One hunter, two cougars down.....

[Houndhunter]

and think bout his, was hound hunting stopped because they killed to many cats?? NO, its because them hippies made everyone think it was cruel to the animals, including the DOGS! talk bout crazy, anyone who knows hounds knows that all they want to do is hunt. back to my main point though, cougar were managed good back when you could use hounds, there population lvls were just fine. and to say that theres just as many cats now as there was in the 60's and 70's, you need to get your facts right. the wdfw has the charts that show the cat population lvls, go check them out and you will be quite suprized.

and another thing cougeyes is wrong bout, is that cats dont eat all of there kill. they only eat fresh kills, thats why they will kill so often, they dont eat it unless its fresh. ive seen alot of cat kills and only half the deer has been eaten or less. and its also a fact that cougars have been known to kill and not even eat it, just kill the animal and walk away

[WAcoyotehunter]

Another interesting study about cat's hunting habits...
In the "old days" people used to shoot LOTS of crows, ravens and magpies.  The populations of these birds were lower that they are today.  Lions (paramount predator) were able to kill and cache a deer to last a (~)week.  Now...there are lots more birds- which find the cache easily- and alert the coyotes/bears to the find.  Sooo now that we have lots of the flying scavengers around finding the cache, the lion has to kill more deer (per individual)more frequently to stay fed
Interesting dynamics out there.

[elkaholic]

never thought about the crows, camp robbers etc. good point.

[Cougeyes]

and another thing cougeyes is wrong bout, is that cats dont eat all of there kill. they only eat fresh kills, thats why they will kill so often, they dont eat it unless its fresh. ive seen alot of cat kills and only half the deer has been eaten or less. and its also a fact that cougars have been known to kill and not even eat it, just kill the animal and walk away

Why dont you go back and re-read my post, i never said anything about them eating their entire kill, I know for a fact they dont, i've come across several too that were only partially eaten, but i dont think it was just due to them killing it for fun and eating part of it, it had to do with spoiling and/or getting kicked off their kill by bears.  And you're wrong about them only eating fresh kills.  Cougars are opportunistic scavengers as well, they have been known to scavenge kills that they didn't make.  I've read a couple articles on some studies done on this exact topic about cougars being scavengers and the researchers took road kill and placed it in several locations and set out trail cameras, they had a high visitation rate of cougars.

Good point made by WAcoyotehunter, never really thought of that, just like the ravens following wolves around in Yellowstone waiting for kills and alterting the other scavengers

[Houndhunter]

ok how bout this, you show me proof that cougars eat dont always eat fresh kills, and by fresh kill i mean that the meat isnt spoiled or to old

and if your right then how come cougars kill avg from 5.9 days per kill in the summer time, to up to 7.9-9.2 days in the winter?? could it be becuase the meat spoils faster in the summer, proving that they wont eat old or spoiled meat??

[Cougeyes]

No i'm on the same page as you, i dont think the road kill was necessarily really old and spoiled, just not fresh like their own kills.  I dont think they will eat spoiled meat.  That's why i agree with the 5.9 days for the summer, due to spoilage and being kicked off by bears etc.... 

[257 Wby Mag]

Cougeyes, are you a hippie?

[Cougeyes]

Ha, hardly, i'm not going to stoop to your level so i'll just leave it at that.  This topic is starting to be a waste of my time everyone has their own views, I know what yours is and you know what mine is.  You probably think i'm advocating against cougar hunting and hound hunting, i want hound hunting back, and cougar hunting should always persist, I just happen to disagree with the "facts" that you and some others have brought about and you have done the same with me.  So.... i'm leaving it at that, happy hound hunting if you drew a tag for NE WA. 

[257 Wby Mag]

Before you start passing judgement, remember YOU started critisizing me in earlier posts. So COUGEYES, good luck in your future hunts, may you finally cross paths with Mr.Longtail one day, hopefully you will do your part.

Best

[andrew_12gauge]

Example of cougar populations before hound hunting ban, no cougars or bear in columbia basin, since the ban usually at least one cougar per year and one bear every three or four years. cougars and bears are becoming over populated and are expanding into areas where they are not native. im not for eradicating them completely but the populations are at an all time high and the amount that hunters are taking now isnt high enough to control the skyrocketing population.

[ICEMAN]

I dont have the stats, but I agree, just from the increased track I see. It also makes sense to me. Less successful hunting, less pressure, population grows unchecked.

[Houndhunter]

Example of cougar populations before hound hunting ban, no cougars or bear in columbia basin, since the ban usually at least one cougar per year and one bear every three or four years. cougars and bears are becoming over populated and are expanding into areas where they are not native. im not for eradicating them completely but the populations are at an all time high and the amount that hunters are taking now isnt high enough to control the skyrocketing population.

part of that aint true, lions are native to every part in washington. they just havnt been as present as they are now. the wdfw says lion and bear comlaints are up 33% since i believe it was 2001, and timber companys are having alota problems with the bears destorying timber and such. and the program they had for getting rid of those bears with hounds aint the most ethical way to some people, so now its pretty muched stopped

[WAcoyotehunter]

I've gotten a few pictures of Lions eating on roadkill deer over my trail camera- it was fall/early winter and the deer was getting a little ripe...I think they'll eat whatever they find as long as it's not completly rank....dogfood for instance- they don't have to kill their food.

[Houndhunter]

well another thing that i'd emagine is more cats are probably scavangering do to more compition now

any hound hunter will tell you this, but there is so many lions now in places in  eastern washington (stevens pend'orielle being one) that on a good day, meaning weather, you can ALWAYS tree a lion. thats how many there are now, havnt been out this year yet but my uncles have said theres still tons

[LongTatLaw]

Well..if that cat from the pics was the 40 pound cat...Id shoot his ass twice and Id show him off and maybe make old michelle squeeze his little ass into a taxidermy form. Even If I knew he was a lil on the small side... Id probably take him simply for the rare chance of taking a "big" cat without hounds.

That said, it sounds like a little mistaken identity on the cat shot by the hunter in the original story. Sounds funny but Ive done the same thing.

I was hunting down in Georgia and a lone doe came out into a green field just at dark. She came to about 40 yards and the 300 win mag touched her in the armpit ... she ran off into the woodline. I gave her 10 minutes and then went after her by flashlight. I went 20 yards into the woods and saw the doe stand up and stand there... so I gave her a second shot to finish her off...

problem was, I shot a 110 pound fat ass doe in the field and followed a blood trail right to a deer standing there not running and acting strange. That 2nd shot actually killed a 2nd doe. This one was probably 50 pounds and was definitely a yearling. The yearling was on the blood trail standing 5 feet from the doe (mother) laying dead just out of sight.

I have killed dozens and dozens of deer. and would never kill a 50 pound yearling... but in context it had to be the same deer.

Now, given the unlikely nature of sighting not one but two cougars a few yards from one another at the exact same time.

I made the mistake on deer...which are very very familiar to me. So the same mistake on cats would be much easier!

That said...he made a mistake.   As for me, 40 pound cats should stay far far away from me and the 300!

Im not even doing it to protect the deer. Id just be happy to take any legal cat.

Fell free to comment...lol