Arrows are For Lions

[Music] This blunt arrow will demonstrate two other characteristics of the arrow, impact and penetration. Watch what happens to a 1-in solid board by an arrow launched from a modern laminated bow. So the arrow is for penetration and impact and accuracy. And there are those who say the arrow is for lion. Going after a trophy like this mountain lion takes careful preparation and special equipment. Full grown, it may measure 9 ft, weigh 200 lb, and have the ability to jump up 15 feet or down 60. It's swift and smart, and the man who would stop it must outwit it in its own environment. The arrow that would stop it must be true, matched to the bow, and tipped with a razor sharp hunting broadhead. [Music] for just such a lion hunt. Let's join Ben Pearson and the members of his party, [Music] James Smith and Dwayne Holloway. [Music] It's all the way across Texas and New Mexico. Some 2 days travel time from the Pineluff, Arkansas starting point. January snows have left their mark here and there on the prairie lands and the temperature hovers between zero and plus 40°. As the car ws westward, the prairie unfolds in endless miles of wild terrain. [Music] Out of Gallop, New Mexico through the spectacular Salt River Canyon and into Pleasant Valley in the fabled Zane Grey Tonto Basin country. This is the area of the hunt where the cougars, pumas, catamounts or mountain lions, whichever you prefer, make nightly foray on the livestock of ranchers. The feline predators that inhabit this baron zone become so destructive at times large bounties are offered both by ranchers and the state agency. Thus, the bow hunters are assured a warm welcome upon arrival in young Arizona. [Music] In a short time, they are met by CJ Proc, a man well acquainted with lions, the remote fastness they inhabit, and the ways to find them. He will be their companion and guide during the length of the hunt. [Music] This superb mixture of black and tans, blue ticks, red bones, and one airdale will get a real workout. [Music] Monday begins a long week of watching, walking, riding, and hunting, during which time the dogs will pick up trail after trail in vain. Lion kills and other signs are reported by local ranchers, and each of the reports is investigated. But a mountain lion will range up to 20 m in a night's travel, and his tracks are often as cold as the breakfast flapjacks. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] By the third day of the hunt, the dogs are working at Fever Pit. The hunters traveling up and down in the mountainous terrain work their way through snow patches prevalent at elevations above 6,000 ft. Still, they are eluded by the wary lions. [Music] [Music] [Music] At last, the break comes. Bob Lerno arrives with news of fresh cattle kills some 12 m away. The party is jubilant. No time is lost in loading the horses and equipment for a hurried dash to the scene. [Music] Sure enough, the trail is fresh, and in the nearby snow patches, there are new tracks. Anticipation mounts as the dogs work nearby. There must be a lion here. [Music] There he is, snarling and defiant. A giant-sized tom, almost hidden by the thick juniper foliage. While the dogs hold him at bay, Jim Smith looks for an opening. Isn't this drama older than three itself? Doesn't this single event depict in an instant the ageless union of man and dog against a common enemy? The bow drawn, the shaft loosed, and the sharp blade of a silent broadhead arrow finds its mark. Score one for Jim as the great cat of North America drops to the waiting dogs. It could have happened centuries ago. And that's part of the thrill of it. This reliving of the past. This proving once again that man with his dog and his ancient weapon can even in the dawn of an atomic age outwit this giant carnivore, this killer of Pleasant Valley. Incidentally, this cat proved to be the largest one killed to date with the bow and arrow. It's registered as such with the Boone and Crockett Club and is the 11th largest ever killed with any weapon. Teddy Roosevelt still holds the record with the giant cat he killed years ago. The hunters find a bow string helpful in trussing up the lion for the carry back to the truck. [Music] Meanwhile, the dogs have taken up another fresh scent and know that this one had a mate. In short order, the dogs have brought this second lion to bay and only a couple of miles away. After a week of feudal hunting, it's hard to believe. But there she is, big and defiant, and not as nervous as her big mate was. [Music] Dwayne's first shaft leaves its razor sharp head buried deep in the hard wood. Not the lion's heart. He draws again, looses. She still got some fight, but not for long. That arrow scored complete penetration in the vital chest area. The dog soon exhaust her, and it's score one for Dwayne. [Music] The dogs appear either dead or wounded, but they're only tired and resting. All that is but old Lou, who for the second time in a single day found her neck between the jaws of a cat. Fortunately, the injury was not too sus. Just the price of an education. This kind of carry is good when you're sure the lion is dead. Anyway, it's just the stuff for some snapshots for the folks back home. [Applause] Still without a lion, Ben is astounded when Prock says, "Not only two lions today, but fresh sign of another reported not 10 miles away. And this one would be Ben's." It was beginning to be fantastic. A day out of the book. [Music] If this cat was to be overtaken before daylight failed, the party had to move fast. Horses were brought out and the tempo of the chase heightened. [Music] Unlike the other cats, this one didn't tree. He was denned up for the day, and the dogs were right on him when he came out. He had no time to get up a tree. a tremendous tom almost identical in size to Docs. He sat down to fight them face to face. Here's [Music] where accuracy counts. Ben's problem is to find a clear shot between the dogs. Quick, there's a shot. A fast draw and loose. And a perfect hit through the heart. And the steel tip shaft hardly slows up until it hits the rocks beyond. The bloodstained arrow tells the story of a crack shot. And it's score one for Ben. [Music] What a day. The kind you'll never forget. After a week of hard hunting in the roughest of terrain, three trophy cats, three less killers to prey on the livestock of Holly. Today, the arrow proved its accuracy and its penetration and its impact all over again. And if anyone should ask you what the arrow can do, tell him the arrow is for lion.