Hunt or Be Hunted

[silverdalesauer]

This week of deer hunting in Eastern WA seems to have a theme that I'd not expected - Hunt or Be Hunted. We've seen a lot of does and small bucks over the last few days. No shooters yet. But one thing remains, we're not alone in the woods.

We're hunting in SE Washington where there's lots of farms, the nearby Blue Mountains and wind farms.

1. Monday - We talked with a rancher who's observed about 10 cougars in the region that are hunting the deer like crazy.

2. Tuesday - we met 2 guys and 1 girl who told us a story about how they were stalking a deer, when they heard a sound behind them and they turned around to find a cougar 10 yards away, crouched down stalking them!    They quickly dispatched it with a shot head on.

3.  Tuesday - We ran into some deer hunters that had just shot a big bear in the Wooten Wilderness. They weren't looking for bear, but came upon this sow who gave them a shot.

4.  Today - a guy camping next to us came home for dinner and shared his story of hunting just a couple miles from the campground. He and his grampa were hunting just off of a river. They had crossed over to a large piece of land that's owned by the state. After crossing the river, he moved about 15 yards away from the river to survey the field. He noticed some does to his left and all of a sudden heard them hissing. Then "snap" a noise to his right. A cougar was stalking the deer and most likely, him! He didn't have a tag, so he walked slowly backwards out of the way while the cougar decided to continue down the river bed!  (He should have shot it!)

5. Three Cougars are hanging in the cooler at the campground freezer. I suspect that a few more will be there by the end of the week.

Anyone else out there experiencing this same thing? Share your stories below...

[Hunterman]

See Death at 6 feet in the Camp Fire.

Hunterman(Tony)

[EDT]

It sounds like we were hunting in the same canyon in the blues this weekend.  On Sunday afternoon, my boy and I hiked up one of the steep ridges to the west in the Canyon, we get settled and I start glassing the opposite ridge.  Not too long after that I found 2 adult cougars silhouetted in the skyline.  They begin to drop down the ridge slowly, I grab the rangefinder and 490 yds, I turn my Turret to 475 as they were heading downhill.  I lift up the gun and the glare from the sun is so bad I could not find them in my scope, I drop the gun and pick up the binos, found them, then I ranged them again, 430 yds.  I pick up the gun again and I just couldn't find them in the scope, I turn the power down to 4 and finally I found them, but they had just went into the thicket.  I'm so mad at myself for missing that opportunity, My boy was also so excited to get a cougar.  about 10 min later we hear a gunshot down in the main canyon.  I pick up my binos and I saw a guy running back to his truck yelling "I got a lion,"  I watch them in the binos and a few minutes later they walk back to their truck empty handed and they took off. 
Thant was the first time I have ever seen a cougar.  I sure hope I get another opportunity sometime. 

[jackelope]

Were you staying at the Last Resort?
I had 5 cats on my cameras not too far from there this year.

[silverdalesauer]

Were you staying at the Last Resort?
I had 5 cats on my cameras not too far from there this year.

Yes. We're still here.

Been out telling stories by the fire when a truck just pulled in and two guys got out talking about a cougar they just saw down the road.

[silverdalesauer]

See Death at 6 feet in the Camp Fire.

Hunterman(Tony)

Hunterman - amazing story... this stuff just keeps drilling me in my head to do a better job to teach my wife to learn how to carry a gun while hiking in the woods. She and her sister like to hike year round and at times they'll take my two boys too. I don't think they've ever thought about the dangers in the woods before. But these stories of seeing more predators makes it evident that they're out there.

Here's the link to your story for others to get to it quicker:
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,162591.0.html