# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Hunting & Trapping >  cougar hunting

## shiftyer1

I may get a chance to hunt a cougar that has been attacking a ladies horses that I know.  It clawed up a yearling a few nites ago and she's still finding fresh tracks and evidence that it hasn't moved on.

What is the best tactic to use?  Does anyone have any tips or tricks or useful info to help my success?  

And yes I know dinner and drinks works also but i'm after the 4 legged kind.

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## Rick

(Dinner....and....drinks) Oh, don't mind me. I'm just taking a few notes.

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## hunter63

I guess I never gave a cougar hunt a thought.......(4 legged).
Intresting to hunt something that can hunt you back.
Will be watching for responses.

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## Rick

"Interesting" is not a word the comes quickly to mind when I think of something that can hunt me. Help, does. Mayday, does, Holy Crap Get Me Out of Here, does. But not "interesting".

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## shiftyer1

I had a chance last year but passed it up for just that reason,  but this is a single mother with young kids and it kind of seems like the thing to do.  She was going to call the DNR and see how quick they would come out to trap it and relocate it and IF they still did that.  It sounded like she'd rather do that but if they don't trap them she realizes something needs to be done.

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## hunter63

> "Interesting" is not a word the comes quickly to mind when I think of something that can hunt me. Help, does. Mayday, does, Holy Crap Get Me Out of Here, does. But not "interesting".


That word covers a lot of ground, "intresting", but is more reserved than say, "Holy Crap".,,,and if you run just be faster than your hunting buddy.

So how does one hunt couger?.
Bait pile and tree stand comes to mind....Yeah I know...They can climb trees, makes it hard to run....

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## Rick

If you are in a tree stand doesn't that make you the bait pile?

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## Full Metal

My best guess would be is to hunt a cougar with dogs. If I was to try to still hunt one maybe predator calling and a setup similar to bobcat and coyote hunting would work.

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## shiftyer1

Hunter63....I may be in trouble because i'll probably bring my 15 year old long legged son,  after 25 years of smoking i'm betting he outruns me  :Smile:

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## shiftyer1

Judging from the amount of territory a domestic cat covers,  i'm thinking a big cat covers ALOT of country.  Am I correct in this assumption?

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## Woodmaster750

Dog's or Trap's, and yes they can cover up to 50 to 100 sq.miles. The ones we hunt around here have a range of 25 to 50 sq. miles just depends on the food in the area. I have friends that have called them in, but I never have. I've had Bobcat's come in on a call.

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## shiftyer1

There is abundent food  goats, some sheep,  and deer, and deer, and deer.  Did I mention deer?  Under conditions like that are they more home bodies?

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## Woodmaster750

Yes. You have set Him or Her one fine table..LOL

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## Mad Cow

Dogs are the only way to go. If I could not get dogs, then I would set up on the live stock at night on a full moon if it were legal. they are tricky boogers.

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## tipacanoe

I hope you are legal in shooting one.  If you did that here, loss of license, loss of rifle,  a fine, lawyer bill etc.  Of course the wardens say they don't exist here, but there are still sightings.

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## Mad Cow

> I hope you are legal in shooting one.  If you did that here, loss of license, loss of rifle,  a fine, lawyer bill etc.  Of course the wardens say they don't exist here, but there are still sightings.


Thats funny, they used to say that about Texas (that there were none here), Then they protected them, then offered a reward for evidence that they existed here. Now it is accepted that they are here. Same thing with bears.

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## Redwolf

> Dogs are the only way to go. If I could not get dogs, then I would set up on the live stock at night on a full moon if it were legal. they are tricky boogers.


 Same thing they say here in Kansas! MORONS! They didn't believe there were bear here till chased(45yrs ago) When Yellowstone burned, the "traveling Moose" chased some wardens up trees, but didn't
even pay attention to the civilians! hehehehe

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## Winter

Why not bait it in to a lit location?

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## Mad Cow

> Why not bait it in to a lit location?


Thats the next best option if its legal. Baiting at night is absolute murder on pigs.

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## Winter

This isn't a hunting situation though, it's livestock protection.

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## Mad Cow

> This isn't a hunting situation though, it's livestock protection.


Don't they sell tags for such things ?

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## Winter

I don't know. Here I can shoot a bear for going after my dog, but not for getting in my trash. I can shoot one for the chickens sake but not for the sake of food on the BBQ.

I think the law says you can kil them for interfering with "Livelihood".

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## shiftyer1

As far as I understand there is no season on cougars here,  it is open season buy any and all means.  Just like hogs and coyotes.  I spent a week on the property at nite,  nothin.....I found plenty of sign but apparently he declined his invitation to the party.  Hopefully he moved on,  while I would like to have the opportunity to take this animal,  I also enjoymthe fact that it's still around.

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## 1stimestar

> (Dinner....and....drinks) Oh, don't mind me. I'm just taking a few notes.


You stole my line Rick!

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## Rick

Hey! I'm like that. If it isn't nailed down.....................

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## SoCalTreker

> As far as I understand there is no season on cougars here,  it is open season buy any and all means.  Just like hogs and coyotes.  I spent a week on the property at nite,  nothin.....I found plenty of sign but apparently he declined his invitation to the party.  Hopefully he moved on,  while I would like to have the opportunity to take this animal,  I also enjoymthe fact that it's still around.


That's good, hopefully it won't get into any more people's livestock or property. Even though it can be unsettling at times to knows there's a predator in your area, it is still a good sign that you live in a healthy environment.

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## Old GI

Hay Rick and 1sttime:  I used to hunt them a long time ago when I was young and single.  Didn't know they were called that back then, but hunted them anyway with very little success.

