Treed.

A day before the hunt, James took his Henry .30-30 to the range in Michigan. It is the lever action he grew up hunting with. Then a text came from one of the houndsmen: Utah had fresh snow, and the sooner they started, the better. The dogs do best on new snow and cold.

The hunt started with a 45-minute snowmobile ride into a canyon, where the guides had cut the track of a big tom the day before. They turned the dogs loose and followed them on GPS. That track went nowhere.

The next day, the guides found two fresh sets of tracks, and the dogs ran hotter. Late in the day, their voices changed. The cat was treed about a mile and a quarter away, with about 45 minutes of light left.

They raced down the mountain on the snowmobiles, then hiked in a little over half a mile. The tom was in a tree, tail swinging. As James got set, the cat turned and started down the far side. James put the shot on his shoulder, and the lion rolled down the hill.

James went through Worldwide Trophy Adventures because a lion hunt depends on good houndsmen and good dogs.

"This ended up being like a hunt of a lifetime for me."James Zandstra · Treed