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what is a big lion

I thought it might be interesting to see what other hunters think a big lion is. Where I hunt in colorado, and also just my opinion. I think 150 lbs is a good cat, 170+ is a big cat, 185+ is a giant and very rare. since weight can very day to day I also look at length. 7 foot is a good cat 7ft 4 is a big cat 7ft 8 is a giant. I havnt measured many tracks I just run any when I find it. So I would be real intersted in what other lion hunters have to say about track size and stride. The few I have taken the time to measure I would have to say 4 and a 1/2 inches wide is where they start to become nice cats and 50 inch stride is a big cat.
there is my opinion. Lets here from the rest of you.

To me there are three ways to determine how a lion measures up. Skull, weight and dimensions. I refer a lot of clients to outfitters. Most have a preconceived idea of what a big cat is. I try to clear up the weight issue by comparing it to net inches of typical whitetail antlers. 150 is better that average and you can count on two hands the number of 200" net typicals. 170 makes book and are about as common in cats as in deer.
Skulls will shrink some, but a lion can be summed up some time later with measurements. Once the cat has been dimantled it can weigh anything a good photo will let you get away with.
Lenght is important but only tells part of the story. Tail lenght on cats vary so much, I only concern myself with the nose to base of tail measurement along with a chest and belly measurement. A good mature tom(5 to 6 years) in most places will be between 53" and 55" long, anything over 56" is very long and 58"+ is pushing 190 net typical.
Mountain lions vary in size greatly from region to region, but Bergmans Rule is in effect. The farther an animal lives from the equator the more body mass it needs to sustain life. This applies in the nothern hemispher as well as the southern. The fact that cold northern climates that produce huge bodied deer also produces huge cats is not a coincidence.
The rule is not always hard and fast as the largest cougar I have ever mounted came from southern Colorado. Eventhough I get some toads from Utah and other western states as well as B.C. a lot of those locations don't allow a cat get the age it needs to reach maximum size.
This is just my some things I have deduced from handling a lot of cats from varios parts of the world.

hey grub

Hey grub i sent you a pm

__________________
Travis Crooks

Is there a good way to judge the trophy quality of the cat by the track. When I hunt if I find a big track I dont measure it I just run it. Actually thats what I do with all tracks I find big or small. I just started to measure the tracks this year, (wish I had started years ago). I found a couple of tracks coming out the mouth of a canyon. They were a few days old so I couldn't be sur how big they were, a little too burnt out. I could measure stride. one track measured 46 inches. The other measured 53 inches. I was surprized to see two tom tracks coming out of the same canyon. I followed the 53 inch track about 100 yards to make sure 53 was consistent, it was but after 100 yards the track left the snow. I am interested to know if anyone has measured tracks for a while and what they have found.

53" where I hunt is a wolf. I have never seen a walking lion track step that long. Fat toes and 2 3/4"+ heel pad are a good indication it is one you want to look at. For me 44" to 48' is a goodn'. There are a lot of factors that determine a cat's stride. Lenght of body and lenght of legs are the first that come to mind.

I have hunted lions for over ten years now. This is the largest track I have run across. I have been back in the canyon every mourning. He hasn't crossed again. I'm hoping he does soon. I would like to see him in a tree.