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where's the best cougar hunting?

I live hear in the mnts. of NC me and a couple of my bear hunting friends have been kicking around the idea of loading up a couple of our pot lickers and heading west to try our luck on the big cats. Just curious where the best hunting was along with highest population and easiest place to get tags or permits.

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Travis Crooks

http://chat.waycoolkennels.com/phpb...?f=1&t=2356

Travis,

I found a link that tells about four guys in your situation who choose to go to Montana, and were able to catch and kill two lions......

ike

I think Utah has the best cat hunting in the whole wide world. The hound guys are swell and will even help you find tracks. Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming are good too. I would stay away from Montana as I hear those guys will steal your dogs and slash your tires.

LMAO

We were gonna post something similar, but not brave enough!!!!
LMAO We have more houndsmen than cats.

__________________
Big Sky Blue Blueticks
Clint & Darlene Pearce
406-567-3064

Love our Blues!!!!!!!!!!!!

reply

Grub i sent you a pm.

__________________
Travis Crooks

Re: LMAO

quote:

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Originally posted by bigskyblue
We were gonna post something similar, but not brave enough!!!!
LMAO We have more houndsmen than cats.

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Re: Re: LMAO

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RunninBear(Ike)
[B]



The outfitter I have helped for years use to book anywhere from eight to fifteen hunters and kill toms for most of them ten years ago. A couple years back he had two hunters in and didn't cut one overnight tom lion track in fifteen days of hunting. He told me the lion hunt in our area is over and sold off or gave away every hound he had.........



Not trying to start anything but sounds like he's part of the problem! There's to small a resource for that kind of pressure. All state are in sad shape. Almost all state want to kill lions off. They think that will solve there deer & sheep woes. Lion hunting is tuff in Idaho they have pulled the quotes in most units. It's been that way for several years. I hope people will learn to keep there finger off the trigger. There are just to many people hunting today to take the pressure. Enjoy it while you can. Mark

lion wars

Wow, didnt realize there was that much competition involved. Is it just in the snow country or will I find it all the way down into New Mexico, and Arizona. I have traveled to Colorado in the past ,and from an east coast mountain hunters view it seemed that the areas in which i elk hunted, there would be an endless amount of territory to roam and hunt without ever even seeing another dog man. I guess that oppinion just comes from dog hunting here in NC there is only so much huntable land with every last inch being hunted by someone. I didnt think there was any way there could be enough hunters out west to be that crowded. The bears sure are thick though each day out we would see 15 different bear between 3 guys. Anyone have any idea if we will ever see a dog hunt for bear open back up in Colorado?

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Travis Crooks

The bears are thick in Colorado because they outlawed hounds back in about 1995, so why wouldn't the bear population do well there. Utah has a limited hunt on bears and so not so many folks are out after them. We use to kill over 400 lions each year while the limited entry bear tags have hung around 200 since they went on draw back in about 1988...........

If there is a place in northern Utah that isn't getting pounded for lions, and you find it out, then post it on the Internet and they'll soon be gone as well............

ike

Re: Re: Re: LMAO

quote:

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Originally posted by idbowdude


Not trying to start anything but sounds like he's part of the problem!

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There is an area near us that never closed its quota for lions. This year it closed relatively quickly. We used to hunt it quite often. Some years treeing 6 to 7 females in that area, and never killing one. We didn't even bother hunting in it this year due to the pressure that has been put on it by out of state and in state hunters. Guys would run the roads 24/7 and kill anything in their path. We do not have a problem with guys coming from out of state, but you must realize this is a limited resource and you are a guest when you travel in to another state. We as locals are not killing everything we tree because we would like to tree something in the future. We treed and turned loose a 60 lb. cat, and some guys from Minnesota came in after us, treed and killed the cat. No, it didn't have spots, so was legal to take, but come on.
Because of the pressure, Montana has started a special drawing in some parts of the state which will eventually involve most of the state. We are seeing more houndsman west of us coming our way because of the draw for a lion tag in their local area.
So if you are wishing to travel west to hunt, keep in mind that local houndsman count on having something to run and train their hounds with. Some areas have more cats than others, but no area is short of houndsmen.
Friendly advice: If hunting out of state, don't pound one area to death or shoot small cats with anything more than a camera. Best idea would be to hunt with a local.
We have traveled to other states to run bear, and we always hunt with locals that are our friends and we always remember we are a guest.

__________________
Big Sky Blue Blueticks
Clint & Darlene Pearce
406-567-3064

Love our Blues!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's a lotta good advice bigsky, and more hounddoggers should consider all of those things before making trip west or over a state line. There aren't any places where I live that doesn't get plenty of pressure, and I suppose the same is true where you live........

As you know, a couple of outfitters or nonresident hounddoggers threatened a lawsuit against Utah eight or ten years ago and so they opened the borders to nonresident houndsmen to prevent that lawsuit. After the very first pursuit season that allowed nonresidents to run their dogs, the DWR closed down the fall pursuit season to all people who did not have a limited entry tag. That law cost people like me five weeks of running my dogs down bear tracks.

I suppose my point is how many of you would like me to come to your state and put enough pressure on your bears or lions in the fall that it cost you five weeks of running time?

Yes, people should think of others and they seldom do......

ike

Big sky, sounds like the draw in the west has finally caused you to experience what we went through fifteen years ago. We were unable to convince non residents not to kill every cat so we limed their ability to get a kill tag in region one. Some hunting districts were closing in three or four days and going over the quota 6,8,0r even 10 cats in the 24 hour grace period. Even when they put in the noresident draw many out of staters had friends here and would come hunt with them kill on the resident tags. Don't be afraid of the draw, It has some positives. The bottom line is this,If some one drives all the way out from N.C. to hunt cougars, chances are when they tree a legal one they are going to whack it. You can't control what others do and you can't enforce laws that are not broken. It is going to get worse before it get better. You and your local guys need to get with your biologist and and talk about what to do.
We see very few out of staters now and life is pretty good around here. If someone wants to come and tree lions without killing, they can legally do it. Not as many guys are willing to drive thiat far for a picture.

I have hunted with houndsmen chasing cats in utah,arizona,new mexico, and colorado where I live. I have hunted the snow as well as dry ground. The one thing I have noticed is if there are lions in the area there will be houndsmen to run them. No matter where you go there will probably be some other hunters. That doesn't need to stop you though. The best idea is find a local that is willing to help you out, most houndsmen I've met are willing to let someone ride along.

Hook up with a local

Yea sounds like the best advice all around would be to tag along with someone anyways 30 hrs driving is along way to figure out you didnt have a dog that would even mess with a cat. Worse part would be the 30 hrs back home. The biggest draw for me anyway would just to see it done the dogs are what its all about anyway. Im just a bear hunter looking for something to pass the long months from january till the bears come out in the spring. Like I said in my first post (looking for spring hunt without wolves) thats my real goal is to find a spring hunt and maybe find someone with a stock of dogs that would better my pack I am always looking for a new circle of people to talk dogs with and would like to even swap out or trade hunt for hunt.

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Travis Crooks