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Old December 13, 2010, 03:55 PM   #1
bshefa
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Mountain Lion Questions

I have a good friend who has a nice little deer spot behind his house. Twice he has seen a mountain lion just fleetingly. He no longer sees deer in this area. Mountain lions are legal in TX to kill. It is also pestering his neighbors horses. The cat doesn't appear to be too shy, but it hasn't given any chance of a shot yet. He has asked me to go take care of it for him... I am up to the challenge but don't know where to start. I was thinking of bait and a fawn bleat, but I honestly don't know if this is what I should do or not. I don't know if I should stalk it or hang the meat up into a tree and camo out and wait nearby. Any help on this would be appreciated. AND no I don't have dogs that would track or tree a mountain lion. All the dogs I have access to are coon or hog dogs. I am pretty sure my 243 will do the trick if I can get a shot.
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Old December 13, 2010, 04:12 PM   #2
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if it's legal kill the animal. Several years ago i was tracking a wounded hog down a gully when i got this awful feeling. Looked up; about 20 yards away sat a mountain lion licking his face and switching his tail. The cat took a 250 grain bullet in the chest from my muzzeloader.
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Old December 13, 2010, 04:24 PM   #3
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Baiting is your easiest option.Find a spot were the animal frequents and that has places where you can set up a blind. Leave scraps for the cat at regular intervals. Within a week you should have a shot.
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Old December 13, 2010, 04:59 PM   #4
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Baiting mountain lions is hard to do. They are active predators, and in general are not carrion eaters/scavengers. The fawn bleat has better potential of working. There are several remote control models on the market, research them and go for it. Or find someone who has hounds and be done with it.
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Old December 13, 2010, 07:33 PM   #5
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Dont kill it. There are hardly left in Texas cause everybodys scared of them. If you trap it insteasd of killing it I will pay you a sum of cash...if not ill drive out there and set some of mine..I think they are awesome critters but to all his own..

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Old December 13, 2010, 08:56 PM   #6
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I would try predator calling it if I was you. Call maybe every week or so using a different setup and different sounds. Good luck, hope you get him. They are hell on deer populations.

Hey Trent if you want to bring your traps out to AZ I bet I could put you on one or two. We have plenty of lions. In fact we have hardly any deer left here because the lions eat them, and not many people hunt lions anymore. They have made a fabulous comeback, to the dismay of we AZ deer hunters. You just have to promise you'll take the darn things out of AZ! I don't think many of your fellow Texans will be all that happy about it either!
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Old December 13, 2010, 09:34 PM   #7
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I would love that so!but...school/work and Im stuck with my house cats
I have seen a dear carcass that a big cat had gotten after...everythings gotta eat and whats better than a fat ol' doe?
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Old December 14, 2010, 11:10 PM   #8
Art Eatman
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1873Colt, the cougar population in Texas is growing in numbers and expanding its range.

I know they will come to a mix of a fresh-kill rabbit, table scraps and bulk catnip. They will check out a rag soaked in bacon grease. That's all BTDT.

They have on occasion responded to a wounded rabbit call, but I don't know how likely that is.

Put out the bait in early afternoon. During the time of a lot of moon is good, since they start earlier in the evening to hunt. Or, later in the moon's cycle, they'll hunt later into the morning. (Prey animals see better with a lot of moon, so it can take longer for a cougar to find din-din.)
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Old December 16, 2010, 06:44 PM   #9
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Thats great to hear. Hopefully some of em will come my way
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Old December 16, 2010, 10:23 PM   #10
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In the past 6 years I have been fortunate enough to catch two fleeting glimpses of mountain lion in my area as well. And have noticed a corresponding decline in the deer herd.
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Old December 17, 2010, 11:34 AM   #11
Art Eatman
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Years back I leased some state land in the Davis Mountains, north of McDonald Observatory. I took a couple of nice mule deer bucks there. Then, one year, I literally saw more lion tracks than deer tracks--and no deer. (About that time the Land Office raised the price on me, so I quit.)
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Old December 19, 2010, 04:34 PM   #12
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Actually saw it yesterday! There was no way I was getting a shot off though... It came out and was gone in 2 seconds... It was not running or chasing just moving through... SCARY looking critter when you are 75 yards away. Didn't like walking out in dark!
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Old December 20, 2010, 04:39 PM   #13
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Just remember -
In general, cats don't annihilate deer and elk populations like dogs do.

It's just that the deer don't want to hang around an area they know cats are in.
....Much the same as humans generally avoid ghettos, slums, and areas known for two-legged predators.
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Old December 20, 2010, 05:13 PM   #14
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Try a laser dot,,,

Haven't seen a cat yet that could resist chasing that red dot.

Of course you know I am joking here,,,
But I have always wondered what a wild feline would do if it saw one.

About a year ago a friend of mine was having bobcat troubles,,,
One (or more) was raiding his chicken coops.

His sons mentioned that they could hear it at the tree/brush line,,,
But the cat wouldn't poke it's fuzzy face out into the clear,,,
I jokingly mentioned "use a laser pointer to draw it out".

