Cougar Problems

[pale horse]

I got a call from my dad asking me to come over to his neck of the woods to take care of a cougar. Part of me wants to do it and the other part has a healthy respest for the dangerous creatures God has put on the earth.

A few question I have about this.

What would be best a semi auto rifle .30 cal or higher or a 12 guage?

What is the best way to hunt them? We cant use dogs in this state to hunt bears or cougars so dogs are out.

How much time should I allocate to hunting the beast.

Are they particular to dens or what?



I know they stalk and kill humans thats not an issue for me. I am looking to either git rid of it or get it off the land its on now. I have premission to do what I need to do, but I am getting some research first. Any help from those who have done it would be a real help.

 

[Pilgrim]

Dress up like a jogger and go running through its territory. Wear one of those helmets the bicyclists wear with mirrors so you can see it charging you from behind.

Pilgrim

 

[Alan Smithiee]

have you checked with your local fish and game dept? we had a similar problem a couple of years back and F&G were very helpfull.

 

[Quantrill]

Can't the state Fish & Game be brought in to trap and transfer?? Quantrill

 

[synoptic]

Is the cougar a problem or are they just scared of it? If it is causing trouble it needs to be taken care of one way or the other, if they just know it is around and it hasn't done anything wrong maybe it should just be left alone. I used to live in a neighborhood with mountain lions in the very near vicinity, never bothered anyone. Even with young kids playing army at night and people hiking during the day and evening all through the area we never had an incident.

 

[pale horse]

Well the F&G department drags its feet and has been fairly ineffective in doing much in this area. If I dont go over in the next 2 weeks I will suggest them leave it to F&G department.

I was thinking about tying a lamb leg on my back and running through the area. That would get the cougars attention I am sure of it.

I am still chewing on this one.

 

[Alan Smithiee]

I ment for information Pale. F&G sent out a "hunter" for our problem 3 monthes after someone localy had "taken care of" the problems (turned out to be a breading pair). but the info they provided was very usefull.

 

[Jay Bakerr]

Hey, Pale Horse, where is "your neck of the woods"??????

Might give us an idea as to your problem.

J.B.

 

[Doug444]

Word to the wise...

Pale Horse, you said you have permission to take care of it, but in MOST states where cougars are know to live, they are a PROTECTED animal. I.E. seasons, etc. Unless there's a clear and immediate danger, I know that our local F&G folks would frown on "personal" action. Best thing is to check with F&G (most states have a website you can access if you don't want to call and "tip 'em off") on the LEGALITY of any course of action you may take.

That having been said, cougars are not known for their ability to absorb lead. Many who hunt behind hounds use a .22LR or .22Mag. I'd suspece that any decent centerfire (handgun or rifle) would suffice. Use buckshot or slugs if you use a scattergun.

Bait will likely involve night-time surveillance (again, check legality) and the scattergun with 00 buck would probably work nicely in this case.


Doug444

 

[Art Eatman]

Males do more travelling than females. Females are more likely to hang around one particular area. Cougars will travel as much as a five-mile radius during a night's hunt.

If you bait-and-wait, you'll have a reasonably good opportunity, particularly when the moon is getting fuller. They begin to hunt a bit earlier.

For bait: A recently-killed rabbit and "stuff" such as meat and fish scraps. And bones. I've taken restaurant meat/bone waste and found it to be attractive. Rags soaked in bacon grease...And, as a finale, some of the bulk catnip you can buy at a grocery store.

However, odds are somewhere better than 99% that a cougar will never bother anybody. The only problems we have here--and we're bum-deep in lion poop--are up in the National Park, where they grow up around people. A recent attack was by an elderly female lion in near-starving condition.

, Art

 

[pale horse]

Yes they are protected, but there is, if I am not mistaken, a nusance law stating you can take care of any critters on your property as long as you turn the carcus over to the proper authorities.

The cougar has taken small dogs and a few other things on the guys property. That would be covered under the nusance law. Plus the people in this area dont want any city, state or any other form of "gummint" near.

I am in Washington State the problem resides on the west coast in the cascades.

