Bought a predator tag: cougar... 1st one

[joshbazz]

As I stumble and fumble through my first year of hunting, I thought I might grab a Cougar tag since they are still in season in the off-chance I run into one while out scouting. I plan to get my bear tag in spring.

Years ago I would NEVER consider hunting a predator, as I was only interested in meat, if I were ever to hunt. However, I'm starting to consider conservation impacts and what my responsibilities (should I choose to fulfill them) are as a hunter, in participating in predator management.

I mentioned this to one of my non-hunter friends – who is interested in starting to hunt (focussed on meat, like me previous), and he made a remark as if one was just wanting to shoot 'something', but that's not where I'm coming from. I don't think I'm going to enjoy the 'taking of life' part of hunting, maybe I'll shed a tear or two when I make my first kill.

However, hunting for me is very utilitarian, I see it as a far superior and ethical way of acquiring meat in comparison to factory farming – a few documentaries with inside cameras made that clear. And if predator control is part of the balance, then I'm all in. I would presume (though I could be wrong) most hunters do not predator hunt and probably simply try to fill the freezer, and that's all well and good - it's hard enough to find the time to get out there in the first place, and with my schedule it may even be a moot point.

However, I feel the call, I'm pretty obsessed actually, and LOVE any excuse to be out there, whether I see an animal or not, just finding tracks is exhilarating - it has unlocked some type of primal reward system in my brain :)

SO my question is, from a conservation point, or otherwise for that matter, is predator hunting necessary? If I encounter a cougar (without kittens and preferably male) or wolf, should I kill it? I'd love input from predator hunters with their reasons why they hunt them. I read polarizing articles for and against, I'd love to be steered in the right direction.

Bear or cougar I plan to harvest, wolf would be for the fur. And in all candidness, I understand the likeliness of me taking down a predator with my experience is extremely low, I'm happy to simply contribute with purchasing the tags :)

[dbergen69]

Predator control is a key part of wildlife management. I a natural environment without any human interference, which would include hunting and building subdivisions in habitat, prey and readers probably balance each other but once we start to interfere we need to manage both sides. Also cougar meat is delicious don't hesitate to try it. Wolf on the other hand I would shoot but not eat.

[tomcat]

[QUOTE=dbergen69;2063039] Also cougar meat is delicious don't hesitate to try it. Wolf on the other hand I would shoot but not eat.[QUOTE]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[joshbazz]

Wolf on the other hand I would shoot but not eat.
I would have to agree!

[RackStar]

Any dog I see gets a dirt nap (if I don’t miss the shot lol)

i dont carry a cougar tag because I don’t have hounds and never to often see them. 100% support hunting them though. The whole balance of the wild thing is complete BS, humans ruined this, so it’s up to us to do our part, or bye bye wildlife. Our government has showed us that they do not care about BC wildlife populations. So save a ungulate or 30 and shoot a pred.

Educate your friends on the truth.


Ps. Check out proguide66 instagram page, some great real knowledge on the topic of predators in bc.

[Vortex hunter]

cougar meats amazing , best p#$%y I ever eaten LMAFO

[TyTy]

The fact of matter is you see predators such as cougars and wolves so rarely, and half the time you see them you don't even get an opportunity.... so if you have the chance in an open season, take the shot I say.

[.264winmag]

As said cougar is very palatable. I don't even bother hiking out to Yotes' anymore since I brought lice home to the dogs from the filthy bastids.
I would venture more deer fawns fall to bears in the spring than the entire season under the hands of bait. Can't count how many little hooves I find in bear scat. Although bear is not my preference my pups love it and I hear the fat makes excellent boot grease. I don't find them particularly challenging to take with a rifle, but they are tough as nails and really tell the story on a rifle and its performance on game.

[.264winmag]

I'm a terrible predator hunter, but I do believe the only good Wolf is a dead one.

[HarryToolips]

Every pred you kill you save lots of ungulates....shoot every one you see during the lawful seasons....cougar and bear are very delicious..

[joshbazz]

cougar meats amazing , best p#$%y I ever eaten LMAFO
Lol, well I haven’t heard that one before!


