Hi Everyone,

I have been hunting for a little over a year now and I am already counting down the days until the next deer season. I looking at taking a trip to my parents' house in Woodland Park, CO where they have about 80 acres sitting up against Pike National Forest. Also I have seen this buck grow up for the past few years and I think by next November he will be ready to harvest!



The only problem is that when I was scouting for spots last December I saw a pretty ominous track in the snow:



My question is to all of you experienced mountain hunters: What sort of precautions/techniques and possible classes should I know about when hunting around dangerous game? I have heard that bow hunting is less likely to draw the attention of a predator because gun shots can mean that fallen game is near by, but even if that were true the chance of running into a mountain lion is still a fairly serious situation. I usually hunt in Kansas and the biggest predator we have to worry about is a coyote, and even they don't measure up to the ones we have in the mountains. (Seriously, those things are the size of german shepherds out there!) I won't be traveling too far from the house--there are several good draws within 100 yards of the house so I don't think I would need a guide, just some helpful tips for hunting around dangerous game.

Cheers,

Brasky