When 12-year-old Anthony Capra crept out into the early morning darkness Saturday with his Winchester lever-action 30-30 rifle, he was hoping to shoot a deer.

But the 4-foot-8, 75-pound sixth-grader got more than he bargained for — he says he ended up taking a couple of shots at a full-grown mountain lion.

“After I saw it, I was pretty scared,” Anthony said Monday afternoon. “I thought it was going to come back at me and charge me. I was thinking, ‘He has the jaws to put my head in his mouth.'”

Anthony said he saw the mountain lion about a mile from the home of his parents, Mike and Tamara Capra, about 24 miles southwest of Lawrence and just west of Globe.

Anthony, who goes to school at the Overbrook Attendance Center, is the latest person claiming to have seen a mountain lion this year in Douglas County. Several people have reported spotting one in the last several months on Kansas University’s west campus, including some KU officials and a former city commissioner.

State wildlife officials say that although they believe mountain lions could exist in the wild in Kansas, they have never found positive proof.

Anthony’s father, Mike Capra, and the boy’s grandfather were nearby during the encounter but did not see the cat. They told the boy he must have seen a bobcat.

But, Mike Capra said, the boy was certain about what he had seen.

Anthony Capra, 12, looks for the tracks of a mountain lion in a southwest Douglas County field. Anthony took a shot at the animal Saturday morning while he was hunting deer.

“He was shaking. You could tell he was not fibbing.”

Anthony’s mother said her son had taken a hunter safety course and shot a doe last year. He has been hunting for a couple of years and has a state deer permit.

Anthony, his mother and his brother, Quenten, 13, walked out Monday afternoon to the area where Anthony was hunting about 8 a.m. Saturday. They had to walk through tall grass and weeds and cross a barbed-wire fence to get to the spot.

6News video: Hunter reports mountain lion sighting Mike Capra, relating how his son Anthony shot at a mountain lion. More mountain lion stories, information Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

“It was right over there,” Anthony said, pointing to a mound about 50 yards across a plowed field just north of a tree line.

Anthony said he was crouched down in the tall grass on the edge of the field when he saw the lion come running over the ridge. He said it was light brown and had a long tail that touched the ground.

When he saw it, he made a “baa” sound, like he would to try to bring a deer closer. He was surprised when the animal started heading his direction.

“I was scared because I baa-ed like a lamb and it was headed straight for me. I was shaking so bad … I was pretty scared, myself. I was freaking out,” he said.

Anthony Capra, 12, stands in a southwest Douglas County field where he says he shot at a mountain lion early Saturday morning while he was hunting deer.

The boy said he thought he might become breakfast, so he aimed his gun at the big cat.

“I had a perfect shot at it, but I didn’t have a bullet in the chamber,” he said.

He cocked his gun quickly and the sound startled the big cat, he said. It turned and started running away. He shot twice at the fleeing animal, but missed.

The lion disappeared over the ridge, he said.

Anthony walked around the area Monday, but he couldn’t find any tracks.

He said he and his brother went out looking for blood trails, but found nothing.

“After I saw it, I was pretty mad because I didn’t shoot it,” he said. “My dad would have stuffed it and mounted it.”

Anthony plans to go out again this weekend, looking for more deer — and the mountain lion.

“I’m gonna track the sucker down,” Anthony said, grinning and holding his gun across his shoulder. “He’ll be back. And I’ll be ready.”