Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

One of my friends has a couple of cougars around his place, normally thats not a big deal but, when they start keeping you up a night, running off with your dogs, and you hear them stalking you at night, they have to go! So he's been begging me to shoot them Ive got a .243 and a .30-06, was wondering if a .243 is enough gun for a cougar, and maybe what the best way to go about it? If we get'um he wants to stuff at least one of them...any help would be great...

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

I have read about hunters taking TREEed mountin lions with 357 revolvers ,the 243 should be enough IMO with proper bullets. As for how,is it legal and or season? I live in ohio we just have yotes but try a fawn in destress call and watch your back ,You could be on the menu if it comes to find the fawn .

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

.243 should be plenty of gun for cougar. I'd use 100 gr bullets.

Depending on what State you're in license and permit regulations vary. Be careful.

Nordicthug

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

Well thats good to know! I talked to the wildlife guys and they told me if it's private property and you got livestock to go for it, so I guess I'll use the .243. Any one know of any good repelent?(bear,cougar,or some kind of all-predator repelent that works, in case worst comes to worst?) I have both cottontail distress, and fawn bleat. Anyone know if cougars prefer one over the other? Ive called coyotes with the cottontail, just wonder if a fawn bleat will bring a coujar in a little quicker though thanks for your help:)

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

Let me put it this way if a Cougar is in the middle of an attack on you ..no 243 or pepper spray or anything will help you, it will be on you that fast. They have been killed and are regularly killed with 357 mags. Depending on how big you are compared to him/her you can only fight it off and hope for the best.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

my dad and his friends use to hunt cats, they always used a .22 mag pistol and shot them in the head once they had been treed, you can't even tell where the hole was on the mounts.

if you're not hunting with dogs i'd say the .243 is a good choice, use a light bullet with limited expansion to minimize damage to the hide.

if worst comes to worse shoot them twice with that .243, you don't need repellent.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

As was said by oldelk....when these cats attack they are not playing games, they mean and have every intent to kill as you are their prey!!! If you do not have enough gun you had best be prepared to fight for your life.....as that is what these cats want if you are ever attacked, to eat you!! Just a thought......

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

wow, a 243 will be good enough for one........... its a good thing that i live here in tn & not there

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

I agree 100% with jroot on this one:)

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

First off your not going to see one before you have a chance to use that 243 or whatever. If there were no dog hunting , they wouldn't be shot at all by hunters unless it was some very rare circumstance. The Indians used to call them Shadow cats because they would walk behind you or to either side of you and parallel you and watch your movements. If you have a house cat and watched it hunt it is the same exact motions only 100-150 lbs heavier. Any animal that can take down a mature Bull Elk I have all the respect in the world for.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

I don't know how legal it is for you to shoot them. But if you are going to do it, use the 30-06. They are big cats and you DO NOT want to piss them off with a smaller round or miss placed shot. They will take you out with one swipe and if you just wound them they will be on top of you before you get the chance to chamber another round.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

Oldelk, Bobcats will shadow you in exactly the same way.;) I am not particularly worried about bobcats though.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

Hello everyone! Im new to this forum not new to hunting tho. For what time i've been on this earth I try to asorb everything I can from what I read and from what learn and from other hunter and my own experince. Well for what its worth I would say 3 people would be the Min that u should take 1 caller, you, and a backup armed with a 12 gauge filled with OO buckshot(OO buckshot is the Preffered followup for leopards in africa and has even been know to stop lion dead on charges.) or maybe on the caller setup a eletronic call and have the other guy as a lookout armed with a 12 guage and OO to well thats just my Suggestion.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

It must be a cat thing Christine..I am not worried about Bobcats either but the bigger tabbies are pretty unnerving.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

Oldelk....yep, I have to agree might be more that a tad bit unnerving...;)

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

I am going to go Spring Bear hunting in Souther Oregon and my Brother in law says the Cougar and Bear population is way up. I don't think I 'll be using predator calls for the Bears..