My friend said his boys were on the roof at night for a week,,,
One with a 12 gauge and the other with the laser pointer.

Anyone reminded of "snipe hunting"?

Aarond
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Old December 20, 2010, 05:33 PM   #15
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The thought of sitting out in the dark alone trying to call in a predator that is quiet, has excellent night vision, and is large enough to kill me doesn't sound like a fun evening.
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Old December 20, 2010, 06:21 PM   #16
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Did ya happen to know that Mountain Lion is generally considered to be the best of the wild game animal meat? Tender, almost white meat very low in fat.

It annoys me to hear of them being shot as pests by guys who are clueless to the fact they are great to eat. Nice pelts too.
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Old December 20, 2010, 09:59 PM   #17
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I love when lions come around. They keep the damn bears and coyotes away. Mountain lions do wonders for controlling deer, elk, and bear populations around here too. All three are as common a pest as squirrels. I've only seen a lion four times in person though, but many more times i've seen the signs, and the last thing on my mind was "I gotta shoot it!" I know they are pests in other areas but theyre a valuable part of ungulate control around here
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Old December 20, 2010, 11:29 PM   #18
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Cougars respond to varmit calls, all game calls with great agression. Do not use a call when alone, have a buddy covering your back!
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Old February 26, 2011, 09:05 PM   #19
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I don't like Lions in my areas I hunt, they should be shot on sight.









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Old February 26, 2011, 10:58 PM   #20
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Chase em down and tree them with dogs. Only a lunatic would try to call in a cougar (on is own at least), they are sneaky, and thats why you usually only see half of a cougar for the few fellas that have seen them.
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Old February 27, 2011, 05:34 AM   #21
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Quote:
Just remember -
In general, cats don't annihilate deer and elk populations like dogs do.

It's just that the deer don't want to hang around an area they know cats are in.
....Much the same as humans generally avoid ghettos, slums, and areas known for two-legged predators.
A mtn lions primary food source is deer. Unlike a dog or coyote that can and will survive on mice, rabbits, and other small critters, lions eat deer. I once found a hillside littered with deer remains. We counted something like 33 dead deer on that hillside, and in the wash at the bottom of the hill? Lots of lion tracks, and a spring for water.

This is my semi-educated opinion only, but if the cat is sticking around one area, it may have a kill there. Look around and see if you can find it. If you can, then set up nearby with an electronic caller with a prey sound of some kind playing. I'd suggest deer or jackrabbit. Call for an honest hour, then pull up stakes and move to another location not too far from the kill sight (if you do find it). Call for another hour, and repeat.

The best time is at first or last light, or at night (I think that's legal in Texas). Keep your body still, and your eyes busy; cats are very sneaky, and can sneak in on you in places you'd never expect.

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Old February 27, 2011, 10:16 AM   #22
Art Eatman
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Texas P&W game biologists have stated that a lion will kill a deer a week (give or take a day or three) if they are available. They don't limit themselves to deer, of course. House cats and dogs are also on the menu, from first-hand accounts in this area. I was driving home one night when a lion trotted across the road with a jackrabbit in its mouth. And I once saw tracks of a mama lion and a cub around a bunch of quail feathers.

It is common around here to find a place on a mountain that I've labelled, "A lion's dining room," with bones strewn around a fair-sized area. Deer, javelina, whatever...
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Old February 28, 2011, 07:16 PM   #23
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Art you are 100% correct, I have killed many in my trapping years, Male one day and female the next on the same trap! That was 30+ years ago, the deer herds were substantial then and decimated now in the same areas.

For all my Non-California friends.... You never go in to the woods unarmed anymore. Some people can't believe it or doubt your sanity when you tell them Mt. Lions eat 1 deer per week for life!

A strong reminder for those who live in the foothills and the cougar population is growing!! Nobody I know has ever seen this behavior before, usually very non-social cats

A woman who lives about 2-3 miles from Lake Oroville, Ca. sent these pictures which were taken just 1 mile from Forbestown, Ca A cow was found killed and the trail cam was put in place to see what was preying on it.

You can count up to eight cats in one of the pictures. Who'd ever heard of
eight cougars at a kill site. They're starting to act more like a pride of lions than the solitary cougars they normally are. Even if you had an UZI, your odds of making it to the truck are slim when this group is hungry. Reminds me of Africa, instead of a small town in the USA.





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Last edited by A_Gamehog; February 28, 2011 at 07:27 PM.
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Old February 28, 2011, 08:22 PM   #24
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amazing picture!!!!!
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Old February 28, 2011, 10:21 PM   #25
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I don't think I'd ever shoot a lion or cougar, they're one of the few species that would be able to take on the hog population, and we have way too many hogs. They might be bad when you're out hunting, but stop thinking about yourself, and think of game management. If you're in Texas, you have plenty of deer, I promise you. There's no reason to shoot a mountain lion. Even if it's raiding your cows for food, there are ways to stop it without killing it.
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