The fact of matter is you see predators such as cougars and wolves so rarely, and half the time you see them you don't even get an opportunity.... so if you have the chance in an open season, take the shot I say.
good point


As said cougar is very palatable. I don't even bother hiking out to Yotes' anymore since I brought lice home to the dogs from the filthy bastids.
I would venture more deer fawns fall to bears in the spring than the entire season under the hands of bait. Can't count how many little hooves I find in bear scat. Although bear is not my preference my pups love it and I hear the fat makes excellent boot grease. I don't find them particularly challenging to take with a rifle, but they are tough as nails and really tell the story on a rifle and its performance on game.
hopefully my 30-06 with 165 corelokts do the trick!


Every pred you kill you save lots of ungulates....shoot every one you see during the lawful seasons....cougar and bear are very delicious..
This is what I wanted to know, thank you - makes sense in the grand scheme of things.

[Gone_Fishin_]

hopefully my 30-06 with 165 corelokts do the trick!


Not sure how they have performed for others but I have personally seen 3 of these bullets absolutely explode into tons of pcs after impact. A moose shot at 70 yards double lung exploded and caused gut shot as well found pcs in the tenderloin. A deer lung shot with pcs found in the rear 1/4 and a bear that was a perfect 120 yard broadside shot exploded on impact and sent pcs all throughout the hit side and barely even damaged a lung.

I'm personally not a fan of these after seeing the damage they caused and having to make follow up shots when the first one should have done the deed.

[LBM]

As I stumble and fumble through my first year of hunting, I thought I might grab a Cougar tag since they are still in season in the off-chance I run into one while out scouting. I plan to get my bear tag in spring.

Years ago I would NEVER consider hunting a predator, as I was only interested in meat, if I were ever to hunt. However, I'm starting to consider conservation impacts and what my responsibilities (should I choose to fulfill them) are as a hunter, in participating in predator management.

I mentioned this to one of my non-hunter friends – who is interested in starting to hunt (focussed on meat, like me previous), and he made a remark as if one was just wanting to shoot 'something', but that's not where I'm coming from. I don't think I'm going to enjoy the 'taking of life' part of hunting, maybe I'll shed a tear or two when I make my first kill.

However, hunting for me is very utilitarian, I see it as a far superior and ethical way of acquiring meat in comparison to factory farming – a few documentaries with inside cameras made that clear. And if predator control is part of the balance, then I'm all in. I would presume (though I could be wrong) most hunters do not predator hunt and probably simply try to fill the freezer, and that's all well and good - it's hard enough to find the time to get out there in the first place, and with my schedule it may even be a moot point.

However, I feel the call, I'm pretty obsessed actually, and LOVE any excuse to be out there, whether I see an animal or not, just finding tracks is exhilarating - it has unlocked some type of primal reward system in my brain :)

SO my question is, from a conservation point, or otherwise for that matter, is predator hunting necessary? If I encounter a cougar (without kittens and preferably male) or wolf, should I kill it? I'd love input from predator hunters with their reasons why they hunt them. I read polarizing articles for and against, I'd love to be steered in the right direction.

Bear or cougar I plan to harvest, wolf would be for the fur. And in all candidness, I understand the likeliness of me taking down a predator with my experience is extremely low, I'm happy to simply contribute with purchasing the tags :)

The reason for you to hunt should be your own, I have never bought into the what are my responsibilities or should do my part when it has to do with predators theory. Or your saving ungulates if you kill predators especially if its being done so they are there to be killed by humans. Dead is dead no matter who or what does it. If you are concerned about ungulate populations then may want to consider not shooting cows/calfs or does as well, many feel this is part of the reason for declining populations as well. In some areas of B.C. there may be predator issues but in others there is not, in some areas considering wolves and there increase or problems can be linked to human involvement as well.
With cougars one thing you may want to watch since you mention prefer a male or one with out kittens is that a female will stash or leave her kittens for a day or 2 well out hunting, so just because you don't see them does not mean she does not have any.
Good luck on what ever you decide.

[Wild one]

Cougars are a tough go without dogs but some pull it off

As for the whole predator debate I look at it as keeping balance and if I am going to take from the prey side I should take from the predator side as well in hopes of keeping things from being out of whack

Bears I enjoy hunting and eating but I rarely fill both tags because it is beyond what I need. I will take coyote or wolf as a pest on mine or friends property. But I try to do this in the winter when the hide has value.

Cougar well I would like to take one but no dogs and I have never seen one during open season

You can hunt predators and still utilize them beyond just meat

[HarryToolips]

hopefully my 30-06 with 165 corelokts do the trick!