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## DOGMAN

Here in sw montana everyone uses dogs and trees them. But, I have heard taking a live sheep, tying it to a tree and and cutting off one of its legs, then cauterizing it so it bleats, screams and cries all night is a good cougar lure....its worth a try anyway.

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## crashdive123

Unless you are the sheep.

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## DOGMAN

Actually, research has shown that Sheep don't mind be delimbed and cauterized for cougar bait.  I believe I remember a statistic I saw somewhere....something like 84% percent of sheep even like it....

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## crashdive123

63% of the time.

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## SoCalTreker

> Here in sw montana everyone uses dogs and trees them. But, I have heard taking a live sheep, tying it to a tree and and cutting off one of its legs, then cauterizing it so it bleats, screams and cries all night is a good cougar lure....its worth a try anyway.


Wait, so you cut off then cauterize the wound so that the sheep bleats and screams all night right? But then you go on to say that they don't mind and sometimes enjoy it? I can't imagine ANY animal that would get a kick outta having a limb or two cut off and tied to a tree as bait, just kinda seems to go against why things feel pain for survival reasons....
And what do you do with the sheep afterwords?

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## crashdive123

You'll come to understand Dogman's sense of humor.  You many not appreciate it like I do, but you will come to understand it.

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## BENESSE

> You'll come to understand Dogman's sense of humor.  You many not appreciate it like I do, but you will come to understand it.


I'll take a rain check on that...make that _when hell freezes ove_r check.
The rest of you, have fun.

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## hunter63

So, y'all don't hear the worm screams when you bait a hook?

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## DOGMAN

HellFreezesOver.jpg

*it's time to start laughing!*

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## BENESSE

> So, y'all don't hear the worm screams when you bait a hook?


I don't bait no hooks so I wouldn't know.

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## hunter63

> HellFreezesOver.jpg
> 
> *it's time to start laughing!*


WHAT....The Vikings won the Super bowl?

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## Rick

> ANY animal that would get a kick outta having a limb or two cut off...


I think you missed the point. If you cut off a leg the sheep can't kick. Well, not and stand up and do it anyway. Of course, if it's a hind leg I suppose the could if they did a handstand first but sheep rarely do that. The wool on the head tends to slide down which actually ... wait for it ... pulls the wool over their eyes.

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## DOGMAN

> You'll come to understand Dogman's sense of humor.  You many not appreciate it like I do, but you will come to understand it.


I think I may have made Rick laugh once as well....thanks for the vote of confidence

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## TheWaywardOne

I'm a little late on this thread but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in anyway, I'm by no means an expert, this is just my experience on the matter.  I'm also not going to delve into the legalities and ramifications of killing a lion.  As others have mentioned, the best bet for a lion is running dogs.  They are solitary, wide ranging animals.  Females will have a range upwards of 50 square miles, and males twice that.  Especially young males.  With that in mind, you could sit in a tree for a month over a game trail with lion tracks on it and never see the cat.  I've been called to track a lion once that killed a miniature donkey right next to a house, even with a early start I'm confident we never even came close.  Didn't have access to hounds at the time or it may have been a different story.  Lions are hard to bait because they are finicky.  Fresh deer meat.  Bait gets a little age on it and they won't go near it.  Big crate and box traps have been known to work baited with live turkeys or guineas, but then again I've heard of people tethering live sheep or goats as bait, only to have the lion bypass them within 20 yards and kill an untethered one in the next pasture.  Honestly, I don't think you're going to see it again.  Are there dirt roads in the area?  Sometimes you can drive dirt roads slowly and find tracks crossing the road.  It doesn't always work, but it's awful handy when it does.  I'm not sure what roads are like where you are, but where I'm at the dirt roads are like a big grid, with a road every mile or so.  The roads are also either sand or gravel covered in limestone dust which is even better for me.  Makes it handy to gauge entry and exit points, and a time frame.  You may see tracks going in, drive your grid, and find none coming out, and vice versa.  It's not a fool proof system, just might give you an idea.  The state here only recently came clean about the presence of lions, but they've always been here.  Saw my first live one here about 15 years ago, most recent one about 4 years ago, and too many tracks between and since for it to be coincidence.

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## DOGMAN

> I think you missed the point. If you cut off a leg the sheep can't kick. Well, not and stand up and do it anyway. Of course, if it's a hind leg I suppose the could if they did a handstand first but sheep rarely do that. The wool on the head tends to slide down which actually ... wait for it ... pulls the wool over their eyes.


some how i missed this post the first time around....good point Rick, few people know the origin of the phrase "pulling the wool over their eyes"  glad there is someone still around that knows such important things

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## AVENGED

Dogs Are The Best Way. Or Just Sit Within Sight Of The Horses And Wait For It To Return

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## Rick

Thank you, Dogman. Few truly appreciate the true genius that we are. For the rest, here's a picture. 

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

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## Wise Old Owl

> Hey! I'm like that. If it isn't nailed down.....................


You mean tied down right? - very kinky Rick....

We have had several sightings here in PA because folks have video cameras and it appears in the news. The DNR did not attempt to trap the cougar even after identifying where it was feeding the most. Instead signs were posted around a 10 mile perimeter of the park. After a reduction in deer the cougar moved south after two years. 

Honest - put the livestock in the barn before sunset .

You didn't mention which state you were in.

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## shiftyer1

I'm in central texas,  from what I understand cougars were trapped and relocated from this area for quite a while.  They relocated them to south texas,  apparently they are getting bored down there and moving back to this area.  I guess the animals are fed up with border activities also  :Smile:

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## Heady beaster

Build a cage around your tree stand. 
Cut Achilles heel of goat while tied to tree.
Don't sleep,
**** in a bucket.
have multiple caliber weapons.
Pray to whoever your god is.
Don't sleep.

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## welderguy

Heady Beaster, maybe you can check out this thread http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-Introductions

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