I always carried a sidearm on Arizona hunts because we knew the cats were out there. Even when bow hunting, I always had one on my hip.
It’s an eerie feeling knowing your being watched from the rocks above when walking through washes in the desert. One time we pushed a cat off a fresh elk kill while out scouting. We were dumb enough to exit our vehicle and walk out to the steaming pile of elk when we realized we were now being watched from short distance…