1 Dead Cougar - 90% luck, 10% gettin it done

[Coastal_native]

I wish I had some romanticized hunting story to tell...me fighting a cougar off with my bare hands somewhere deep in the wilderness...nope, not this time, just dumb luck.  I'm giving myself the benefit of the doubt though because about five years ago I had a cougar come to my cow call when I was out elk hunting far from an open road...I shot that cougar in the face at about 15 yards.  It was staring down the barrel of my .270 just about the same time it realized I wasn't an elk.

Anyway, I woke up this morning still riding a high from a successful elk hunt yesterday (another exciting story of which I'll post later).  So, I decided to load up  the truck and go for a ride in the woods to dump my scraps of elk hide and forlegs, and also to head to the river and soak up some sun.  After a few hours at the river I decided I should go try to get some elk bugling in the last few hours of the day (I enjoy that quite a bit).  At about 6pm I was driving through some shady timber down a logging road when I noticed something cross about 150+ yds in front of me.  I noticed the long tail just as it stepped off the road.  I can't quite remember the words that came out of my mouth, but I'm sure they were similar to most people's when they have a chance encounter with a cat.  I stopped, turned off the truck, got out and started to get my gun out from under the back seat.  As I was loading it and looking down the road two more cats popped out and walked across the road...3 cats!!!!  I started creeping up the road blowing on my cow call.  I figured I was dealing with a mom and two of her older kids, but I had my mind made up that I was dropping the hammer on the first cat that jumped out (they were all good size).  After I'd closed about half the distance a cat popped back out exposing just enough of the front half of its body to give me a shot.  I crouched, aimed and took about a 75 - 100yd shot...the cat disappeared and I wasn't sure if I dropped it or if it ran off.  I started creeping closer again still blowing on my cow call, and when I got to about 25 yds from where it was a cat bounded back in to the middle of the road and stopped... broadside looking right at me.  I raised my gun and fired.  It fell to its stomach and started pawing its way off the road with it's front legs.  I caught my breath and started easing up to where it went in the brush.  I stood there looking in the brush for about 30 seconds when I finally spotted it laying there about ten feet off the road with its head up looking at me...that was about the eeriest feeling ever.  I put one more round in him and he was done.  It was a young male cougar.  He taped out at 6 1/2 feet and weighed in at just over 110 lbs.  Not a big tom, but a future elk and deer killer without a doubt.

Mostly luck, but pretty exciting stuff anyway.  Sorry, no pics with beautiful scenery in the background, just a cat on a tail gate.

[Dirty Mike]

Im pretty sure couger season is not open to rife at the moment archery only until the 23rd

[emac]

Pretty sure cougar season isn't open for rifles actually almost positive

[IBspoiled]

Nice shot way to go!!!    OOPS

[ICEMAN]

Im pretty sure couger season is not open to rife at the moment archery only until the 23rd

Coastal Native is a tribal hunter.

[dscubame]

Nice cat.  Love how the cow call works on mountain lions, had it happen once myself.  Good work.

[emac]

My bad then if he is a tribal member. Nice work and any cat is a good cat.

[mulehunter]

Very Cool.  Congt.

mulehunter.

[ldjbuff]

Good shooting. We need more people to be shooting those things.

[oneezreiter]

Nice cat.  So was it the same cat you shot at the first time that you wern't sure about or is there a cat out there that may be wounded?

[FSTaxidermy]

Sounds like a double down! Great cat, congrats!

[grundy53]

Good shooting. We need more people to be shooting those things.

 

[high country]

Good to see the stars come together for you cn.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Plus there is some western Washington units open for any weapon ...plus if he is native he is a proud hunter right now    NICE KITTY NOW WHERE IS THE ELK ?

[TikkaT3-270Shortmag]

There always has to be someone trying to be a Warden on here that doesn't look into facts before they run their mouth!