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Wiley Carroll - Legendary Mountain Lion Hunter - Nevada
Written by Mike Laughlin

In the days before snow machines, 4-wheelers, and two-way radios, there were men like Wiley Carroll who took to the Nevada mountains with his horse, dogs, and a warm coat.  I happen to know this because I was there and hunted with him.

Wiley Carroll started out his mountain lion hunting career along the Deschutes River in Central Oregon.  Wiley caught his first lion with his dogs when he was a teenager.  He spent his early years learning his trade and then he was drafted into the Army.  Wiley spent his military time with the Army's 85th Infantry Regiments 10th Mountain Division. The unit's specialty involved fighting effectively in harsh conditions and they were one of the first U. S. military units to enter Germany in World War II. Wiley was a packer and worked with Army mules. 

After his military tour, he went to work for the famous lion hunters of Arizona- the Lee Brothers.  He also hunted jaguar and trapped Mexican wolves in Old Mexico with the Lee Brothers. 
After his tour with the Lees, Wiley set out to establish his own reputation as a lion hunter.  In 1951, the Nevada Fish and Game Department offered Wiley a fulltime job catching lions.  Wiley and his hounds caught lions on dry ground from the southern deserts of Nevada to the high Mountains of Northeastern Nevada.  Terrain or ground conditions made no difference to Wiley and his dogs.  If the lions were there, Wiley could catch them. 

Wiley held his position with Nevada Fish and Game until he retired in 1981.  During this time, Wiley ran up a record of lions caught with his dogs that has stood for many years. Supposedly In his career, Wiley caught over 800 lions and 500 bear.  Wiley hauled his horse and dogs in a flatbed pickup with horse rack and did all his hunting by horseback or on foot.  He camped out on the sheep and cattle ranges of Nevada with sheepherders and cowboys and laid out many nights under a tree with his dogs for warmth on an old lion track in order to be able to start out early the next day, trailing this cat.  Like the majority of the old-time lion hunters, Wiley stuck on a track like glue until the job was done.  No one I know today lays out on a lion track anymore.  Most of today's hunters give up, go home to their warm beds, and look for another fresh track the following day.  Wiley Carroll was a true Nevada legend.

You hear many of the new breed of today's mountain lion hunters in Nevada whining that there are no lions left to
catch and they need a good snow cover to find a track.  This is a poor hunter's excuse as to why they cannot catch a lion.  No snow and no tracks. The lions are still here.  You just have to have hunters who have the knowledge and tenacity to catch them.

James "Mike" Laughlin
Retired: Supervisory Wildlife Biologist
Bachelor Science Degree - Wildlife Biology - Arizona State University; Tempe; Arizona
31 years working in nine Western states; Mexico, Provinces of Canada
U.S Department of Agriculture & U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
mikelaughlin@hotmail.com

