Post by: gramps on February 18, 2010, 06:42:48 PM
After helping a friend deliver some plywood and 2x4s, I went to an area where I had seen cougar tracks and it was so foggy, I could not see 40 feet. I sat in the rig until the fog lifted then I walked out a trail a ways and set up to do some calling.
I found an open area and set the Fury caller and a decoy that looks like a rabbit next to a downed log. I was sitting against a tree about 40 yards away. I called with a deer distress sound..kinda high pitched…and I used a cougar whistle sound from Rainshadow’s CD. Thank You Steve. After 30 minutes of near constant calling, I saw a cougar walking my way about 120 yards away. My Dr. tells me that my standing heart rate is 58…within a beat or two of seeing that cat..which looked 10 feet long…my heart rate must have gone to 150. I only saw him for a couple seconds, but he was slowly walking upright. He disappeared from sight and I was trying to figure out how he might approach. I saw him again and I could see that he was gonna come thru’ some timber and brush to my left. Sure enough there he was….still walking upright and focused on the sound and the decoy. I didn’t know whether to turn off the sound or leave it running so I turned it down and left it running. He could have approached directly from where I first saw him, but he would have been in the open or along the edge of the open area. Lucky for me that he did not come in this way as he would have been walking directly toward me with the source of the sound exactly between him and me. The caller was in the open about 12 feet from the edge of the timber and brush that he was now in. It was about 10 minutes from when I first saw him and when he was out of sight, I turned a small amount and was in a good position to shoot, but was not calmed down a bit…maybe worse..I am not sure. He stopped with his head behind a tree..25 to 30 yards away.. and I shot for the lung area. I saw hair fly and he jumped up about 6 feet with his back arched and went over backwards and then ran toward the thick timber. He never knew I was there.
I sat there for a few minutes just taking in what had happened and then went to look. I found a few drops of blood and then nothing as he crossed an open area covered with snow. I looked around thinking this may not be a good deal to have a wounded cougar in the thick brush that the tracks headed toward. After a few more minutes, I started following the tracks and found him about 75 feet from where he was when I shot….dead as could be…YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS !!!
He was a male..7’11” nose to tail. I did not have a scale big enough to weigh him but he was about 150 lbs. He had been in a fight very recently. He has a torn lower eye lid and 6 or 7 cuts clear thru’ the hide on his head and right side as well as two deep cuts on two of the foot pads. All cuts looked very fresh.
I am disappointed with my photos..but they are what they are.
I have been fortunate to have hunted for 50+ years … Prairie dogs to Moose..but nothing quite as exciting as this.
Thanks to SnagPoint..an occasional poster here..for the help last night. Maybe SnagPoint will share how he walked down a cougar last winter and had a little eyeball to eyeball in the snow.
Post by: washelkhntr on February 18, 2010, 06:46:05 PM
Post by: DUGANDEER on February 18, 2010, 06:50:30 PM
Post by: ThePascoKid on February 18, 2010, 06:51:28 PM
Post by: bobcat on February 18, 2010, 06:58:57 PM
Post by: Machias on February 18, 2010, 07:08:13 PM
Post by: Kain on February 18, 2010, 07:11:36 PM
Post by: hogsniper on February 18, 2010, 07:31:37 PM
Post by: shanevg on February 18, 2010, 07:34:27 PM
Post by: rasbo on February 18, 2010, 07:40:09 PM
Post by: markts on February 18, 2010, 07:41:53 PM
Post by: Kain on February 18, 2010, 07:47:44 PM
Post by: the1rod on February 18, 2010, 07:48:46 PM
Post by: River on February 18, 2010, 07:59:45 PM
blues? so im assuming you had a special permit? or is ther some season i dont know about :dunno:
I don't see any special season in effect now. What's the deal?
Post by: bobcat on February 18, 2010, 08:04:10 PM
Post by: the1rod on February 18, 2010, 08:06:42 PM
Post by: carpsniperg2 on February 18, 2010, 08:08:47 PM
Post by: River on February 18, 2010, 08:10:13 PM
Post by: rainshadow1 on February 18, 2010, 08:28:03 PM
:whoo: WoooHOOOOOOOO!!!!! :whoo:
Great stand, Great execution! I know what you mean when you say you don't know what to do, if anything, to keep it rolling in. You did AWESOME! Way to go!
What a beautiful cat!
Which one of the whistles was running when it showed up?
(Can I post your story on my webpage?!?!?!)
:whoo:
Post by: 257 Wby Mag on February 18, 2010, 08:29:04 PM
Post by: ribka on February 18, 2010, 08:35:53 PM
Post by: mulehunter on February 18, 2010, 08:38:15 PM
NICE RIFLE! 243 or 308?
