Photo by Mark Werner

By Patrick Meitin

Boone and Crockett-quality mountain lions continue to be taken each winter up and down the Rocky Mountains. Records from the prestigious club show that many of the best have been entered only recently, proving that there is no time of the "good old days" of lion hunting better than today.

Careful management practices implemented in every Western state in recent times mean that you are as likely to take a pumpkin-headed cougar today as in your granddad's era. It's true that some states produce more 15-inch-plus mountain lion skulls than others, but chances are there is a record-book cat roaming the mountains or desert not too far from your home.

Many states show us that a big-headed cat is apt to come from any portion of any Rocky Mountain state, but some areas stand out conspicuously above others. Genetics are a highly important element in producing record-book-qualifying cats, of course, but so is a large and stable food base. The best areas are normally also the best deer hunting areas, and in some cases, the best elk areas. In states where making a living hunting is most difficult, record-book lion entries are lowest. Wyoming might stand as the single exception to this rule.

Just for the record, the very best lions in overall B&C listings from each Rocky Mountain state are as follows: A No. 2 all-time B&C cat from Idaho scoring 16 3/16 inches; a No. 3 all-time from Wyoming scoring 16 1/16; a No. 5 16-inch cat from Utah; a 16-inch No. 6 from Colorado; a No. 17 15 12/16-incher from Montana; a No. 42 15 9/15 from New Mexico; a No. 50 15 9/16 from Nevada; and a No. 70 15 8/16 from Arizona.

It's interesting to note that generally (Wyoming is a glaring exception) the biggest cats also came from those states with the highest number of B&C entries. With that in mind, I have arranged each state in order of the largest number of B&C entries and the county in which the highest numbers of that state's Top 10 record-book cats have emerged in recent years.

According to the latest B&C records, the Gem State has the highest number of B&C-quality cats, at 130. Picking a spot within this state is easy, as five of the state's Top 10 cats, including a monstrous 16 3/16-inch cat that holds the No. 2 all-time B&C spot, came from Idaho County. I am not a betting man, but my money is on Idaho and Idaho County for the very best cats in the United States.

Idaho County includes some of the most rugged country in the entire state. There's Hell's Canyon to the west, the Salmon River Mountains and portions of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness to the south, and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness to the north and east. This is huge country with plenty of true wilderness. Access is difficult even during the best of times. During winter months, when snow piles deep, it can be next to impossible.

The most successful hunters use snowmobiles to traverse limited roads and open areas. Snowshoes and plenty of stamina are used in areas where machines cannot go.

The area provides a veritable cornucopia of food, including abundant deer, elk, bighorn sheep and small game. Its sheer remoteness, obviously great genetics, and this smorgasbord of food create the perfect setting for behemoth mountain lions.

Even if Montana were to catch Idaho in overall entries this winter, I would still give Idaho a decided edge because of overall higher average scores. That said, Montana is still a world-class destination for bushel-basket-headed lions.

Lincoln County comprises the extreme northwestern corner of the state, tight to British Columbia, Canada - the best trophy-producing mountain lion area in all of North America. This is extremely rough-and-tumble country, with valleys full of deer below mountain ranges such as the Cabinets to the south, the Rocky Mountains proper to the east, the Purcell Mountains dead center.

A big cat would have little trouble finding something to eat in this area. The area is rich in white-tailed and mule deer, large herds of elk, bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

A great majority of the cats taken in this area are tagged early in the season when roads are still passable and hunters can cover more ground, but some of the best might be found later, when snows deepen in the high country and push prey species and the cats out of high-country wilderness to lower elevations. This is when snowmobiles and snowshoes come into play, plus lots of hard work. But the rewards are often well worth the extra effort and discomfort.

In west-central Colorado, Mesa County includes some of the best deer hunting on the western front of the state, a land that is highly varied, from sagebrush canyon country to high mountains spilling from the Uncompahgre Plateau and Grand Mesa. Access is generally quite good, even late into the season when lions travel from less accessible high country to follow deer and elk herds to lower elevations. Drier winters have made 4-wheel-drive hunting possible, but those with snowmobiles are able to cover a great deal of ground on the area's abundant roads later in the season, chasing cats on foot once the hounds have struck.

Choosing an area is a simple matter of finding concentrations of deer. Lions will not be too far behind.