Jumped by a cougar?

[RidgeWalker]

Hi All -

I'm new to the site and a bit of a rookie when it comes to turkey hunting.  I've bagged a number of birds the last few years, but still am learning how to finesse those big toms.

I was out on Friday with my three young sons and getting a few long distance responses from some reluctant tom's.  We moved in a bit closer to a couple of birds that seemed to be a bit more responsive and set up.  I started calling and after about 15 minutes got another gobble fairly close.  About that time I noticed a slight movement off to my left.  I started slowly turning my head, thinking it was the gobbler but instead saw a Mountain Lion crouched about 10 feet away.  I was just barely processing the fact when it leapt right at me.  I started shouting at it and swinging my gun it's direction.  It's front feet landed less than a foot from my stool, and whirled and ran behind me.  I popped a shot over it's head and then ran to my boys who were huddled in a ground blind about 20 yards off to my right.

Now I haven't been turkey hunting very long, so I'm wondering if this is relatively normal?  I've been using a predator call for years to call coyotes, bears, and cats but have never been jumped by anything.  In fact most of the time they come in fairly cautiously.  Has anyone experienced this before?  If so, what do you do to prevent this from occurring?  Would decoys help?

Rich Walker

[blacktailcrzy]

wow thats crazy most people never see one let alone get jumped but cool story thanks for sharing

[phishisgroovin]

dang, my roll of mountain money would have came in very handy.

[GoPlayOutside]

1 ft from your stool?   I would have pooped my pants too!

[ORCA_SIX]

 
 

[Alan K]

 

 
 

[longknife]

Crazy story! Glad to see no one was hurt! Its amazing how many cats are around.

[predatorpro]

i know someone that pretty much had the same thing happen to him while calling turkeys, heard a twig crack behind looks back and theres a cougar staring at him about 15 feet away, not as life threatening as your story tho! lol glad you made it out alive! welcome to washington!

[agchawk]

DAMN! Glad to hear that you and kids came through unscathed! I's be shakin' for weeks after something like that.

I BELIEVE that is a story on this site somewhere where someone had a similar experience while elk hunting. He was trying to get a bull to respond but ended up with a cat coming in for a meal. I've never heard of it happening to a turkey hunter before although I suppose it could happen to anyone trying to call in an animal that the cat perceives as a meal.

[Wazukie]

That happened here where I live last year, different ending though.  The cougar ended up with about a 1 1/2 hole in it.  Scary for sure.

[Big game archer]

Crazy! We've had a couple friends in years past call cougars to within about 10 feet while calling for turkeys, too. A couple years ago my dads buddy was walking towards us while we were calling for turkeys and he walked right up on a big cat that was laying down watching us from about 100 yards away. Scary stuff.

 

[JKEEN33]

Turkey is pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. Everything is out looking for one. I was calling to a tom opening weekend when I heard somethig moving. My dad nudged me and pointed out a coyote about 25 yards out in the bushes. I was surprised he was that close, but we had the wind in our favor. Didn't get a shot before he caught me moving.

[JimmyHoffa]

Yikes.  I have this fear every time I try to call anything.  Need a bayonet.
But I did hear if you put up a goalpost near your site, the cougars won't come near it.

[Wacenturion]

I had a similar thing happen to me while I was turkey hunting in western Washington using decoys.  Female cougar suddenly appeared 8-10 yards in front of my buddy and I ready to pounce on the decoys while we was sitting in a depression blind.  The reason I know it was female was her two half grown kittens made it to within five feet of us.  Had to spook them with hand movement as we were both completely invisible from camo.  They were coming right at us.

Spooky thing was we had been scouting and crawling through the same brush for two months prior to the season armed only with a couple cans of coke and a couple sandwiches....lol.  Really makes you think...they are incredibly quiet.

When you are out there in the woods in full camo, completely quiet and not moving and calling like a hen....you are in reality ringing the dinner bell.

[phishisgroovin]

Two years ago i had a big one following me in the colockum, my footprints broke crisp snow and no other prints anywhere around mine on the way down the rvine, on the way back up though there was Cat prints in MY prints.

Scared as heck and alone (before my last back surgery) I was walking up farther about 200 yards when a small herd of 10-14 Cow elk crested the hilltop like freight trains with only a tiny tree between me and them, i could have gotten a few handfulls of cow hair lol!

I went back to camp right afterwards and collected my thoughts near the fire and coffee.