And another cougar

[TCRanch]

LOL - underbite - LOL LOL LOL so where is our friend?? I know I have been rude to him, but I couldn't help myself.

Her. Couldn't help myself from quality time on Google.

 

[Dave]

The all important question: hows the underbite? Were u encroaching on its territory and thus destroying future generations resources? (Disclaimer: This is obviously a joke post, i know some people have a hard time differentiating the two)

My wife thinks it may have had a speech impediment cause by the under bite but we are not certain. As to encroaching on its territory. The irrigation rights on this property go back to 1873. Any encroachment occurred nearly 150 years ago. That is before I moved here.

 

[gusea305]

Good job!

 

[Dave]

Dave the numbers sound higher than I ever thought there would be, very interesting.

Ken

The fish and wildlife people say there was 1,500 lions in the state back in the mid 90's when the humane society got a measure on the ballet to outlaw hound hunting of cougars. Of course the urban population around Portland thought that was a great idea. So it passed into law. Now wildlife is saying there are 6,000 cats and maybe 7,200 in the state. How they came up with those numbers while sitting behind their desk over in the state capital I don't know. I could guess 10,000 with as much chance of being accurate as they are.
I know that here there was a real tough winter in 2016. They say that 60% of the deer in county winter killed that year. Of course the cats didn't winter kill. The deer population has been having a hard time recovering because the cougars keep thinning them out.

 

[Shoestring]

I just shot a cougar. Not a real big one but it is the first one I have ever shot. It was basically just across from the end of my driveway about 50 yards up the hill. Shot it with the old 30-30 that rides on the gun rack of my quad. The battery is dead on my camera so no pictures today. Pictures tomorrow after the battery recharges.

My choice of rifle, also. Unless hogs, then I like have 30 rounds +

 

[Dave]

My choice of rifle, also. Unless hogs, then I like have 30 rounds +

Certainly not my "choice" rifle. But it was a cheap one and just an old beater. With open sights it can bang around on the quad and still shoot as good as ever. I bought it after one of the neighbors had a scary run in with a wolf. Everyone went to packing after that. The average shots around here are about 200 yards. All of my serious guns are scope sighted and calibers that I can consistently count on to 300+ yards.

 

[Shoestring]

Yeah, you see a little bigger critters, and greater distance. N yes, I have others. But to grab 1 to throw in the truck, side b side, .30 .30 is hard to beat.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Yeah, you see a little bigger critters, and greater distance. N yes, I have others. But to grab 1 to throw in the truck, side b side, .30 .30 is hard to beat.

Unless I'm walking fence my 30-30 lives in one of our haying tractors for the last three years.

 

[Dave]

That rifle just sits in the gun rack on the quad. When I am on foot I am unarmed 99% of the time. During the summer when I am changing irrigation every day the rifle goes to the house and a shovel goes on the quad. I have lived my entire life where lions and bears are very common. I have found that they are much more scared of you than you are of them. These wolves are a different thing. But they are 10 miles away on the other side of the freeway for now. But every now and then I go over there to help a neighbor move cows. Thus the rifle on the quad.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

The first cougar I ever got fell victim to a coyote snare. The second one had to climb a tree.

After spending the summer on a fire lookout, I was able to take some time to verify what I had suspected all summer and that was that a cougar had been killing some of the angora goats on my grandmother's old ranch. After finding one kill that had been drug under a big cedar tree, I contacted the federal trapper in my area so he could take care of the problem. He asked me to check the kill early the next morning and let him know if the cat had been back, as there was another ranch that was having predator problems and if the cat had not been back to the goat carcass, he would go to the other ranch first. The kill was about a mile from where I lived, so the next morning I took the three-wheeler and ran over to see if the carcass had been fed on. I hiked into the kill with a flashlight, nothing had been disturbed from the day before, went back to the house, called the federal trapper and let him know.

