Hunting Lions Without Dogs

[AggieHunter]

Requires a ton of patience and miles of walking to track them. I never have used dogs. They don't have the same sense of smell bears and big game do so you don't have to play the wind as much with them but their eyesight and hearing are both very sharp.

Starting this year with bear in Colorado with a similar approach of spot and stalk.

 

[WyoDoug]

Heck seeing a Big Cat is a rare occurrence without dogs. There have been a few just treed by the family mutt that stumbles on one...

A bowhunting friend claims he saw a group of pigs tree one in Southern California. I believe him.

Wondering if a $140 lion tag in NV is worth having while chukar hunting the NW corner?

Lot of them in Nevada. Just gotta be lucky and be hunting near the lion's shelter. Because they roam so much they don't have traditional den (except females in winter when they have young born) so if you find their shelter or a kill site and track from there, it might be worth it if you can dedicate 2-3 days to a lion hunt.

 

[wyoboypt]

Nice kitty. I hope to have the same luck in October when I do my hunt. Been in contact with landowners bordering my hunt area and trying to find sightings, hints and permissions. I have never used dogs and had some morons on Facebook slam me and ask how many I treed in my lifetime. Many states, including some that I hunted in do not allow dogs for lions hunting. Simple answer was none, I never used dogs and got all mine (12 total) by stalk and spot techniques. This year I plan to do pictures, something I have never really done much of on my hunts.

Anyways, good shot, nice and fat. I would enjoy butchering that one myself. Mountain kitties are really good tasting. Biggest killer of newborn calves according to the ranchers I talk if they are in the area that is. They have to have 8-10 pounds of meat a day to survive and new born calves are generally around 80-90 pounds so they will get about 2-3 calves a week once they associate cattle with food. For some reason, it's the newborns they went after on my cousin's ranch, not the more mature ones. His ranch is up south of Cody.

Any pics of those lions?

 

[WyoDoug]

Any pics of those lions?

I don't have any pictures of my hunts except last year and I did not do lion last year. My family was never big on pictures so I never took many. I will be on this years hunts though.

 

[WyoDoug]

I am desperately seeking pictures from family that did take some hunting especially of my grandpa because I found someone with my namesake in Texas who is a spitin image of my grandpa and it pains me not to be able to find it. I really regret that I never got into photography when I started hunting as a kid.

 

[RFVSkier]

Always wanted to try it without dogs but haven't had the time yet. This guy has a ton of good info and makes calls that mimic lions, which he has had some success with. He used to post on 24hourcampfire but I haven't been there in a while so not sure if he still hangs around there.

RainShadow game calls

 

[WyoDoug]

Always wanted to try it without dogs but haven't had the time yet. This guy has a ton of good info and makes calls that mimic lions, which he has had some success with. He used to post on 24hourcampfire but I haven't been there in a while so not sure if he still hangs around there.

RainShadow game calls

I have done it two ways.

One is finding a fresh kill site and tracking the lion back to it's resting area. Lions are nomadic so there is no real den. They sleep where they find shelter at the time. They also have huge territories with the male around 300 square miles. But if you find a fresh kill site and a partially eaten carcass, they are in the area. I successfully tracked one for a rancher in Meeker, Colorado but it was pure luck I had good tracks to follow. Sometimes tracking is for the professionals which I am not. This was my first lion kill back in the 80s.

Second method I use is predator calls same as you would for coyotes. That is how I got my second lion. I didn't even know it was there until I heard something behind me and turned in time to get a shot. Predator calls can also draw bears.

I am not a pro at this. I have only killed 7 lions in my lifetime and each one took a lot of work and patience. I am sure there are others that got better advice but this is how I do it.

 

[FranklinME]

Did you get 12 total or 7 total?

 

[WyoDoug]

Did you get 12 total or 7 total?

LOL you misread my comment didn't you? First comment said around half dozen. I have shot a total of 7 in my lifetime, all in Colorado while I was still a Colorado resident. All were shot in either Routt, Rio Blanco or Moffat Counties, most in Rio Blanco County near Meeker. Without dogs, they are not an easy creature to hunt but it can be done. One of them I used predator calls on and it seemed to work. The other six I didn't use calls at all. So what else you want to know? I would love to have shot a dozen or more.

EDIT: Actually I did quote a dozen in one of my posts originally and corrected that. Exact number is 7 as indicated above. It should of said about a half dozen. My number grew like my n/m...not going there. Anyways, I am no pro at hunting lions and posted this thread to get more information and hints on easier ways to be more successful and again, WITHOUT dogs. Feel free to add if you have something constructive.

 

[FranklinME]

Just breaking them no worries haha

 

[WyoDoug]

Just breaking them no worries haha

Now to get the count upto 12 before my health runs out and I can't hunt no mo.

 

[Dunning Kruger]

Figured id post this up, due to the discussion about lions eating rabbits or not. This was on my property. Shitty pics, but zoom in and you csn see. Lion caught a snowshoe hare, then waled toward cam with the bunny in its mouth. Theyre opportunists, theyll eat anything they can overpower. First cat i called in i started off with fawn bleats, then kinda faded into screaming rabbit stuff. 30 minutes, dead cat.

 

[Don Fischer]

Have any of you sat on a fairly fresh Lion kill and got one?

 

[p_ham]

Check that quota before you go out.
Took this cat off the ranch we manage this year after she set up her household along the meadows and horse pasture.
Her tracks were all over and we just made a plan to check every morning we were out .
Jumped her out of the creek bottom one day. Must have had a kill nearby as she was very well fed.

View attachment 141763

That's a very well done photo.

 

[Europe]

wyodoug. I have done both and always said "I hunted them" when we did not use dogs. And said "I chased them" when we used dogs. Either way one needs to be in good physical condition if hunting them in Arizona. There are still plenty of them to hunt in Arizona and the best time to do so is Nov. thru Feb.

you ask for, hints : be in very good physical condition. Unless your an expert tracker, following tracks in the snow can be a real waste of time as these guys move in very large circles. If you set up over a kill site you will need the patience of Job, Be still, their hearing is very good. The problem for me personally with using a "call" is I am not very good at it and if it is not a sound they recognize your "call" will put them further away from you. Good dinner fare.

My worst experience with one ( and we were not even hunting him ) was the horse I was riding moved about 15 feet sideways when he saw one and I didn't !

 

[Art Vandeley]

Wyodoug, what would you recommend for proper meat care handling of the mountain lion?

 

[baltz526]

One of the best calls to make is a Cougar whistle. Or if you are sitting on a kill and nothing is happening. Try a coyote challenge call. The cat may come to run the coyote off. Thinking it is trying to steal the kill. I spend most of my time hunting Cougar by watching deer on winter range. If the deer know there is a cat around they can give you an idea which area to concentrate on. 4 killed with one boneheaded miss. So far. No hounds allowed in Oregon.

 

[baltz526]

One the meat. High grade the cuts. Cut out all the silver skin/tendon. Do not bother with the rib meat, forearms. Etc. Just take the best meat. First one I ate was a big male I processed it like a deer or Elk. I got a lot of chewy in my burger. Next one I high graded and got a much higher quality of Taco meat. I grind it all now and make Taco/Burrito with it.