Calling Cougars

BigJim

New member
I have an electronic caller and want to try to call for cougars. What do I need to know or what call should I use? I also heard calling them in is more dangerous. Is that true?
 
Dangerous? Aside from the fact that they're physically capable of eating you, you mean? Read about the lion taken on the PM hunt with an e-caller.
 
BigJim i call for cougar's. i use a Foxpro to get the sound away from me . been spooked a couple time's. what state do you live in. i use deer sound's. using more cougar sound's this year have a great spot to call have to call down logging road's when i come to corner there are raven's they help see. brushy here in Washington. i have a big speaker i'll be using sound's are real clear.i call for over an hour.there in the area just have to find the right one. Rick
 
Big Jim check your game regs. in Colorado it is not legal to use an E-Caller. I had to bring mine in with the hand call. It snuck to 8 paces from me when I saw and shot it. You bet your butt it is more dangerous. My lion was a female that weighed in at 128 pounds. Her paws were nearly the size of my face and her teeth were big too. Infact, it was soo scary i did not call by my self for yotes or anything for atleast a week. And then when I called I was paraniod as hell.

Here is a link to my story.... Good luck I never dreamed I would get one. Most guys spend a lifetime calling and only see one or glimpse of one. My lion Story
 
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Ive got to say that calling lions is like a nasty game of needle in a haystack. We supposedly have over 5100 cougar in Oregon, and about a quarter of them in N.E. Oregon. Ive been hard at it, and have yet to call a cougar in. Ive tried all hints I have found, and none of them worked so far. The one time I had a chance (after seeing one) I never thought to call for it, I just took off after it and nearly 20 miles later I gave up (4 1/2 hours) pretty good clip. The best I understand is finding a fresh kill, one that has been slightly buried knowing that a cat is still in the area and likely to return. All the kills I have found have been a day or two to old. If you are serious about trying to call cougars, expect your patience to be tested to way beyond normal. You will be so frusterated you will want to quit, but you have to keep going. Have to tell yourself that the next stand may be the winner. Hang in there, and good luck to you. I know when I harvest my first called cougar I will buy a lottery ticket with every last dollar I have cause certainly it will be my luckiest day!
 
I have been in on several successful lion hunts in NM. We were hunting for a particular lion each time (for ranchers), in an area where there are very seldom lions, so it may not apply.

We would first find sign (kills etc.) in various locations, then try to determine how old it was. From this we would put together an idea of the cat's range and try to determine how long a time it took him to "make a circuit" around his range area.

Once we had an idea of where is "circuit" was, and how long it took him to make his way around it (several days to a week or more), we would try to be ahead of him in a good hide, waiting. We did use prey sounds when we knew he had gotten into the area, usually lost lamb, fawn, or calf.

This involved sometimes a week of scouting, aided by info from the ranchers. We'd usually get our hide set in the afternoon and spend the night there, hoping to get a shot in the morning.

My hunting partner, Pat, is very good at this, and has been hunting that country for 55YRS. Even so, there were times when we misjudged and had a cat pass us in the night. I have waited in a hide for a day and a half before getting a shot. We were also busted a couple of times, which usually worked out OK for the ranchers, since the cat would then generally move on to a completely new area.

Big cats can be a real challenge. They are not very scent sensitive, but ANY motion will alert them. They seem almost to have a sixth sense, and sometimes seem to be able to tell that they are being hunted, even from long distances where you know you cannot have been busted yet.
 
Anybody ever tried calling from a tree stand? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gifOr would that be pure suicide? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Rez, I've never tried it, but I don't know why it wouldn't work. Most tiger hunting was done from tree stands, as I undersand it.
 
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