Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: longstevo on November 16, 2014, 06:10:16 PM
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Sounds like a dumb question, but here's the scenario.
Fresh snow. Not many deer tracks, but "red hot" cougar tracks traveling through the area.
Would that cat's presence quell any deer activity? Would hunting that area be worthwhile, or return the next day after the cougar's scent and presence has died away. The next day there was more deer activity than I knew what to do with and we saw 13 deer, but nothing the day that the cougar had been through the area.
Maybe it was the immediate post storm time frame that had the deer bedded down...? I don't know. :dunno:
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I have had deer walk by my cam within minutes of a bear being there and within a day of a cougar being there.
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I am sure it puts them on edge. They can sense them a lot better then us. Heck I am on high alert when in fresh cat sign :chuckle: I know the deer on our ranches were a lot more laid back before we had cats coming into the low lands. Now days they are spooky and we are finding them bedding in a lot more open country and out of the trees. I think that's because the cats a ambushing them in the oaks.
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I think it does. I think it mostly depends on if its just passing by or hanging in the area. Cats are pretty clean so they probably dont smell much so if its passing through its not going to scent up the area. Last year when I shot my cougar I didnt see a deer 2 days before when I started hunting and 2 days after I shot it.
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I would have gone for my camera, started calling, I'd rather get good pics of a cougar than kill any deer. Of course if it was legal I'd kill the cat. Kill a cougar or a deer or elk? no contest, Cougar everytime!!!!!
Carl
