Snowy Ridge Outfitting

04/08/2026

03/17/2026

They did it again!

03/11/2026

Hunting News: Wyoming lawmakers really did have a bill on the table (HB 286) that would have blown mountain lion management wide open giving unlimited tags and hunt areas and allowing year-round, 24-hour lion hunting, a move would have effectively turned into an eradication policy instead of real management. But here’s the why I love the hunting community so much. That bill got hammered not just by non-hunters, but by hunters, houndsmen, conservation-minded sportsmen, and wildlife managers too, and it died in committee after overwhelming opposition. That proves something I’ve been saying about wolves. Hunters are not automatically against predators. When predators are actually managed, hunters usually accept them, hunt them, and even want them on the landscape. What sets people off is unmanaged predators on one end, or politicians trying to wipe them out on the other. That’s the real lesson here. Whether it’s wolves being protected from any hunting or mountain lions being targeted for unlimited hunting, hunters tend to push back when management stops being management. We are the reasonable ones.

— Stephen Ziegler
Outdoor writer | Owner, DeLong Lures

03/03/2026

If you live in mountain lion country, they’re watching you. You don’t see them, but they see you a hundred times more than you’ll ever see them. They’re one of the sneakiest, most stealthy predators in the woods. This story out of Wisconsin is a perfect example. On Nov. 11, 2023, bowhunter Ben Karasch climbed into his stand in Buffalo County thinking he was sitting for a buck, and instead spotted a cougar stalking in. Crouching, hiding, then creeping closer again with its eyes locked on him, not spooking even when he waved and yelled. The cat kept closing the distance until it was inside about 15 yards, and Karasch shot it with his bow at 13 yards, then climbed down, got out, and immediately self-reported it to the Wisconsin DNR. Wardens followed the blood trail the next morning and found the 128-pound, 2-year-old male dead roughly 120 yards from the stand, and officials ultimately treated it as self-defense, making it the first cougar shot in Wisconsin in 115 years. Remember that when you’re in lion country, you’re not always the one doing the hunting.

03/02/2026

When it comes to how far a mountain lion can travel, the numbers can be shocking. Most GPS collar studies show lions moving within a defined home range, with young males dispersing tens or a few hundred miles. But the extreme outliers are what grab attention. The most famous case wasn’t collar-tracked but confirmed through genetics and necropsy: a young male that traveled from the Black Hills of South Dakota to Connecticut. Over 1,500 miles!

Collar data has also recorded remarkable long-distance movements. In one widely cited GPS study, a female cougar traveled roughly 1,000 miles across multiple western states during her dispersal. These rare but documented journeys highlight just how mobile mountain lions can be, far beyond what most people imagine when they think of a “territorial” big cat.

— Stephen Ziegler
Outdoor writer | Rack Junkies podcast

09/23/2025

Today was one of the days that remind me on how blessed I am to be able to have the dogs I have; the ones that have given me opportunities people only dream of. My dogs aren’t and will never be “tools” to me. They are my family. Loosing one feels like loosing a part of me.
We as a family don’t track lions to kill everything we tree. We do it to be out in the beautiful Colorado mountains with our best friends. A massive Tom in the tree is always a bonus of course; The cherry on top to the wonderful day I got to spend with my family. Being a Houndsman is something like nothing else in this world. You have a team that wants to make you proud, and loves you beyond their lives themselves.
I often have clients ask if I’m scared, Or worried about animals coming after me. My answer is no.
These dogs would give their lives for me.
Today was proof of that yet again. I had a dog I raised from a pup who showed sickness around my dad, but whenever I came around he acted like nothing was wrong. Sadly I had to put him down today because even though he tried acting fine. I could see he wasn’t. I brought him to the vet and there was an internal mass she found that ended up being something so bad that was inoperable.
I thought I’d share this because it weighs heavy on my heart. There isn’t a Snowy Ridge Outfitting without my dogs.
When you book a hunt with us, that’s what you’re getting.
Just a girl and her dogs.
Sometimes her kids and father at times.
You’re getting a Wirth-It experience because of the hounds I’m blessed to live my life with.
To my precious Bandito! My hunts just won’t be the same without you. The echos of you at the tree will be missed.

08/17/2025

04/22/2025