Cougars...

[hparrott]

I would really like to get a cougar this year. In one area the deer numbers are WAY down and myself or a couple others have been coming across cougar kills and getting different cats on cameras too. It is clear there are a few in there. I tried last year setting up a Foxpro. I had read most people don't call long enough so I had a fawn distress call going for at least an hour or two at a time. Sometimes the same sound sometimes a calling sequence I had downloaded. I even tried last year having the caller on a kill where I had a cat on cam but never saw one. It is frustrating to watch these cats have such an impact on one area in the matter of only a few years. No.....I don't have dogs, but I am hoping for calling suggestions or other suggestions to help with my luck of getting one. There isn't really that much snow yet it is region 2 and tracking them/sight lines in the dense vegetation isn't really that easy.

[325]

I’m interested in this thread. I want to call in a cat this winter where I hunt. As with you,
the deer population has plummeted where I hunt too

[DannyO]

Is it Possible to call in cats? Everything I’ve seen consists of hunting them with hounds

[Wild one]

I have accidentally called in cougar well deer hunting a few times and know others who have as well. I have never attempted it intentionally or ever shot a cougar though. There are those who have successfully taken cougar calling. I remember years ago at least a couple calling success stories being posted on HBC

It’s definitely possible to call in cougars but I don’t know the success rate

[pappy]

I think without dogs a lot of it is timing and luck. Is it in a populated, high traffic area or away from it all? I have tried to get a cougar with a fresh kill and it seemed it only fed after dark on it. I only got to see it once at 1 am. I never seen it again as it moved on after that. That was in a busy area with lots of traffic. I got the one in my avatar in the late afternoon, it had an elk kill and was very close to it. That was an area away from it all. Make sure you know it isn’t a female with any young. I would wait for deeper snow to confirm there are no small set of tracks with it. There is no way to sex the cat with it on the ground unless you see it pissing. There is good info from online for pad width, paw length, length of stride and how wide the tracks are from left to right. Good luck, it’s not easy but it can be done.

[Bugle M In]

I have had cats come in to cow elk calls, so I know it works, but I think it is "Way to random" to actually establish it as a hunting method.
For me, seeing them is more of a "by chance" experience, only happens in areas where there seem to be more of them to begin with.
(younger ones I suspect?)

I will leave the rest of the advice to others who do hunt them often.

[Rackmastr]

A few people I've talked to have had success hiking down cats on fresh cat tracks. I'd be inclined to find fresh tracks one morning and do a bit of still hunting to see if you can catch up to one, or at least locate a smoking fresh track and do some calling in an area that you can be sure you've located a cat thats working the area.

[blacklab]

Find a track, find a kill and sit on it.
Be there an hour before daylight and an hour before dark.
It may have more than one kill so may miss day, but if there is meat at the kill it will be back.
They will also come to a bait and the timing will be about the same.

[GreyDog]

Once big game season is over, a gathering of ravens or vultures will probably indicate a cougar kill. Blacklab has killed some. GD

[dracb]

With home territories of many tens to hundreds of square kilometers the biggest trick is to get close enough so the cat can hear your call. The odds go way up in your favor if you find a cat before you start calling. Get out on fresh snow and look for fresh tracks just like the houndsmen do. Once you have found fresh tracks, if possible, quickly circle the area to try to make sure the cat is still inside a relatively small area. Set up and start calling. An hour is not too long to sit with the call playing. IF no response, move a half mile in the direction you think the cat is generally traveling and set up again. Repeat as necessary. This technique will bring you into contact with bobs, lynx, cougars, coyotes and wolves.

The most useful accessory you can have is a hunting partner who can and will sit still.

Notwithstanding the above comments, I see a couple of cougars in most years that were shot by lucky deer hunters who were just sitting on a stump tooting on a deer call when the unlucky cat came hunting brunch.

[Firstblood]

Ive followed more than a few cougars on my snow shoes. Get out there really early and find a fresh set of tracks and get on them. I know Ive got close to a few but they always figure out that something is following them and once they figure it out they are gone. Closest I know I got was within 50yds in thick bush. I followed its tracks a few kms then it circled back over mine in a pretty tight circle, followed mine a few yds then it started to cover ground and put some distance between us. Followed another cat 9 km before it crossed over the coq, you could see where it was stopping and looking back on its trail to see what was following it. Cougars are the top of the food chain out here and they are as smart as animals get, I think more cougars come into calls than people think but they stay hidden and then disapear. Heres a good video that shows they will come in to calls, but they hide until they are certain of their quary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrzbqiurbus&t=104s

[RyoTHC]

Has anyone successfully combined ice fishing remote lakes with predator calling / hunting? Sitting in a warm hut and calling would make the long waits much better ��

[Firstblood]

Had a lynx walk right up to the hut while fishing last winter, no calling and no gun, it just ambled on by not a care in the world.

[Arctic Lake]

Hmmm could you use a deer call with a deer decoy . Maybe fawn bleat . Is that legal ?
Arctic Lake

[dracb]

YES and YES

Hmmm could you use a deer call with a deer decoy . Maybe fawn bleat . Is that legal ?
Arctic Lake

[caddisguy]

I think more cougars come into calls than people think but they stay hidden and then disapear. Heres a good video that shows they will come in to calls, but they hide until they are certain of their quary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrzbqiurbus&t=104s

I don't know much about cats but I've always suspected this... calling and you hear a single snap or maybe thump-thump, then silence and nothing in sight. Sneaky deer or sneaky cat, who knows.

I've never tried to hunt a cougar but given their range I'd look for fresh tracks if possible and set up and e-caller along with a bunny decoy. I would keep a distance from the caller to decrease the odds of getting busted. I think being where the sound is coming from would be a tough game.

Anyway good luck. Going after a cougar without hounds is a little unorthodox and will take some magic but you seem quite capable of setting your mind to such things and getting them done... like someone who would try a new video game in "hard mode"

[Wild one]

Has anyone successfully combined ice fishing remote lakes with predator calling / hunting? Sitting in a warm hut and calling would make the long waits much better ��

I know guys who get the odd coyote by bringing a rifle and mouth call ice fishing but I think it’s more they just bring it a long just in case an opportunity comes along. These guys don’t do this when they are serious about pred hunting for they day

Could always try but would not be expecting high success rates

[barongan]

I’m interested in this thread. I want to call in a cat this winter where I hunt. As with you,
the deer population has plummeted where I hunt too
Agree with youhttp://juragan.club/assets/2/o.png

[hparrott]

I think it’s going to be harder than I originally thought but I’ll get out there with the foxpro and try also with a mouth call. Some snow would be nice in the valley right about now