--- title: "The Mine-Shaft Lion" description: "You're chasing a 180-pound mountain lion, but instead of sticking in the tree, growling at the baying hounds beneath him, the tom leaps from the pine and bounds over the hill. No big deal. That happens when you're hunting mountain lions, but this particular tom holes up in the adit of an abandoned mine." date: "2010-03-30" modified: "2021-04-20" authors: - name: "Andrew McKean" job_title: "Hunting and Conservation Editor" link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/andrew-mckean/" url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/hunting-andrew-mckean/2010/03/mine-shaft-lion/" categories: - "Cougar Hunting" - "Hunting" - "Predator Hunting" --- # The Mine-Shaft Lion ![]() You're chasing a 180-pound mountain lion, but instead of sticking in the tree, growling at the baying hounds beneath him, the tom leaps from the pine and bounds over the hill. No big deal. That happens when you're hunting mountain lions, but this particular tom holes up in the adit of an abandoned mine. What do you do? Pack a lunch and wait him out? Not if you're veteran Colorado lion hunter and hound man Dean Hendrickson. In his case, you go right in to the shaft to find the big cat. Watch [this video]() to see the results-- like trying to tackle a fullback with claws and 2-inch ivory teeth--but also note that Hendrickson strategically places himself just at the edge of harms way. Lion hunters are a little like bush pilots. There are veteran pilots, and there are brash pilots, but there are no veteran brash pilots. Hendrickson appears to me to be a veteran lion hunter. ## Author Andrew McKean is *Outdoor Life’s* hunting and conservation editor, drilling into issues that affect wildlife, wild lands, and the people who care about them. He’s also OL’s optics editor, helping readers to make informed buying decisions. He lives outside Glasgow, Montana, where he hunts every day and season he can. ### Author social links [LinkedIn]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]()