt about. I am honored to have helped him process his lion into meat for countless meals to come. I am elated to have been able to prepare his first bite of lion meat and see the satisfaction of a job well done on a hunt that certainly wasn’t easy for him.

Reflection:

Giving others an experience they could not otherwise have themselves is more of a gift than the younger me could have imagined. To see the look of awe splash across the face of someone seeing, hearing, tasting, and smelling something for the first time is something I will never tire of.

To help someone reach what would otherwise be an unattainable goal fills me with so much unimaginable joy. It is a gift to be able to give that gift. It is an honor to share our lifestyle with those outside it.