 

[Alan Smithiee]

if thats the case then call F&G ASAP.. you need a permit to take care of a nusance animal like a cougar. (we're right in the ID/WA border and a friend of mine on that side of the line went through this 3 years ago)

pop it yourself without F&G approval and you could be in a world of hurt.. that IS Washington state after all

 

[Bigjake]

Shoot

Shovel

Shut-Up

 

[ScoutSniper]

Cougar

Varmint Callers work well...place your back to something solid so you can't be sneaked up on. Get Fish and Game approval. Any centerfire caliber that you can shoot accurately. Shot placement overrules bullet displacement (weight/caliber) every time. Here in Texas, they are hunted quite commonly and shot with .223 to 300 win mag and everything in between.

Chaz

 

[Alan Smithiee]

gotta love people who advocate breaking the law....

 

[Art Eatman]

Nanaimo, basically you're correct. However, the means to self defense is against the law in lots of places--whence cometh the sequence. Bad Guys, Bad Cougars, Bad Bears, Bad Wolves--they'll all kill things of value to honest people.

Art

 

[Bigjake]

step off your high horse....

I don't hold with any law that would endanger myself or my property. i can't stand the "mindlessly obey every law ninneys". it never ceases to amaze me when a blatenly stupid law is broken, some yaywho is always there to holler about it. i'm not about to loose a pet or risk a possibly fatal scrape over what the gov't thinks is an appropriate way to deal with a menace. if the all knowing all perfect govt can't handle it, i'll do it myself. they simply arent timely. same with police, do you honestly belive they will be there within seconds of your call when an armed burgler is in your home about to kill you and molest your wife?

 

[JShirley]

The government has no obligation to protect you. This has been ruled at the highest court level.

As unfair as it may seem, however, citizens do have an obligation to obey the law.

(Of course, this is another discussion: ie, "what is the law" since the US has so many laws no single living person knows them all.)

 

[Art Eatman]

Relax, Jake. It's a holiday weekend, okay? Ya wanna grump about the dumb way a lot of laws are written, or the way they're administrated or interpreted, start a thread in L&P.

Always remember, folks, that not everybody knows all there is about town and country and wilderness and the different problems in the different places. It's that old bit about casting the first stone, okay? I'm glad nobody here ever drove their car faster than the speed limit, nor ever drove after "just a few beers, officer."

, Art

 

[Bigjake]

i'll cool off a bit, i guess i'm just jelous of them perfect people that've memorized every law writen and follow em all to the letter.....

back to the cougar thing. baiting it in and shooting could get a little ticklish if the lion decided he wants to taste YOU, so would there be any way to trap it? i'm not much on trapping past using a havahart on possums, so is there some trap made that would just kill the thing without costing an arm & a leg?

 

[Sunray]

Pale horse, CYA is the order of the day. Call the F&G guys first. If the big kitty isn't attacking people or other wise being a meany and you shoot it, you're screwed. And they get hunted with trained dogs and handguns. .357's, .41 and .44 mags.
It's a wild cat. You won't see or hear it unless it wants you to.

 

[Art Eatman]

First off, just because a cougar has been seen doesn't mean it's a local resident. Their meanderings cover beaucoup miles and square miles.

They'll range around a five-mile radius during a night's hunt. They'll travel 25 to 50 miles in a day if the notion strikes them. (Texas Parks & Wildlife folks released a young male, after attaching a radio collar. Two nights later, it was killed in a rancher's sheep pen--a hundred miles away.)

Bait & wait? I'd just sit back on the upwind side, maybe 75 to 100 yards away.

Trappers generally use a #4 leg hold trap or larger, with a drag chain-and-hook.

But, generally, outside of the artificial deal of a parkland, cougars ain't no problem. The momma lion that lives on the mountain a mile south of my house has the occasional Handsome Stranger come visit, and I see tracks all the time, but they don't bother anything...

, Art

 

[Alan Smithiee]

and here I was thinking that advocating illegal acts was a violation of the rules of the board. guess not, can't find anything that says you can't advocate illegal acts.

we know that anti's "monitor" this and other firearms forums, and we can be pretty sure that at least some athorities are also monitoring as well. thank you Big Jake for giveing them a little more ammo against us.

 

[Art Eatman]

As advocacies go, it was pretty weak. And, after all, it's become a necessity of life for a bunch of folks over east of Idaho...

I still believe the best protection for any species is to declare it a game animal and then control the limit, the season and the method(s) of taking. It's easy enough when the biology folks and hunters make the rules, rather than the emotion-laden.

, Art

 

[Alan Smithiee]

and North as well Art. but it still doesn't make us look good.