As it started to get daylight I decided to take my dogs out for some exercise. We were just heading up the road past the kill when Hanna struck, and took off through the timber in the direction of the kill. I could hear her as she crossed the road we had just come up, dropped downhill a little ways and then I heard her locating bawl, she had something up a tree.... She met me as I was hiking in to the tree, I asked her "where is it" and she raced back to a nearby fir. The cat was maybe 12 to 15 feet up, the thick ferns and brush all around the base of the trees were above my waist, and I'm standing there thinking I didn't want to be standing in that brush when that cat falls out of that tree, just in case it's not "clear dead". So I climbed up another tree next to the cougar's tree. When I got ready to shoot I realized the scope on my 22 had come loose and slid back down the barrel, so I pushed it back in place as best I could. I was so close to that cat that it's head was blurred in the scope. When I shot the cat just disappeared, I never even heard it hit the ground. I dropped out of my tree expecting the cat to be in the brush, Hanna and the young Redbone that was with her were sniffing at the brush very cautiously, I started carefully into the brush, when all of a sudden Hanna let loose with a roaring bawl and took off out of there. She put the cat up a big fir about 150 yds from the first tree. I could see where the first shot had missed its target, it had hit right below the left eye. The next shot the 22 hit its mark at the base of the ear and the cat hit the ground hard, I put one more shot at the base of the skull just to be sure. Hanna was used to smaller critters like coon and bobcat, this cat was hard to find something small enough to take hold of. She was pretty proud of herself, the young Redbone looked a little appalled, he had no idea cats got that big..

The last cougar one of my dogs treed was put up by Copper, a young Black and Tan I bought as a pup out of Montana. The cat did a little hissing and a lot of frothing at the mouth. I think the slobbers were partially caused by the porcupine quills in her face/mouth. I took some video footage of her and called Copper away from the tree. Hard to say how she did with the quills, but she wasn't/hadn't caused me any problems so I left her in the tree.

They are the neatest thing to find up a tree.

By the way Dave I love those old 30 30's. I used my dads until I wasn't able to use the open sights anymore.

 

[Dave]

The first cougar I ever got fell victim to a coyote snare. The second one had to climb a tree.

After spending the summer on a fire lookout, I was able to take some time to verify what I had suspected all summer and that was that a cougar had been killing some of the angora goats on my grandmother's old ranch. After finding one kill that had been drug under a big cedar tree, I contacted the federal trapper in my area so he could take care of the problem. He asked me to check the kill early the next morning and let him know if the cat had been back, as there was another ranch that was having predator problems and if the cat had not been back to the goat carcass, he would go to the other ranch first. The kill was about a mile from where I lived, so the next morning I took the three-wheeler and ran over to see if the carcass had been fed on. I hiked into the kill with a flashlight, nothing had been disturbed from the day before, went back to the house, called the federal trapper and let him know.

As it started to get daylight I decided to take my dogs out for some exercise. We were just heading up the road past the kill when Hanna struck, and took off through the timber in the direction of the kill. I could hear her as she crossed the road we had just come up, dropped downhill a little ways and then I heard her locating bawl, she had something up a tree.... She met me as I was hiking in to the tree, I asked her "where is it" and she raced back to a nearby fir. The cat was maybe 12 to 15 feet up, the thick ferns and brush all around the base of the trees were above my waist, and I'm standing there thinking I didn't want to be standing in that brush when that cat falls out of that tree, just in case it's not "clear dead". So I climbed up another tree next to the cougar's tree. When I got ready to shoot I realized the scope on my 22 had come loose and slid back down the barrel, so I pushed it back in place as best I could. I was so close to that cat that it's head was blurred in the scope. When I shot the cat just disappeared, I never even heard it hit the ground. I dropped out of my tree expecting the cat to be in the brush, Hanna and the young Redbone that was with her were sniffing at the brush very cautiously, I started carefully into the brush, when all of a sudden Hanna let loose with a roaring bawl and took off out of there. She put the cat up a big fir about 150 yds from the first tree. I could see where the first shot had missed its target, it had hit right below the left eye. The next shot the 22 hit its mark at the base of the ear and the cat hit the ground hard, I put one more shot at the base of the skull just to be sure. Hanna was used to smaller critters like coon and bobcat, this cat was hard to find something small enough to take hold of. She was pretty proud of herself, the young Redbone looked a little appalled, he had no idea cats got that big..

