It seems like there's a book about everything. There's nothing that I've found about killing a mt lion without dogs.
I know some people have called them in. What about decoys or any other means?
It's my goal to take the super 10 and as many of the NA 29 DIY (I count 18 possible which includes Tule since I live in CA) without gaining residence in AK or Canada, provided I don't end up moving some day.
The bison and sheep tags may be the toughest to obtain, but it seems the mt lion will be the toughest to do on my own.
Last month he saw one walking and had one walk right by him at 50 yards. He had a tag but didn't have a weapon with him. This same guy called one in predator hunting once and shot it. Boils down to either lucky or spending a lot of time in the woods.
I think calling is a good way. Decoys would help.
I've heard if guys finding a track and just following it and catching up to the cat...but that could be days.
Another method would be find a fresh kill. Know a guy who found a lion kill. He sat on it and had a cat come back to it and got it.
It can happen by chance, or... Find a hot track and lace up your boots.
Finding a lion kill would be the best chance you have I think.
To think of all the time I've spent, boots on the ground, all the places I've gone, through all the mazes of thorns and thickets, to come across 2 lion kills in all that time, all those miles and hours...
Seems impossible out of state. Seems impossible unless you're doing it locally.
Not sure if a mountain lion would even come to a bait. They may prefer to make there own kills.
I've also thought very seriously about running them on foot. I'll let ya know how that works out, haha. Hopefully with a HDYLMK!
It is realistic to get one with a rifle by chance.
There are a lot of hounds men who run dogs, why not just hook up with one.
StormCloud, that's what I was thinking.
Very impressive indeed.
I would think the most doable would be tracking in snow.
Also heard of guys that glass for ravens to locate lion kills then sit & wait.
Idaho has reduced fee lion areas and there are no shortage of cats. Could be fun.
It does seem like a good place to do this kind of thing though.
I was also thinking NV because I already have a hunting license and the tag is only about 100 bucks. It's so close, I could go for the weekend after a fresh snow.
I like the idea of looking for crows to find kills. That's a good idea.
As said above I think your best bet would be to walk a fresh track out, you never know you could end up on the right end of its nights travel.
Actually, he crouched down and watched me climb down out of my tree stand. I turned around and he was right there!
Never had one come in while Turkey calling (that I know of), but my Cousin did once (in NorCal)
I think if the situation was right, it could be done with a decoy, like this one (with fawn distress calls)
ID a few years ago I was glassing for elk and hiked to a rock ledge that literally hung out on top of the world over a huge bowl. Out on the ledge which was flat as a table and about 8x8, I sat and started to glass and was completely amazed the command position you had over that big bowl, you could see into every nook and cranny, see everything. Spectacular. No elk but glassed up several mule deer in just a minute or two.
Then I noticed a strong smell.... a nasty odor, I knew the smell but couldn't quite place it right away.... then it hit me, smelled just like when a tomcat gets in your car or garage and sprays all over.
Behind me was a wall about 6'high and a shallow "cave" 4 or 5' cut back in one section. One part of the wall was clearly soaked to about 3 feet up, still wet. Marked just like a house cat... only huge and LOTS of it.
Made my hair stand up for sure. I glassed hard for the cat all around but never saw it. I tried to go back to glassing but kept "hearing" things behind me. Finally just got out of there. But I've spent a good deal of time imagining a big tom laying on that ledge like the king of the world, looking for his next meal. I would imagine generations of cats for a very long time had used that spot. It was pretty commanding.
Related to hunting them, always wondered how often they may come back to a place like that, or how long they would even be in the area and use it. I know they have huge ranges, but....
Anyway, never will forget that smell....or the way my hair stood up and my skin crawled....
Destroyer350's Link
Another option would be to borrow a page from the leopard hunting book and set up your own kill bait someplace where there's a lot of cats (in a state where such baiting is legal).
Third option, hack the access code to a radio collared one and track it down electronically.
I killed a lion last year on foot, tracked it up in the snow and killed it. Had a collar on it. You dont need dogs.
You just need the frequency of the cat you are after!
My buddy followed the winter deer and shot one with a rifle.
Odds have to be less than percent. Not easy stuff.
Grats to bjanecke13 on your cat, that's quite an accomplishment!
Anyways, with a month on, month off, and having spent some time on the ground in eastern NV this fall (family vacation), it seems there's a lot of places within 4-8 hours of home that I could hit the ground running at the bottom 1000 ft of a fresh snow fall in an attempt to track one down.
Worst case scenario, I get a good workout in beautiful country, learn a thing or two, and eat a $100 tag. Well, actually, worst case scenario would be getting mauled by a lion, but it seems like a great time (tracking lions, not getting mauled).
3 years ago I was able to walk out bobcats on 2 different occasions. Cut a fresh tracking the snow and just started following. I am hoping that I can do the same with lions this year. I will be packing my bow, but have no issue at all with using my firearm. Lions are scary animals and I have had more than my fair share of encounters (over a dozen times I have been within 50 yards of different lions).
Best advice is just go spend a lot of time where the lions live!
In my life I have spent a ton of time in the woods and have only seen 8 lions in my life. Four of those eight I called in while mule deer hunting. It was a female with three 3/4 grown kittens. They surrounded the tree I was calling from. Minutes before I watched them pass on a trail 20 yards from my stand and decided to try to call them. I had given up calling and put my call in my pack and was back hunting mule deer when I saw one, then two, then three and then four. They had surrounded the tree i was sitting.
The very first lion I ever saw was while hunting the roadless area of he Bookcliffs. I was 48 years old before I ever saw a lion in the wilds. I was stalking a nice buck and moving in for a shot, and while looking around to make sure i didn't spook an unseen deer, I noticed what I thought was a deer, but immediately it turned into a lion. I forgot about the deer and just watched and positioned myself to watch the cat walk towards me on a nearby trail. It walked 20 yards past me. It was a big tom and could have easily been taken with a bow. That is the only lion, that I, in all my 73 plus years, could have had a good shot at, with the exception of the mom or her three kittens, which would not have been legal nor would I have wanted to shoot any of them. But the tom was big and nice!
Here's a photo that I got off one of my trail cameras some years ago just about a mile from our archery club property.
Here are a few others that were on my trail cameras in the past.
Have a great bow hunt. BB
I did this a few years ago in mid January here in Colorado. I had seen a cat in the area while deer hunting in Sept, and was able to hike in a mile to the edge of the canyon three months later.
After 25 minutes of calling, the cat show up snaking its way through the tree and popped out 20 yards away. I was just about a full draw when he saw my movement and dashed away. I tried other places with no luck.
Here is a pic of the bear I called in and killed. So calling in a lion is also possible but just a lot of hard work and as with any critter, you got to be in the right area and find the right cat to come.