Not sure how they have performed for others but I have personally seen 3 of these bullets absolutely explode into tons of pcs after impact. A moose shot at 70 yards double lung exploded and caused gut shot as well found pcs in the tenderloin. A deer lung shot with pcs found in the rear 1/4 and a bear that was a perfect 120 yard broadside shot exploded on impact and sent pcs all throughout the hit side and barely even damaged a lung.

I'm personally not a fan of these after seeing the damage they caused and having to make follow up shots when the first one should have done the deed.
Maybe the corelokts your buddy had were a bad batch, because the corelokts I have used have dropped every animal I've shot with them (deer and bear) have dropped right away..

[.264winmag]

Never shot a cougar, but I don't predict they're all that hard to kill. Ought six with corelokts should do it I'd think?

[J_T]

I buy a cougar and bear tag every year. I don't pursue cats and in the fall, I don't focus on bears. But, if in self defense I had to take one of them, my discussion with any CO is pretty quick, it was a legal harvest, because I had a tag.

[338win mag]

I never used to see Cougars very often, however, the last 20 years or so I see them almost every year. It would be wise to have a tag as they do show up and present an opportunity when least expected. I dont know why but I could of shot 10-12 cats in the last 20 years.
Yes, Cougars are very tough to kill, like the common cat, if they aren't hit right will go a long ways with bullet holes in them.

[LBM]

Never shot a cougar, but I don't predict they're all that hard to kill. Ought six with corelokts should do it I'd think?

Just like anything not shot in the right place can cause problems.

[250 sav]

I buy a cougar and bear tag every year. I don't pursue cats and in the fall, I don't focus on bears. But, if in self defense I had to take one of them, my discussion with any CO is pretty quick, it was a legal harvest, because I had a tag.

That's why I buy a bear tag

[joshbazz]

I buy a cougar and bear tag every year. I don't pursue cats and in the fall, I don't focus on bears. But, if in self defense I had to take one of them, my discussion with any CO is pretty quick, it was a legal harvest, because I had a tag.
Agreed, this was my initial thinking.


I never used to see Cougars very often, however, the last 20 years or so I see them almost every year. It would be wise to have a tag as they do show up and present an opportunity when least expected. I dont know why but I could of shot 10-12 cats in the last 20 years.
Yes, Cougars are very tough to kill, like the common cat, if they aren't hit right will go a long ways with bullet holes in them.
if they are on the rise that’s another good reason to hunt them...


Cougars are a tough go without dogs but some pull it off

As for the whole predator debate I look at it as keeping balance and if I am going to take from the prey side I should take from the predator side as well in hopes of keeping things from being out of whack

Bears I enjoy hunting and eating but I rarely fill both tags because it is beyond what I need. I will take coyote or wolf as a pest on mine or friends property. But I try to do this in the winter when the hide has value.

Cougar well I would like to take one but no dogs and I have never seen one during open season

You can hunt predators and still utilize them beyond just meat
agreed, good points.


The reason for you to hunt should be your own, I have never bought into the what are my responsibilities or should do my part when it has to do with predators theory. Or your saving ungulates if you kill predators especially if its being done so they are there to be killed by humans. Dead is dead no matter who or what does it. If you are concerned about ungulate populations then may want to consider not shooting cows/calfs or does as well, many feel this is part of the reason for declining populations as well. In some areas of B.C. there may be predator issues but in others there is not, in some areas considering wolves and there increase or problems can be linked to human involvement as well.
With cougars one thing you may want to watch since you mention prefer a male or one with out kittens is that a female will stash or leave her kittens for a day or 2 well out hunting, so just because you don't see them does not mean she does not have any.
Good luck on what ever you decide.
good point about females stashing kittens, I’ll have to learn how to tell the difference...


hopefully my 30-06 with 165 corelokts do the trick!


Not sure how they have performed for others but I have personally seen 3 of these bullets absolutely explode into tons of pcs after impact. A moose shot at 70 yards double lung exploded and caused gut shot as well found pcs in the tenderloin. A deer lung shot with pcs found in the rear 1/4 and a bear that was a perfect 120 yard broadside shot exploded on impact and sent pcs all throughout the hit side and barely even damaged a lung.

I'm personally not a fan of these after seeing the damage they caused and having to make follow up shots when the first one should have done the deed.
Hmmm, I hear corelokt recommended highly, will look more into this