Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Mountain Lion Hunt

I didn't draw any big game tags again here in my native state, so I bought a mountain lion tag.

I think I'll head to the dog pound and look for 3-4 tough looking recruits that I'm sure would hate cats.

Our whippets are so prey driven they'd probably chase one for you.

Of course, they'd catch it and be eaten long before we could catch up to them.

I have a spot.

I've seen cats there several times without using dogs. A trickle of water comes out of an old mine tunnel, and deer use it frequently. The cats do too.

I'd sit and watch it all day in dark night periods of the month. I had a bud who arrowed two while he was watching a water hole ifor deer in October. They came in an hour apart.

That's pretty much my plan, jag. I know the spot real well and have a hiding spot scoped out.

I hope the guides don't hit it with dog packs.

Are bobcats legal to take at that same time?

Maybe do a little deer distress calling around that area? I don't know much about mountain lions, do they pay attention to scent and use the wind? I call quite a few bobcats every year, bobcats don't often pay much attention to scent. Bobcats hunt with their eyes and will pick off the slightest movement in a heartbeat. Bobcats hear well and do pay attention to noise. But bobcats don't seem to pay much attention to the wind and scents. I have had bobcats close and directly downwind and they didn't seem to notice scent at all. I don't know that I have ever had a bobcat throw his nose in the air like a coyote or deer when they smell human scent. Are mountain lions like that?

I often buy a Cougar tag, I don't run dogs, but it is by opportunity that one steps out in front of you.
It happened to me and I shot one, I could of dropped a couple more when I was without a tag.

Good luck on tagging one of the most incredible animals on this Continent.

Can you put a camera up to see if/when cats are using it?

Stake out a chicken as bait!

Several years ago my Son had 3 of them hanging around his tree stand, they were there for probably an hour, a mother and 2 pretty big Kittens that were probably 60-80 lbs.
Quite the experience for my Son to observe them watching him sit in the tree, they are curious.

I was on the other side of a large swamp, but there were people camping only 400 yds away, we could hear their kids yelling and dogs barking, oblivious to the big Cats nearby.

When I was a kid we ran cats with dogs, we would get 1 or 2 on a good week, back then the County paid a $ 50.00 Bounty and the Colorado Wool Growers Ass. Paid a $50.00 Bounty on mountain Lions.

Bought my first pickup a used 1948 ford when i was 14 years old with my Bounty Money.

The Cats I have hunted Bobcats and Mountain Lions hunt with their Eyes and Ears not so much with their Nose, YMMV Rio7

You can call them in with a predator call

I have called in 3 Cats in the last 20 years while calling Coyotes, suprised the hell out of me each time, never fired a shot. Rio7

My son got the wants for a new shotgun. I am a Benelli/Beretta shotgun guy (love old Browning Auto Fives too) and the kid decided he wanted a new Benelli autoloader. At the time he was in college, had a truck payment, and a high-maintenance girlfriend so money was tight. That winter we targeted bobcats and by the end of furbearer season, he had plenty of fur money to buy that new Benelli.

We had a lease for twenty two years between Breckinridge and Strawn, Texas. Between my two brothers and myself we saw adult long tail cats and cubs many times. I’m thinking 8-10 times real time and many more times on trail cams. Seems we saw bobcats several times per season. That’s some pretty wild country there to only have hills and not mountainous terrain. Saw lots of skeletal remains of their hunting success.
Good luck w your hunt. They’re pretty ghostlike.

I can tell you a couple things. The most important, is I am the worst mtn lion hunter in the world. There is a small herd/band of blacktail that call my canyon home in the winter. Since Calif banned ML hunting in '72, lion population is up deer pop is down drastically. Duh. Anyway, ML haunt the canyon every winter preying on that struggling band of deer. Mountain lion do hunt for sport. From the kills I have observed, they do prefer to kill bucks. Although, 4 winters ago, my packer friend across the river had one of his horses attacked. I have set up, paying attention to wind, cover etc trying to get a look at one, over a fresh 'sport' kill. Failed every time. Set up a game cam, totally and completely nocturnal, they do return to the scene of the crime. How I would ever see one in daylight, I have no idea. If it's legal, I'd think about going on night shift.

Big change here on Mtn Lions this year

Anyone with a small game permit/combo license can take a Lion

Previously you needed to draw a tag.....notify DWR if kill is made

Then if quota was met...that unit/area was closed for lion hunting

They seem to think we have an excess cat population ?

I didn't read the fine print as to any length of the 'season'

Thinking too the Lion outfitters may be a bit pissed off with this change

https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/main-hunting-page/cougars.html

I had a place just south of Mingus. I saw a couple of lions and
trapped many a bobcat.

Only if in trapping season and with a trapping permit...