Post Script:
Wiley would have loved email, Facebook and the internet.  Every week or so we used to get a big manila envelope full of newspaper clippings and copies and notes.  Wiley loved to keep informed and in touch.  He wrote a monthly column in “Trapper & Predator Caller” during the years of high fur prices. He also wrote many “Handy Hints” that were published in “Western Horseman” magazine and books including "History of American Lion Hunting", "A Corral Full of Cat Sets" and "Trapping with Wiley Carroll." He was born in 1921 and passed away in 2003.
Vintage photos courtesy of the late Wiley Carroll. 
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  • Home
    • Web Site Design >
      • Privacy Policy
    • Links
  • Gear
    • Pistol River Saddlery
    • Cowboy Gear - Tips and Tricks: >
      • Three-Way Hobbling
      • Piggin' String
      • Stirrup Hobbles
      • Tying Your Rope Up
      • Buckaroo Scarf Knot
      • Cowboy Night Latch
      • Cut-away saddle pad
      • Center-firing your Cinch
      • Pack Saddle Latigo Safety Knot
      • Quick Keeper
      • Tire Changer Aid
      • Safety Tie-Up
      • No Roll Saddle Stand
    • Saddle Makers >
      • Wade Saddle History
      • Don Howe Working Cowboy Saddle Maker
      • Hamley and Co.
      • Bill Maupin
    • Spurs >
      • E.F. Blanchard Spurs >
        • How to tell authentic Blanchard spurs.
        • More Blanchard Spurs
      • Garcia Bits and Spurs
      • Amozoc Spurs
      • Prison Made Spurs
      • Adolph Bayers Spurs
  • Arts
    • Poetry >
      • Cowboy Poetry by Gary Vorhes
      • Charlotte Thompson Poetry
      • Mike Meaux Poetry
      • Audrey Hankins Poetry
      • Carole Jarvis Poetry
    • Rodeo Photos
    • Cowboy Photos
    • Horse Photos
    • Cattle Photos
    • Gear Photos
    • Dogs and Animals Photos
    • Reminders of the Past Photos
    • Windmill Photos
    • People Photos
    • Ready to Rodeo
    • Books by Dale Woolley
  • Horses
    • Diamond Z English Shire Horses
    • 5 Tips for Traveling
    • Harnessing A Team
    • The Dameles and the Curly Horse
    • Rounding Up Wild Horses
    • Extreme Horse Camping
    • First Pull on the Latigo
    • Twister Heller Starts a Colt
    • Cowboy Martingale
    • Cowboy Training Halter
    • Cowboy & Colt Clinic
    • Using the McCarty
    • Teach a Horse to Stand
    • Cowboy Draw Reins
    • War Knots >
      • Tying War Knots
    • Tail Knot for Pack Horses
    • Cavvy Marks
    • Deworming Your Horse
    • Safe Fall Trail Riding
    • Horse Remedies
    • Hormone Implant
    • How to buy a mule
  • Brands
    • Brands II
  • Chuckwagon
    • Dutch Ovens
    • Recipes
    • Sourdough >
      • Grant's Sourdough
    • Cowboy Coffee
  • Articles
    • Grubbing Hoe Ranch
    • Trevor and Emily Fuhriman
    • Land of Extremes
    • Jersey Valley Cattle Co
    • Diamond Tail Ranch
    • Gang Ranch of British Columbia
    • TS Ranch of Nevada
    • When the TS Ran a Wagon
    • IL Ranch
    • Basque Ranching
    • Crystal Rose Cow Dog College
    • Wyoming Honor Farm Inmate/Wild-Horse Program
    • Cowboy Etiquette
    • Arizona Trigger
    • Longhorn Cattle
  • Stories
    • For the Love of a Horse
    • Breakheart Station Master
    • Freighters Outbound
    • DK Cowboy Stories: A Prophet With Antlers
    • Ben's Trail
    • Spendin’ Time at Cow Camps
    • Slewfoot The Black Bear
    • Orphan Boy
    • Mooney's Stories - The Circle A Ranch of Nevada >
      • Cotton the Horse
      • Wigwam, the Wrangle Horse
      • Spanish Ranch 1
      • Spanish Ranch 2
      • Spanish Ranch 3
      • Spanish Ranch 4
      • Miss Beymer’s Boyfriend by Bill Mooney
      • Recollections by Bill Mooney
      • Branding out of a Rodear on the Spanish Ranch, Part 1
      • Branding out of a Rodear on the Spanish Ranch, Part 2
      • C Ranch
    • Wild Horse Casey >
      • ​A Dirty Ole Mustanger Like Me
    • Hero Cattle Dogs
    • Ranching Traditions
    • Life Lessons
    • Dave’s Summer Adventure
    • Fire-Proofing the Range
    • Cowboy Superstitions
    • Cowboy Humor
    • Portrait of a Cowboy >
      • Cowboy Obstricition
    • Tons of Silver
  • History
    • Fort Worth Stockyards
    • Horseshoe Ranch
    • Andrae - Marvel Nevada Oral Histories
    • Texas 6666 Ranch Historical Photos
    • Gerlach Cattle Company 1906
    • Cattle Roundup Photos
    • Cowboy Historic Photos
    • Sheepcamp
    • Comstock Lode
    • Pony Express
    • Horn Iron
    • Historic Sites
  • Cowboy Profiles
    • Victoria Jackson
    • Flying M Ranch Women's Team
    • In the Big Nevada Desert
    • Mike Laughlin, Cowboy
    • Bob Tanner
    • Bill Kane
    • Wally Blossom
    • Ian Tyson The Legend
    • Allie Bear
    • Marge Prunty
    • Bryan Neubert Cowboy Clinician
    • Rex Blackwell
    • Wiley Carroll - Legendary Hunter
  • Glossary
    • Horse Terms
    • Cattle Terms
    • The People & The Land
    • Saddles and Gear
    • Personal Gear
  • Cowboys of the World
    • Cowboys of the Dark Continent
    • Scrubber Running
    • The Day it Nearly All Ended
    • The Goring
    • Horse Breaking
    • Honduras
    • Mexico