Cougar Hunting Alberta

A

AlbertaGrizzly

New member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Calgary, AB
Hi Folks,

I have been an avid hunter for a while now and am thinking of getting into cougar hunting. However, I am allergic to animal dander, so running hounds isn't an option for me. I know dogs are the most common way to track and tree cougars but I am curious to hear from anyone who hunts them without dogs. How do you approach it? Are you focusing on calling or just wait in high traffic areas? Just curious what the overall strategy is.

Looking for any tips, tactics, or firsthand experiences from those who've successfully hunted cougars without dogs.

Appreciate any insight - thanks in advance!
 
They can be called but it’s not generally a high success method. How allergic are you? You could absolutely do a hound hunt without physically interacting with the dogs if you wanted. Or is just being in proximity too much?

If you’re going to try and call one in doing some ground work first will definitely improve your chances. Find a fresh track and start covering ground to get a fix on where they are. Whether is by driving roads, sledding lines, hiking, whichever. Try a get as small a block as you can around where you think they went. From there find an appropriate spot to set up with the wind in your favor and start calling. Cats are curious so lots of sounds may work, distress calls would be a good start. Be prepared for a long sit and expect them so come in slowly and on high alert.
 
We have been hunting cougars for about 32 years now, and I couldn't imagine doing it without using hounds. I am presuming you will be trying it in Alberta? Maybe it is different there. Good luck with that.
As far as doing a hound hunt without interacting with the hounds, I can't imagine that neither unless you are being guided by someone with hounds and are just the client. Somebodies gotta get the hounds in and out of the hound box, get the collars on and off them, get them in and out of the kennel, walk them on the leash on the tracks for a bit, and walk them out after the kill...... Hounds are wonderful animals but don't have a lot of manners like a house dog does.
I will be following this thread with interest to learn if anyone has actually had recurring success intentionally hunting cougars without hounds. It sounds interesting. I hope people that have actually hunted cougars this way will chime in and not just people with opinions.
 
AlbertaGrizzly said:
Hi Folks,

I have been an avid hunter for a while now and am thinking of getting into cougar hunting. However, I am allergic to animal dander, so running hounds isn't an option for me. I know dogs are the most common way to track and tree cougars but I am curious to hear from anyone who hunts them without dogs. How do you approach it? Are you focusing on calling or just wait in high traffic areas? Just curious what the overall strategy is.

Looking for any tips, tactics, or firsthand experiences from those who've successfully hunted cougars without dogs.

Appreciate any insight - thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Given your animal dander allergy, how do you deal with hunting big game in general?
 
About 3 or four years ago, in the bush North and West from Grande Cache, my brother found a reasonably freshly killed mule deer under a spruce tree. There were some bush piles nearby. The following morning at first light, my brother's buddy walked up behind a bush pile - when he stepped to the side he could see the mule deer carcass and a Puma feeding on it - he got the cat. No dogs involved - just miles and miles travelled in the bush, and watching around you. Two winters ago (?) - my brother found another dead mule deer that had been dragged under a spruce tree - he set up his game camera - there was two cats feeding in the pictures - then it showed him approaching through the bush. When he is at the camera, you can see what looks like cat eyes in the bush behind him - they were "right there", but he did not see or hear them.
 
I used to work with a retired conservation officer that told me that he had good luck tracking cougar in the snow on several occasions without dogs here in BC.
He said he could usually walk a cat down within an hour or two on a really fresh track, depending on the terrain and cover, as they do not typically travel fast except in open areas or headed for a particular destination. The key was slow and quiet, paying close attention to your surroundings all around you as many cats do not travel in straight lines and can be off to the side of the track as they wander through the brush, casting back and forth.
He also mentioned that when he used dogs, the cats always run from the sound of the hounds tracking, and that made the chase longer than it had to be, on problem animals.
He said he used to know one houndsman who had a silent tracking dog that was kept on a leash that worked well, as the dog wouldn't bark, yet would let them know when they closed in on the cat when they didn't know it was close by. Then it only whined a little at full alert (almost a point).

I too have read on a few occasions about calling cats. The main things I recall is to set up about 400 yards form the fresh sign or sighting, downwind of that spot. Best with two people so you can have someone watching your backside, as they approach quietly, and you do not want to get jumped. Call and wait. They do not respond quickly like the canines will. It can take an hour or two. So do not move too soon after a calling sequence.
If there is a canine or bear in the area, they may respond before a cat will, so be prepared. Have wanted to try this myself, with a hunting buddy. While there are cats here, there aren't many, and haven't had the opportunity as yet. A cougar hunt is on my Bucket List.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom