Cougar Tips

[KFhunter]

I'm looking to just go out, cut a fresh track and walk it out should the snow be shallow enough.

I give myself a 50/50.

Am I dreaming?

I haven't done this myself, but there are a few guys around here that do and are successful.  Dale has mentioned this before too as he knows of a guy doing just that.

I followed one for 5 miles but never found the end of the trail,  I wasn't hunting cat at the time and started the trail too late in the day to follow it all the way out.  Need to start O'Dark 30 and follow it into daybreak.  If there is a series of roads try to jump ahead and pick up the trail again, circle until you know it's in the area then head in after it.

If you get on it and know it's just ahead but can't get a shot and you're bumping it over and over you could try to bum rush it barking like a dog at it, make a crap ton of racket it might go up a tree.

[kellama2001]

Tagging. Good info here

[KFhunter]

I'm looking to just go out, cut a fresh track and walk it out should the snow be shallow enough.

I give myself a 50/50.

Am I dreaming?

i don't know about 50/50 but it has been done before. I have tried it my self but have not been successful yet.  Prepare to walk a long ways and threw some nasty stuff. They don't seem to care how thick or how steep it is they just wonder up and down like its nothing.  Found some tracks on a blow down yesterday but I'm thing young cougar or tom bobcat. Had to tell cause the cat was slipping as it walked. Snow was starting to melt and the trees where dripping like crazy so I lost the tracks quickly.

Those tracks look a little too old for me to start following.

[jasnt]

I'm looking to just go out, cut a fresh track and walk it out should the snow be shallow enough.

I give myself a 50/50.

Am I dreaming?

i don't know about 50/50 but it has been done before. I have tried it my self but have not been successful yet.  Prepare to walk a long ways and threw some nasty stuff. They don't seem to care how thick or how steep it is they just wonder up and down like its nothing.  Found some tracks on a blow down yesterday but I'm thing young cougar or tom bobcat. Had to tell cause the cat was slipping as it walked. Snow was starting to melt and the trees where dripping like crazy so I lost the tracks quickly.

Those tracks look a little too old for me to start following.

i follow just about every cat track I come across. Dosent mater how old. Like said before you find an area the cat travels often you find a good cat spot for life. After following a lot of tracks you will see the trends.

There is a cougar article in my last predator extreme about cougar hunting with hounds but in the article he mentions how he takes big mature toms in the same areas every year.

You find a great area and take a mature tom be it bobcat or cougar an other mature tom will move in and use those same trails, bedding areas and hunting areas.  Find an area like that and you have the chance to take a mature tom every year

[KFhunter]

good point on scouting


I was thinking to walk one down I'd look for a fresher track

[Special T]

I'm looking to just go out, cut a fresh track and walk it out should the snow be shallow enough.

I give myself a 50/50.

Am I dreaming?

i don't know about 50/50 but it has been done before. I have tried it my self but have not been successful yet.  Prepare to walk a long ways and threw some nasty stuff. They don't seem to care how thick or how steep it is they just wonder up and down like its nothing.  Found some tracks on a blow down yesterday but I'm thing young cougar or tom bobcat. Had to tell cause the cat was slipping as it walked. Snow was starting to melt and the trees where dripping like crazy so I lost the tracks quickly.

Those tracks look a little too old for me to start following.

i follow just about every cat track I come across. Dosent mater how old. Like said before you find an area the cat travels often you find a good cat spot for life. After following a lot of tracks you will see the trends.

There is a cougar article in my last predator extreme about cougar hunting with hounds but in the article he mentions how he takes big mature toms in the same areas every year.

You find a great area and take a mature tom be it bobcat or cougar an other mature tom will move in and use those same trails, bedding areas and hunting areas.  Find an area like that and you have the chance to take a mature tom every year

Since they are an ambush predator i would imagine terrain and deer habits make a specific area very fruitful.

[jasnt]

I'm looking to just go out, cut a fresh track and walk it out should the snow be shallow enough.

I give myself a 50/50.

