Any experience Mt. Lion hunters?

[rocknwell]

Does anybody here have any experience hunting mountain lions? I am planning on my first lion hunt in the Black Hills this Feb. It would be nice to see a forum dedicated to lion hunting, but I suppose it's not as big as the rest of the game world. Anyway, tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Broz]

We get about a 1/2 dozen or so every year. I have a friend with good hounds. I would be looking for a houndsman to take me if you are so inclined.

Jeff

 

[rocknwell]

oooo sweet pic. I'll have to look up our state laws again. I don't remember if using hounds in SD is legal or not. but that would definitely make things easier. Every year I hear stories of people who were hunting and found out they were actually being followed the whole time.

 

[orwapitihunter]

If hounds are an option, they would be my choice. A good Houndsman with good hounds is going to give you the best chance of filling your tag.

Other options are tracking and calling.
For tracking to be an option you need to be hunting an area that has some visibility and good snow. You basically try and cut fresh tracks and then track them out.
For calling an electronic caller where legal is your best bet. It gets the sound away from you so the cat has less chance of seeing you as you prepare to shoot. As to where to call, you can look for tracks if you have snow and use them as a guide. If you don't have snow, try and set up in areas where deer/elk are hanging out for the winter. When you set up try and cover the uphill side of your set up. Cats like to have the advantage of high ground and will often circle to gain that advantage. My general belief is that they don't play the wind like a smart coyote will. They just want to see what is going on before they charge in and find a bigger cat.
If you search around on here there have been several threads about cat hunting.
Look in the Coyote Hunting forum.

 

[fta0303]

oooo sweet pic. I'll have to look up our state laws again. I don't remember if using hounds in SD is legal or not. but that would definitely make things easier. Every year I hear stories of people who were hunting and found out they were actually being followed the whole time.

The well-known big cat J-hook. You're following him, probably nervous, on alert. Meanwhile, he's carefully gone left or right off the trail, come back toward you hidden in the brush, and waits. You catch him up, unaware that he's now behind you, watching from ambush. If a cougar, you're probably okay, unlees you're small. If a jaguar, you may be enjoying your last moments of life. By the time you've gotten a leopard to do this j-hook, he's likely a bit angry at you for disturbing his circles; he won't kill you, but he will strop his claws on your soft body before exiting at high speed, all done before you know it's happening. Don't know about tigers, but they are at times ambush hunters and may regard you as food, on a bad day. A lion will not bother to lure you in with this feline tactic, but will challenge you directly. You may have a few seconds of life left, more if you have a rifle and can shoot. Cats are amazing animals, from your housecat to the biggest ones, strong, silent, amazing fast and athletic. Something like a crocodile, physiologicaly capable of burning all available calories in an instant, a feline bomb ready to go off. Admirable and dangerous.