Calling Cougars?

[nwwanderer]

With wolves around they will be a mile or two from a kill site, without them they are close by.  Source is Wyoming research.

[Bango skank]

One day left, im throwing in the towel until after im done deer hunting this fall.  I figure i have better odds of calling in a bear than a cat now, so heading to idaho in the morning, see if i can shake a bear up.  Have to head to alaska on the 5th, would be nice to fill a bear tag first.  Been finding the occasional pile of bear crap in 101 and 117 this week, and some pretty good green grass in some areas.  23 lion stands this month, no takers.

[jasnt]

Wow crazy season this year.  Looking forward to August

[Bango skank]

Got one with a tracking collar in my back yard

So apparently this is an old girl, 9-10 years old.  Part of the predator prey study.

[KFhunter]

Ya, looks like the old girl by your backdoor

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[Bango skank]

anybody else out trying?  Ive been doing a bit the last couple weeks here and there.  Cant help but feel like im educating them at best.  With the brush full of leaves, grass tall and lion colored, and no snow on the ground i thik it will be a miracle if i manage to call one in and actually see it, sneaky suckers that they are.  Rationally i know i should wait until the snow flies, but i just cant help myself.    sleeping up on notellum ridge tonight, going to get to calling in the morning.  Hoping to get 3 or 4 sessions in.

[Bango skank]

okay, actually hoping to get only one session in. 

[jasnt]

I’m waiting for at least a heavy frost

[Bango skank]

I figure if i can get lucky and tag one now, ill be able to focus more time on wolf / lion hunting in idaho come winter.

[jasnt]

I figure if i can get lucky and tag one now, ill be able to focus more time on wolf / lion hunting in idaho come winter.

i don’t blame ya. If you got time go but I got a farm to run.  Come snow fall things slow down just long enough for a few hunts then I got plowing to do

[Bango skank]

I figure if i can get lucky and tag one now, ill be able to focus more time on wolf / lion hunting in idaho come winter.

i don’t blame ya. If you got time go but I got a farm to run.  Come snow fall things slow down just long enough for a few hunts then I got plowing to do

Gimme some eggs!

[Bango skank]

and plow my driveway while youre already plowin!

[jasnt]

 

[KFhunter]

I got two new call in stories, but I wasn't cougar hunting.   I was chasing Elk in Idaho. 

1)  We were going down a gated road and came to a Y intersection,  the road went on to make a big circle around a mountain knob, so you'd end up back at the Y no matter which direction you took.  It was about 2 mile loop. 

We called for Elk at the Y intersection, then continued on taking a right due to wind direction.   Not seeing much for elk sign,  we took a mid afternoon break, ate, and relaxed a bit thinking where we'd scout next.   Then continued on around the loop coming back to that Y from the left side.   Total time is a rough guess, but it was 2+ hours. 

As we passed by the Y we had a cat explode out of the brush just above us on the cut bank and booger out, it was all of about 10 feet away from me.   I found it interesting that the cat came in and hung in the area for so long, then set up an ambush on the side of the road.  Had we been elk, I think it could have had one wind being in the cats face.   It was a huge one. 

2) We were on the upper corner of a cut block where loggers clear cut, then it had grown up a few years.  On the other side of the cutblock it went down into a wallow and had a spring down there, elk travelled through frequently.   We had a moose cow + calf walk within 20-30 feet of us    so we tossed sticks at her until she left with her calf.   We did some elk calls,  then not getting any response we bugled some.   Still no response.   We decided to wait it out until I couldn't see my pins,  finally it got dark and out came the headlamps.   As we were walking down the cutblock we got about 300 yards and I caught eyes in my headlamp,  I recognized them immediately for cat eyes,  the way the orbs are perfectly round and staring right at you,  deer tend to be half moon shaped, blink and bob a lot,  whereas a cat they're rock steady staring straight at you, and very bright!   It was about 50 yards into the cutblock from our trail we were taking down.   I pulled out my glock and hit it with the weapon light,  that's a 1000 lumen Streamlight TRL-1 HL, and it lit its world up.  You could clearly see it,  I started fast walking towards it and it spun and boogered out, running into stuff as it fled. 

Again, it was 2+ hours from the time we called, to the time we spotted it. 


I think I will adjust my call times!   

[Bango skank]

Got up to hunt at daybreak and started hearing a bunch of atvs and hollerin coming my way.  Forgot, opening weekend of muzzy    im staying out of the woods until monday, let the weekend warriors do their thing.