Wyatt Doyle of Sula shot his first mountain lion recently while hunting with his Dad Jerry and family friends Ben Guenzler and Brodie Huls.

The hunt started with a 3:30 am rendezvous for the hunters and after two hours of driving roads looking for lion tracks Wyatt spotted a big set of tracks on the right side of the road and his dad saw them on the left.

A few hours later it was legal shooting light and Wyatt and Ben headed to the last place they saw tracks and got the five hounds ready. After radio collars were attached and the dogs were turned loose Wyatt and Ben followed the dogs from the top while Jerry and Brodie took a different road around from the bottom. After jumping from several trees the lion stopped atop a gnarly dead specimen about 200 yards above the road that Jerry and Brodie had decided to drive. Wyatt and Ben took the ah…more scenic route.

The tree limbs blocked the shot from Wyatts bow leaving only a small window to shoot through. After the first shot Wyatt quickly nocked another arrow but this time the cat was stretched out around the tree offering a perfect shot and Wyatt made good on it, in fact he had made good on both shots.

The cat bailed from the tree and Wyatt pursued it with his rifle in hand but it wouldn’t be necessary as Wyatt quickly came upon the expired cat a short distance from the hunters. Now Wyatt has the distinction of taking the largest mountain lion out of everyone in his hunting family. A comparison of his skull to a Boone and Crockett record book skull shows that Wyatt’s trophy will make the Pope and Young Record book and will likely also exceed the Boone and Crockett minimum requirements as well. This is a true trophy by any standards.

“I owe a big thank you to Ben and Brodie for all their help this season and I was really thankful that my Dad was able to be there.” Wyatt said.

This is a great memory that will last a lifetime, great job Wyatt!

The Montana Outdoor Radio Show will follow up with the scoring of this incredible animal after the mandatory drying period.