calling cougars

[webbspinner]

 
I always just piss my pants! Works every time 

   

[Clancy]

I know a area that seems to have a few cats in it in western wa where I wanna give try coyote hunting...chances of a cat coming to coyote calls?

[Machias]

I know a area that seems to have a few cats in it in western wa where I wanna give try coyote hunting...chances of a cat coming to coyote calls?

Decent, BUT they come in extremely stealthy.  I think more come into calls than guys ever know.  They slip in watch things and then see the caller move and slip out without you ever knowing they were watching.  Rainshadow's calls have cats throwing caution into the wind since it is lion vocalization sounds.  Alot of times they walk in like the own the place.

[wraithen]

Clancy, out of curiousity what unit area? I'm heading out friday since I got the day off from work and the wife approved.

[JimmyHoffa]

I've heard/read that one of the best ways to use coyote calls for cougar is to find a cached cougar kill and then start the yote calling.  The cougar should be somewhere near and will think yotes are stealing the food, then it sneaks in and whoops up on the yotes.

[wraithen]

I would think a cougar vocal would be better off. I've heard that coyotes will push a cougar off of a fresh kill. Read a study done in CA that the yotes pushing cougars off kills increases the number of kills a lion needs by 3 fold.

[jnevs23]

Man this sounds like a blast. Also sounds like it might cost me too much to get started at the moment and probably don't have the free time in the near future.  Guess I'll have to put this in my back pocket for the future

[AKBowman]

Can someone post a picture of cougar scat I'm interested if what I think is yote might be cat. Kind of skinnier and greenish?

[Clancy]

Clancy, out of curiousity what unit area? I'm heading out friday since I got the day off from work and the wife approved.

Stella unit. think its GMU 504. up off ragland road. It's firearm restriction though.

[wraithen]

Little south for me and firearm restricted is a deal breaker. Good luck tho!

[gramps]

Calling cougars is certainly a challenge, but not impossible.  Lots of good advice in above posts.  As mentioned, cats are very visual..in my expereince, they come in slowly and are very alert to movement...much more so than smell.  I have called three...the last one was with some of Rainshadow1's sounds on a Foxpro fury.  Also used deer in distress sound at the same time.  I have been busted when after an hour + trying to sit still in cold weather, I had to move a little or I was shaking from the cold.  When I leave a set, I always walk around to look for tracks and I have found fresh track where a cat sat down in the snow on two occasions...i think they saw me move and left.  One advantage to the electronic callers is the fact that the scource of the sound can be placed away from your location.  I also use a little battery powder rabbit thing that helps.  I posted a story of one I called in Jan or Feb '10 on this site.
Good Luck...as mentioned above...it is very exciting to see one come in to a call.

[jnevs23]

How nerve racking is the walk back to the truck?

[Sledd]

As has been mentioned in a previous post the cats seem to come in unseen and behind you.  I called one in for a friend which he harvested.  We spaced apart about 30 yards facing each other.  He shot the cat about 5 yards away from me.  I never saw it coming.  The last thing he saw before squeezing the trigger was the cat bringing up his hind legs and planting them near his front legs.  You know what comes next.  I was lucky.

[DoubleJ]

Would placing the speakers of your call about 150-200 yards away and putting up a deer decoy over the top of the speakers sound advice?

[gramps]

DoubleJ
I had the caller about 40 yards in front of me along with the rabbit decoy.  Depending on the terrian, I would not put it too far out as it would be dificult to see them approach the caller.  I first saw the cougar about 100 yards out.. he circled to my left and was concentrating on the sound and the wiggling rabbit and never saw me.  It was very exciting to see him come in.