Cougar Hunts

[Houndhunter]

i hope they do bring back hound hunting for lion, and as far as shooting a female goes why restrict it completly?? i wish they would let you shoot any cat and not care bout the sex of the animal. i do hate it when the female quota is reached, then its pursuit only which is still fun to me, but i would rather kill a cat

[Cougeyes]

I think there is a strong chance it will be brought back, just give it some more time.

[Houndhunter]

i've been watchin the meetings and such that they hold and havnt seen any info bout them opening it up again. but i've heard from wdfw workers that it may come back, but the people could vote it back down. and since its the dang hippies that are producing all the commercials influencing the majority, i dont think we got much hope. but i've also heard that they could just expand on what they're doing now with the cat pilot program. i dont know, cause i dont know how all that works on getting new laws like that passed and all.

i dont think we got a chance on opening up bear hunting with hounds again, atleast like how it was

[Machias]

Here's the problem Houndhunter.  Most hunters want the lions gone, actually most hunters are not dead set on the removal of all lions, but the removal of all predators.  It is a thought process I used to share.  Less predators equals more deer and elk for me to hunt.  I get it and understand the thought process.  Later in life I became a big game houndsmen.  I like running and treeing lions and bears, almost as much as I like bowhunting whitetails in the Ozark Mtns.  The problem with killing females is it puts a serious dent in the lion population after a while.  Then as a hound hunter your driving around hundreds of miles looking for tracks to run and can't seem to figure out why there are so few lions.  (I can hear most folks on the board cheering right now )  As a houndsmen I hope we reach a happy medium.  Shoot hog toms and very few if any females, but that is just me.  I grew up chasing after Black and Tans in MO as a teenager.  Used to shoot out every coon we treed.  When I got to be a Junior in High School in stead of treeing 5 to 6 coons a night I was having trouble putting up more then two.  I had shot way too many breeding females.  Sometimes we are our own worst enemies.  For me honestly I would be just as happy if it was pursuit only every year from now on.  I do want to harvest a big tom someday, but that takes a backseat to watching my dogs work.  Last year I treed two females while the harvest was still open, they were nice females one was probably 80 pounds and the other was right at 100.  I had no problem walking away from those trees, actually felt great about it.  Late in Jan after the harvest was closed I treed a nice 140 pound tom, now had the harvest still been open I would have taken him in a heartbeat.  The thing that bothers me about the set up of the current system is it turns it into a competition almost.  Guys gotta take the first cat they tree or they may not be able to take a cat at all.  I believe there was still 19 or 22, can't remember the number of toms still available after the harvest was closed.  Guys talk about thinning the numbers down, if they didn't have the female quota there is 19 more cats that could have been taken.

[hogsniper]

It is hard to say what i would do in this situation. I would love to kill a nice lion but for me just seeing one would be a big feet. Most people dont see the lions like you guys do so the first little female they see it gets shot. I would prob. do the same thing. It sucks because i totally understand where you are coming from but the excitement of actually getting one would take over and the little lion would be on the ground. I do hope they bring back the persuit season cus i love to go out with my buddies and listen to their walkers running thru the mountains.....good luck this year guys...Justin

[Cougeyes]

I do some volunteer work in the winters and tag along with WDFW guys that collar some cats, its awsome to work with good houndsman and their hounds, its deffinetly fun to be part of.

[Houndhunter]

ive been wanting to do that with them, but im to young. i believe you have to be atleast 18, and even then i dont think they'd want someone that young

[Cougeyes]

It doesn't hurt to ask, I've been doing it since I was 17.  Depends on who you talk to and where you live, the state just doesn't go do it just to do it, the're studying them, but i'm not sure where you live and if they're doing any studies nearby.

[Houndhunter]

i live near olympia, so i doubt that there doin any close by me. but i can always go and call them and see.

now will they let you bring your own dogs too??

[WAcoyotehunter]

I agree with you Machias- it's as much about watching and listening to the dogs as is it to harvest the animal.

[Cougeyes]

They're doing it near North Bend and Issaquah area, and no they wouldn't let you use your own hounds, although if the state wanted to save some money on these projects i'm sure people across the state with hounds would love to run cougars for um just to get their hounds out.  I think their houndsman have grant money to pay for all the expenses though.  The reason why they just dont use any houndsman and their hounds is a trust thing i think, and have to know that they can perform and cooperate well. 

[Houndhunter]

huh, north bend aint to far away, i'll call tomarrow and see what info i can get on it

thanks for the help cougeyes