Jumped by a cougar?

[one more]

Twice I had a coyote sneak up on my decoys while I was calling turkeys.  I bet cougars and coyotes check on us more often than we know. 
Diane

[PA BEN]

Back in the 80's had a good friend call in a cougar above Chewelah, and another friend called one in out of Hunters. Funny thing about the one out of hunters, he was guiding a guy from California. The guy from  California was so scared of cougars because he killed one that spring turkeys hunting, it jumped right in on him, the only reason he killed it before it got him was his shotgun was pointing at the cougar. It died in his lap. Anyway my buddy said this guy would only sit w/a tree to his back. They set up on an old logging road working a tom. The tom shut up, and down the road comes a cougar after the decoy. My buddy was a hound hunter at that time and said watch this, he jump up and ran after the cougar hollowing like a hound. The cougar didn't run at first, and then turned and ran. The guy from California about crapped his panits and said you washington boys are crazy.

[Skyvalhunter]

 

[DOUBLELUNG]

It definitely happens with a variety of predators.  I think most of the time the predator catches on before we detect them, but it seems somewhere in the country every year a hunter gets jumped on by a cougar/coyote/bobcat etc. and has a shorts-staining experience. 
 
I've called in two coyotes and a bobcat while turkey calling.  I shot the coyote in NH at several feet range with a .22 pocket pistol.  I was walking through a burned area in WY when a tom gobbled a long way off and i yelped in response.  I saw a coyote come running down the ridge in front of me.  I set up facing upwind, in full camo in a little dip at the base of a big ponderosa.  I clucked and scratched in the dirt with my hand behind my back.  I then kept scratching intermittently until he came in, belly crawling, eyes absolutely intense.  He got a couple feet from my boots before he detected me and freaked out of there.  Bobcat was similar, except I had no idea it was there until it blew up out of the sagebrush away from me, just a few feet away - that one scared the heck out of me!

[pianoman9701]

The woods are scary. That's it, I'm taking up knitting!

[farmin4u_98948]

The woods are scary. That's it, I'm taking up knitting!

Aint that the  truth... After an encounter like that happens everything makes you jump... I saw a bear one morning and the rest of the day even burnt out stumps made me jump.... Even Elmer Fudd is braver than me...

[h2ofowlr]

Had a similar event happen while archery hunting 3 years back.  I was walking towards my buddy down a narrow overgrown road and he was about 50 yards from me.  I don't know if the cougar was hidding in the bushes on the side or was passing through, but as soon as I had walked past it, which I didn't see, it sprung out of the bushes a few feet be hind me.   When I turned to face it it jumped into the bushes on the otherside of the road.  That was the last I saw of it.  They could take you out whenever they wanted, so it seems, but so far I haven't heard of to many cougar attacks.  You just can't hear them coming typically.

[turkeyfeather]

A couple years back my buddy and I were scouting for the upcoming early archery season. We walked down to a creek bottom to check for tracks for potential stand placement, and while walking back out we found cat tracks on top of ours. We never saw or heard a thing. That made the neck hairs stand up.

[BOWHUNTER45]

I have waited 25 yrs for one to sneak up on me ...... 2010 kitty

[pianoman9701]

What a great looking cat! Nice kill.

[h2ofowlr]

That's a big kitty.

[BOWHUNTER45]

yeah that was the high lite of my hunting career .. I be happy now ...

[Andrew]

Bowhunter45...what's the story I gotta here this one!!

[Tony]

Had a Bobcat charge me while walking out of the woods after dark when hunting at Bethel Ridge. Since i just had the moon light i couldn't tell what it was that started running at me from about 100 yds away until it got close but i can tell you they are FAST. it closed that distance before i could do anything but it turn and ran off when i yelled at it. Ever know it wasn't a big cat it still makes you feel like crapping yourself.

[bearpaw]

It's not common but I had three hunters stalked by the same cat 3 days in a row last turkey season. WDFW wouldn't let us take him out. 

Most of the time you don't have to worry about it.

Nice cat BH45, you get him near where you took the photo? Dogs or call? congrats either way....