Am I dreaming?

i don't know about 50/50 but it has been done before. I have tried it my self but have not been successful yet.  Prepare to walk a long ways and threw some nasty stuff. They don't seem to care how thick or how steep it is they just wonder up and down like its nothing.  Found some tracks on a blow down yesterday but I'm thing young cougar or tom bobcat. Had to tell cause the cat was slipping as it walked. Snow was starting to melt and the trees where dripping like crazy so I lost the tracks quickly.

Those tracks look a little too old for me to start following.

i follow just about every cat track I come across. Dosent mater how old. Like said before you find an area the cat travels often you find a good cat spot for life. After following a lot of tracks you will see the trends.

There is a cougar article in my last predator extreme about cougar hunting with hounds but in the article he mentions how he takes big mature toms in the same areas every year.

You find a great area and take a mature tom be it bobcat or cougar an other mature tom will move in and use those same trails, bedding areas and hunting areas.  Find an area like that and you have the chance to take a mature tom every year

Since they are an ambush predator i would imagine terrain and deer habits make a specific area very fruitful.

exactly! You find those areas with the best habitat your going to find the boss cat for the area, and if you kill that cat a new boss cat will move in. It's like the grizzly's catching salmon. The boss gets the the best spot. But when he moves on number two takes his spot. 



Many of us already know great cougar spots. We just don't know it as a cougar spot. All areas that hold any abundance of deer or elk also hold big cats! Many of us know areas that at certain times of the year have more deer or elk than normal. You can bet your last buck that any area with a large number of deer or elk hold big toms durning the time that area holds the abundance of game.   Winter is the best time to hunt cougar. It's also the time of year deer and elk move to winter areas and those areas that have a lot of game in a smaller area than other times of the year are the areas you want to focus on.  Find some winter grounds and scout it year round. Learn all the trails and hiding spots. When winter comes it will make finding those cat tracks much easier. That cat is going to be checking and hunting those game herds.

[Special T]

When it snows im gona hit the roads and woods for certain this year!

[JimmyHoffa]

I know that on a few ranches they would like to come out on sunny days and lay on the hay bales.  I wonder if slash piles would be similar enough?  Anyone see westside cats laying up in the slash?

[BOWHUNTER45]

Not a cougar expert but if I was going to call one I would wait for snow or hunt areas with snow ...find some tracks and move in on him before calling ...or just follow the tracks and pray you get lucky ...

[jasnt]

I know that on a few ranches they would like to come out on sunny days and lay on the hay bales.  I wonder if slash piles would be similar enough?  Anyone see westside cats laying up in the slash?

i found a cougar kill on top a slash pile before in 113

This head and most of the rest of the bones where found on top the slash pile. Cougar scrape was found 50ish yards from there and tracks found little farther than that. Found this in 2014 and came back this year to see if it was still there.  Looked like more fresher bones had joined the old bones up top.  I'll be checking it again this winter when I call up there.  This is a big game winter range area

[Limhangerslayer]

I'm looking to just go out, cut a fresh track and walk it out should the snow be shallow enough.

I give myself a 50/50.

Am I dreaming?

one of your best bets would be to cut a track walk it up till you think your are somewhat close, set up and try to call him to you.  Just be more patient then we were last year!  We did a set on some tracks last year called till we were bored (not long enough) went and food another set in the next canyon, came back only to find take 100 yards from our first set that walked right by my truck!  Just didn't set long enough.  Patients is the key, which I don't have

[jasnt]

Snow coming Tuesday morning in the ne. Looking  forward the calling

[rainshadow1]

I'm looking to just go out, cut a fresh track and walk it out should the snow be shallow enough.

I give myself a 50/50.

Am I dreaming?

one of your best bets would be to cut a track walk it up till you think your are somewhat close, set up and try to call him to you.  Just be more patient then we were last year!  We did a set on some tracks last year called till we were bored (not long enough) went and food another set in the next canyon, came back only to find take 100 yards from our first set that walked right by my truck!  Just didn't set long enough.  Patients is the key, which I don't have

My cold stands average 90min... hot stands have gone 3 hours!

(However, I've called in cats from 1hr 10min, to 2min!)

[predatorG]

Sounds like I'm gonna have a full schedule if I bag a deer and have some free time in December! Not alot of snow that falls here in the lowlands though...