Mulehunter ;)
Post by: yelp on February 18, 2010, 08:39:09 PM
Post by: Rufous on February 18, 2010, 08:41:58 PM
Post by: Aneoakleaf on February 18, 2010, 08:45:24 PM
Thanks for the great story ! ;)
Post by: mtncook on February 18, 2010, 08:52:53 PM
mtncook
Post by: gramps on February 18, 2010, 09:02:51 PM
I was playing the deer distress for 5 to 7 minutes and then the cougar whistle for 2 to 5 whistles..maybe 20 to 40 seconds...and then back to the deer distress.
Rainshadow1....Please help yourself. I was using the #3 from the first CD...I hope that identifies it for you...that is the number that shows up after I put it on the Fury. That would have been one of the juvenile sounds.
Mulehunter...I ran into that fella...he wouldn't say much tho'. I would like to know how big an area he is working. I know he has not been up where I have been hunting most of the time.
Post by: gramps on February 18, 2010, 09:07:14 PM
I was at 4200 ' elev. and the snow was down to 4" and it was 41 degrees at 1:30 PM when I shot him.
mtncook is correct...the game is very scattered.
Post by: rainshadow1 on February 18, 2010, 09:10:36 PM
That is a NICE cat! I'm so tickled for you!!!
:whoo:
Post by: bucklucky on February 18, 2010, 09:18:05 PM
Post by: BLR 243 on February 18, 2010, 09:34:04 PM
Post by: bowhunterforever on February 19, 2010, 01:44:43 AM
Post by: CastleRocker on February 19, 2010, 04:12:05 AM
Post by: robb92 on February 19, 2010, 05:18:40 AM
Post by: snag_point on February 19, 2010, 06:21:33 AM
WELL DONE. It's very very hard to call in a cat. (I'm still trying!) All that scouting paid big time. When you called to tell me you had called a cat, plus it was a big tom, I was thrilled for you.
Here is to a good hunting buddy and cougar hunting partner. A well earned trophy.
Snag Point
Post by: Woodchuck on February 19, 2010, 06:30:53 AM
Post by: lewy on February 19, 2010, 06:35:11 AM
Post by: BLUEBULLS on February 19, 2010, 06:39:04 AM
Post by: LongTatLaw on February 19, 2010, 08:13:26 AM
way to make it happen brother!
sorry to see no bear hug pic of the cat...mine came out ok and thats a great look for bucklucky and his but I know u already said u didnt get the pics ya wanted!!
ps- anyone that wants to trade stories on the pain of getting a cougar sealed...bring it on!!!
I killed mine in Oct 2009 I got it sealed yesterday 18 Feb 2010... and I drove it down to the Dept of Nat Resources to get it done in the parking lot... I contributed to the time line some with my military career but only after they were completely unprepared to meet their own sealing timelines!!
so 4 months later...Michelle Nelson spent most of last night working my cougar! :drool:
Post by: MtnMuley on February 19, 2010, 08:17:34 AM
Post by: turkey buster on February 19, 2010, 08:30:13 AM
chuck
Post by: KimberRich on February 19, 2010, 08:38:19 AM
Post by: whacker1 on February 19, 2010, 08:44:11 AM
Post by: bigdave on February 19, 2010, 08:54:44 AM
Post by: rainshadow1 on February 19, 2010, 09:00:47 AM
Post by: tlbradford on February 19, 2010, 09:10:30 AM
If I am ever lucky enough to get a cougar I think I'll just carry it in whole to the local WDFW office, drop it on teh receptionist desk and wait in a chair reading a magazine. I bet that would do the trick. :chuckle:
Post by: bigdave on February 19, 2010, 09:11:41 AM
PM sent
Post by: whacker1 on February 19, 2010, 09:16:37 AM
Quote
If I am ever lucky enough to get a cougar I think I'll just carry it in whole to the local WDFW office, drop it on teh receptionist desk and wait in a chair reading a magazine. I bet that would do the trick.
after the number of stories I have heard about the troubles in getting bobcats and cougars sealed that is exactly what I had planned.
Post by: C-Money on February 19, 2010, 10:53:39 AM
Post by: the1rod on February 19, 2010, 06:04:06 PM
Post by: gramps on February 19, 2010, 06:08:46 PM
Will be a full-size mount.
Post by: Rudy on February 19, 2010, 06:29:34 PM
Post by: Pathfinder101 on February 20, 2010, 12:19:38 PM
Post by: slayer1 on February 25, 2010, 10:29:00 PM
I wanna see that lion!