Contributors to this thread:
Where would you go for mountain lion? Why would you choose one over the other?
I would choose Western Colorado with Bull Basin Outfitters. Sorry to add another option. Alberta surely has big cats but with a huge price. BC too can be expensive and you can get big cats in Colorado. Chad runs the hounds and knows his stuff. Just got back and was immensely impressed.
Neither...save money and go to colorado with a good outfitter that is know for big cats. If im going to drop 10k on a hunt it is going to be for goats
They are both great areas, but the managment is much tighter in ALB.
Outfitters anywhere can get you a big cat (CAN is the opperative word, vs you can CONSISTENTLY EXPECT it). The best outfitters in areas with the best management and older cats will not be found in the US. The consistently great cats are taken in AB. It is simply the best place in the world. Understand they only take 24 non-residents a year. it is very tightly controlled there. The cougar management areas are very small which means the quotas, etc. are micro managed for precision and harvest management by small area and gender.
They have it down to an art scienetifically and biologically and overlay the potential that that creates with the best outfitters and prices are sky high.
you will find high prices and big range on any species. Just open a BSC catalog...............you can do brown bear for 14K or 28K. those goats you were mentioning can range from 9K to 16K. baited bear from 1K to 7K. deer from 1,500 to 7,000+. it is all about with who and where.......... and the where part is based on the genetics and species management that give the species age. the who part is about which outfitters specialize is optimizing the biological advantage their areas enjoy.
I booked a hunt in alberta with TNT. I will only have one chance to go on a hunt like this due to my job and family obligations and I have no interest in a female or small male only a trophy sized tom. The area in alberta that I'll be hunting is a lot easier terrain than BC. But simply put, Byron Stewart with TNT was the best fit for me. Big money but he's 100% on giant cats. There is a lot of info on here about him. Good luck.
If money is not a big issue you made the best choice possible. You will kill a brute
I chose Alberta, yeah, maybe a bit more $. But as others Have said, I'm only gonna do it once, and wanted a larger cat. I looked at a few colorado and Wyoming outfitters, but decided Canada offered better choices for me, and honestly at the time they weren't that much less $, seems Alberta has gone up a little since though.
I considered BC strongly, but decided on Alberta in the end. At the end of the day it is up to you, and you can have a great hunt with many outfitters, I just felt my odds were best in Alberta--and I'm not very lucky when it comes to hunting ;).
Good luck with whatever you choose.
--Jim
The three outfitters i have looked at in Alberta are Byron, Jay and Noah, are there any others I should look at?
Im wanting a big cat and I dont want to have to go 2-4 times with an outfitter in the states so thats why im looking north!
Byron has 8 out of the 24 tags. I'm not sure about the others you mentioned. But There can't be many more in Alberta.
Jay only has 3 tags. I think he may be booked for next year already, but worth a check.
--Jim
I have one of Jay's three for next year
Curios what the cost of Jay's hunts are and how this cost compares with the high end lower 48 hunts?
Jay is booking now at 9k for 2017
Thanks Bou for the response.
wish I had booked with Noah before his price jumped up so much! Was 8500 last year this year 12000! If im gonna pay 12000 im going with Byron, I think hes 12500! Dont think I can go wrong with any of them though!
I hunted with Byron and John Cassidy which Jay now runs Johns hunts. I'll hunt with Byron again of that I'm sure. You cant go wrong with any of the higher end guys listed here all have superb track records and top notch equipment. You'll get a sore ass riding in the truck that will be the worst part of the whole trip.
My buddy got a 155 pound Tom yesterday in BC. They treed 8 cat this week and he pasted on them. Mostly females and med size Toms.