The last cougar one of my dogs treed was put up by Copper, a young Black and Tan I bought as a pup out of Montana. The cat did a little hissing and a lot of frothing at the mouth. I think the slobbers were partially caused by the porcupine quills in her face/mouth. I took some video footage of her and called Copper away from the tree. Hard to say how she did with the quills, but she wasn't/hadn't caused me any problems so I left her in the tree.

They are the neatest thing to find up a tree.

By the way Dave I love those old 30 30's. I used my dads until I wasn't able to use the open sights anymore.

Of course you know that using dogs to tree cougars is illegal in Oregon. A stupid law sponsored by the USHS and passed by the urban dwellers around Portland. The main reason that we are over run with cats here.
By the time I drug this cat down the hill and got it loaded on the quad. Then I had some lengthy discussions with a couple neighbors. It was nearly dark by the time I got back to the house. As a result my dogs were already in the kennel for the night. Their reaction the next morning was pretty good watching. My young dog stayed back 30 feet and barked at it. She kept circling the quad barking at the dead cat. She is a Border Collie/Idaho Shag cross dog.
That old 30-30 is a Sears knock off of a 94 Winchester. That is probably why I got it cheap. It is a 100 yard gun. But it is OK for a quad riding varmint rifle. Hit the cat behind the shoulder and it took out the opposite shoulder on the way out. The cat went 35-40 yards and died.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

Of course you know that using dogs to tree cougars is illegal in Oregon. A stupid law sponsored by the USHS and passed by the urban dwellers around Portland. The main reason that we are over run with cats here.
By the time I drug this cat down the hill and got it loaded on the quad. Then I had some lengthy discussions with a couple neighbors. It was nearly dark by the time I got back to the house. As a result my dogs were already in the kennel for the night. Their reaction the next morning was pretty good watching. My young dog stayed back 30 feet and barked at it. She kept circling the quad barking at the dead cat. She is a Border Collie/Idaho Shag cross dog.
That old 30-30 is a Sears knock off of a 94 Winchester. That is probably why I got it cheap. It is a 100 yard gun. But it is OK for a quad riding varmint rifle. Hit the cat behind the shoulder and it took out the opposite shoulder on the way out. The cat went 35-40 yards and died.

Border collies can be pretty good little tree dogs on a fresher track. I think they should still allow the pursuit season on the big cats, just to discourage them from hanging around in a persons backyard. Urban dwellers

The 30-30 I have is a Winchester. Sounds like the Sears did an excellent job

 

[Dave]

Yesterday at our neighborhood Super Bowl party I found out that one of the neighbors shot a real big lion. A 196 pound tom. I saw pictures. This is one big cat.
I think it must be a combination of weather, luck, and a huge over population but we have really been killing a lot of lions this year. I hope it continues.
I am kind of glad I didn't get one that big. I would have had to get a rug made out of it. That is a real trophy sized one. But I don't think I have a space big enough for one that size.

 

[wbvs58]

Wow, one that size could do a bit of damage.

Ken

 

[puzzled in oregon]

Yesterday at our neighborhood Super Bowl party I found out that one of the neighbors shot a real big lion. A 196 pound tom. I saw pictures. This is one big cat.
I think it must be a combination of weather, luck, and a huge over population but we have really been killing a lot of lions this year. I hope it continues.
I am kind of glad I didn't get one that big. I would have had to get a rug made out of it. That is a real trophy sized one. But I don't think I have a space big enough for one that size.

That would be a really impressive cat

 

[Mrcopier]

Yesterday at our neighborhood Super Bowl party I found out that one of the neighbors shot a real big lion. A 196 pound tom. I saw pictures. This is one big cat.
I think it must be a combination of weather, luck, and a huge over population but we have really been killing a lot of lions this year. I hope it continues.
I am kind of glad I didn't get one that big. I would have had to get a rug made out of it. That is a real trophy sized one. But I don't think I have a space big enough for one that size.

Would love to see the picture of that one!

 

[Dave]

Would love to see the picture of that one!

I just saw a picture on one of the neighbors phone. I don't have the picture.