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View Full Version : Cougar caution at 3 forks



Fallkniven
10-18-2010, 11:02 PM
Just Thought I would let anyone know, who is heading to the 3 forks area, what happened to me tonite.

I was heading back down a small FSR, about a mile from the main FSR, (that leads to graystokes). it was about 15 mins to dark and i had been out looking for Whitetails, i was heading back down now, walking quietly down the hill. As I was keeping a good lookout, I momentarily checked behind me and saw what i thought was a coyote. I stopped and looked at it fora moment, expecting it to run as soon as it saw me. It didn't, it just stopped dead in the middle of the track about 50yds away.

I coughed acouple of times, but it still didn't run. swinging my rifle up, I took a look down the scope and saw instantly that it was a cat, given the height of the head i was thinking bobcat.
I watched it for a while, but seeing as the light was diminishing, i clapped my hands a couple of times to frighten it off.
At the noise, the cat stood and only now did I see its long body, that seemed to grown from the ground and its long tail. The cougar was staring fixed at me and we watched eachother for a minute. No problem i was thinking, just a Couger I'll soon scare it off, so grabbing my jacket and lifting the hood,( to make myself seem larger) i stepped forward and shouted as loudly as I could.
Actually this had almost no effect, it simply turned one pace to one side, then swung back facing me.
I decided to back away , while facing it, and this i started to do, but I had only gone a few steps when i had to look down at my footing. When i glanced back up, the cat had advanced several feet and was again crouched low.
I made more noise, but agian no effect. The light was going fast now and I still had 3/4 mile to go,I tried backing away again, but almost the same thing happend as last time and the couger advanced still closer and agin lay crouched.It was time to act quickly, so I shouted and stepping forward fired the gun over its head . Only now did it, react, but it didn't streak off into the undergrowth as I had expected, but loped to one side and then slipped into the trees.
I headed back downn to the truck at double time and got there just as it was dark.
I have called the C/o.
Seems odd that it would advance over such open ground, not sure weather it would have pressed home an attack, but it might, had it got close enough to me from behind.
anyway, i thought I would put the word out there, as I know quite a few people hike/mountain bike and hunt up that way.
Paul

upcomer
10-18-2010, 11:25 PM
wow thank god you're okay. Good on you for giving everyone the heads up

doubled
10-19-2010, 05:33 AM
That does not sound good. Good thing you saw it early on.

shawnwells
10-19-2010, 05:38 AM
jeez whats with the cats lately....theyre getting pretty brave...time to take em down a peg...maybe next year....

dave_fras
10-19-2010, 06:08 AM
gzz paul... u just cant catch a break this week haha... sorry i didnt get back to u!... i wasnt home from work until 8 last night! its was a long flippen day!!

Ruger4
10-19-2010, 06:08 AM
that whole 3 forks, north fork , philpott , greystokes , foolhen area has always been thick with cats ............. its a natural wintering range coupled with and all the new residents bringing cats dogs chickens sheep goats etc etc its an easy pickins buffet :(:-D

BlacktailStalker
10-19-2010, 06:59 AM
Cats are curious.
Be comforted in the fact that If he wanted you he woulda had ya long before you knew he was there.
It rarely happens.
Lots of claims but amazingly, the best killer in the woods never leaves a mark on these people.

There is one here that has been playing with hikers for 2 years now, he deliberately shows himself, 'feints' at people jogging and has 'playfully' chased a bike or two apparently.

Wrayzer
10-19-2010, 06:59 AM
A family member took a book sized cougar out of there last winter, would much rather see it stuffed in his family room than tailing me or anyone else. Glad to hear you made it out.

35 Whelen
10-19-2010, 08:47 AM
That cat would have died from lead poisoning after the first attempt to scare it off by yelling and clapping.. He would not get a second chance.....LOL

shantz
10-19-2010, 08:54 AM
I saw one up there last year but he didn't stick around for long. Neither did I.

Spokerider
10-19-2010, 09:21 AM
Cool. Not many get to experince that.

Had a buddy that went out hiking each weekend in search of the cat that was leaving the tracks he kept finding. Well, one morning he found the track-maker, with the following story much like yours, except that he had no rifle to scare the cat, only a broken-off hockey stick that he used to hike with. He sure wasn`t expecting such a brazen encounter, lol.

goatdancer
10-19-2010, 09:57 AM
[quote=BlacktailStalker;767497]Cats are curious.
Be comforted in the fact that If he wanted you he woulda had ya long before you knew he was there.
It rarely happens.
Lots of claims but amazingly, the best killer in the woods never leaves a mark on these people.


Very true. Cats are very curious. If it was serious, you would be cat scat now.

oldschoolguy
10-19-2010, 10:39 AM
Just wondering, what are the rules about shooting in a situation like that? When are you allowed to shoot to kill. There's gotta be a fine line between self defense and poaching. I'm guessing it would be the same for bears and other primary predators too.
-posted via blackberry so excuse any writing errors

warnniklz
10-19-2010, 10:48 AM
Crazy stuff man. I've yet to see a cougar in real life but have seen two wolverines... hmmm... only cat experience I got was I was out putting some clicks under my boots in fresh snow and as I circled back near the end of the day there was cat tracks following my trail.

They sure are tasty critters though

islandboy
10-19-2010, 10:57 AM
The best way to avoid seeing cougars is to buy a tag. :mrgreen:

Benelli FanBoy
10-19-2010, 11:41 AM
Always make your first shot count, unless you have a semi-auto rifle, a human's life is more valuable than a game animals life

Ruger4
10-19-2010, 09:47 PM
Cool. Not many get to experince that.

Had a buddy that went out hiking each weekend in search of the cat that was leaving the tracks he kept finding. Well, one morning he found the track-maker, with the following story much like yours, except that he had no rifle to scare the cat, only a broken-off hockey stick that he used to hike with. He sure wasn`t expecting such a brazen encounter, lol.

I'm looking for a cougar and I brought my hockey stick ? :-?:-?:-?
not the smartest knife in the ..............

Fisher-Dude
10-19-2010, 09:54 PM
that whole 3 forks, north fork , philpott , greystokes , foolhen area has always been thick with cats ............. its a natural wintering range coupled with and all the new residents bringing cats dogs chickens sheep goats etc etc its an easy pickins buffet :(:-D

With some luck, this cat will find its way into Reg Volk's yard and chew something he cares about. :wink::mrgreen:

Ruger4
10-19-2010, 10:07 PM
With some luck, this cat will find its way into Reg Volk's yard and chew something he cares about. :wink::mrgreen:

thats funny , I could name a few others in the general area. :mrgreen:
but with any real luck , the cat will walk through my property and the dogs will put him up a tree so I can post some pics for y'al to view

Sundance1972
10-19-2010, 10:22 PM
The best way to avoid seeing cougars is to buy a tag. :mrgreen:


Apparently it works for deer, too!!!

adamgarbett
10-20-2010, 05:40 AM
Apparently it works for deer, too!!!

And moose lol