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

There is only two things in the woods that really scare me; a mountain lion and a cold north wind.If you are going after them er on the side of caution and good luck.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

My friend george was squirrel hunting with his young nephew and a cougar snuck up from behind just as the cougar was leaping at george, some reason george turned around at that moment george emptied his 10 round magazine from his ruger 10-22 killing the cougar in mid flight, the cat landed just a few inches from his feet.
This was in northern arkansas around there they recommend hunting in pairs just for that reason of possibly getting attacked by a cougar.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

Also I wanted to add dont go stalking the cougar it may stalk you and have you for lunch, An old trick that farmers used to use to get just about any kind of predator. Go to a pet store and buy a feeder rabbit (what people feed to their large reptiles b/c they are cheaper), put a cat size collar on the rabbit, attach a 10 foot piece of twine or rope to the collar tie the rabbit to a stake secured in the ground on a field about 15 yards from a tree line the 10 foot rope give the rabbit about a 20 foot circumfrence to move around, cougars use the tree line to stalk their prey. with everything setup so far you will need to break one of the rabbits hind legs, thus creating a wounded easy meal for a cougar. do this in early morning hours or evening or at night where legal also might note on the legallities only do this where permitted or dont get caught. Anyway setup a blind about 150 to 200 yards away from your bait, watch your bait through your scope and have a buddy with binoculars scoping the surrounding areas be very quiet cougars can hear for hundreds of yards you might want your buddy to have a 12 ga loaded with buck shot incase the cougar doesnt take the bait and decides he wants you guys instead. When the cougar nears your bait be quick on the trigger b/c at any moment the cougar realizes something is wrong he will be gone.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

Im going lion hunting this year for the first time. What im going to do it is ill go up right after a good snowfall of 4 or more inches. Then put on my snow shoes and start walking back into the hills. Ill be hunting outside of boulder colorado, there is an extremely high population of lions and mule deer here. Im just going to start snow shoing and hope i cross lion tracks before noon. then ill follow the tracks of the lion untill the tracks get hurried or untill i stalk within eye site of the lion. if the tracks get hurried then i will kick it up my pace to gain ground on the lion. hopefully the lion will realize its being chased and it will tree itself or i will be able to get a shot before its know about me following it. I will be hunting the wintering grounds of the deer so there WILL be lions in the areas i plan hunting. Also the season is 4 1/2 months long so my chances are pretty good of crossing fresh lion tracks. Ill will be using my 30-06 with 180 grain bullets cause the last thing i want is to track a wounded 180 pound lion 1-2 miles away from my truck or crest the top of a ridge and find a lion eating a mule deer less than 50 yards away. I will be hunting alone and i understand this method of hunting has the possiblity of being life threatning. So i will also be packing winter survive gear, a gps with extra batteries, a cell phone and a 44. revolver. plus i will let my family know where i m going and when to expect me to return home. As a side note there have only been 12 reported lion attacks in the state of colorado ever and 4 of the 12 were in boulder county were i will be hunting.

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

either gun would work. i know of people who use a 243 or a 220 swift you need to use the proper bullet and i have no clue what that is "maybe a 95 grain winchester balastic tip" any how it will have to pentrate well and expand quite a bit.


the way i have heard works well is to have a buddy and sit back to back on a tree so one it can't sneak up behind you. while blowing on a call. i have heard that the fawn in destress and wounded woodpecker calls work best. also i have talked to people who allow there dog to sit at the tree w/ them because it will detect it and let you know

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

Shadow Cat is the perfect word to describe these. We have a ranch in central western texas and have had it for over 20 years. For the past few years we have been seeing a mnt lion in the same general area .. but everytime we would see him it would be a SPLIIT and i mean split of a second and its gone. You wll never be able to get a shot on one just walking around in the open.
I would never play games with these guys

RE: Have a huge cougar problem, need advise..
 

nice knowin ya krueger. got more stones than i do.