Ned help new to calling lions
- Thread starter zanec
- Start date
bearmanric
New member
Going in the morning calling cougar's. i use deer sound's. fawn alot getting the foxpro Fx3 soon will be using some of those cougar sound's. the cougar whistle for sure. i'd go with the deer sound's were you live. going to have to sit a hour. it's brushy were i live in washington state.i've called 7 in but just glimpe's of them. no shot's maybe this year. here is my favorate spot. good luck. Rick
Last edited:
pomoxis
New member
Calling cougars are harder than calling coyotes in that the densities of coyotes per square mile are much higher. The odds of being within calling distance coyote is much higher. Cougars since they have a large home range the problem is getting into the cats home territory and then to have that within calling distance and it being hungry. That stacks the deck against the hunter.
Because there are more coyotes they are more likely to rush in to the caller to "steal" the food. In good coyote country if you don't get a response in 20 minutes you pick up and move to another area. In good cat country calling with prey sounds for a full hour is good idea.
Steve Craig was in the process of writing a book about calling cougars and I am not sure if he completed that project. He has worked with lion vocalization to take the big cats.
Because there are more coyotes they are more likely to rush in to the caller to "steal" the food. In good coyote country if you don't get a response in 20 minutes you pick up and move to another area. In good cat country calling with prey sounds for a full hour is good idea.
Steve Craig was in the process of writing a book about calling cougars and I am not sure if he completed that project. He has worked with lion vocalization to take the big cats.
Zanec,
Welcome to Predator Masters! You've certainly picked a lively topic for your first post. And, yes, most of us who are hard-headed enough to call lions truly need more than a little help /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Much of what you'll read on the topic is amusing. I find some of what's been posted here already to be as entertaining as anything I've read in many weeks.
(Personally, I've yet to call a mountain lion that came bounding to a handsqueak at full tilt from a 1/4 mile off to a just few feet from me, though numerous coyotes have responded thus over the years. With me standing in the open, no camo. In areas where mountain lions are much more common than coyotes. Yet, I'm just enough of a sucker to listen with rapt attention to what lion-mind-bending tricks others may be employing, to call them as easily as coyotes. Do tell, ChiliRojo and Pomoxis).
Several of us who are very focused on this particular pursuit--even in areas with relatively high densities of lions--can report having gone several years between detecting or sighting called ones (let alone getting a clear view). My results are about what Bearmanric said: I've called at least six for which I had good evidence in 18 years of trying. Also will mention I have yet to get a good look at a called one. About the same number I've seen in the headlights over the years.
(Might have perfected breeding and training a pack of hounds, in far less time. Q: Does SD allow dogs?).
ML typically stalk deer and elk in a wraith-like fashion. Though they're opportunistic and may respond to rabbit screams occasionally, it's probably more out of curiosity than anything else. Exceptions may be females teaching youngsters how to hunt, juvenile dispersers just establishing their own territories (often in marginal areas, particularly young males in areas of high lion density), or old lions slowed by age and infirmity whose days are numbered (Lotta chained-up goats and dogs disappear in suburban areas here due to all three of these, incidentally).
As a rule-of-thumb, the healthier and more adult the cat, the more focused on deer as prey, is the general consensus. Best bet will be fawn bleats and elk or deer calls for prey sounds. If you want to break up the boredom and call other stuff while you're waiting, a gravelly jackrabbit reeded call is a fair compromise.
If you can track one in fresh snow or find a fresh kill, you stand a better chance. Finding a kill that is a week old or less, however, can be akin to finding a needle in a haystack. I've developed a network of hikers, ranchers, biologists, etc. for this purpose.
As far as evoking a territorial response goes, I've also been using an array of lion vocalizations for a number of years now, and find they're no magic bean, either. If you're going to do this yourself, suggest using an ecaller with a remote speaker.
My stands for lions last upwards of an hour. I start with a variety of jackrabbit and deer sounds, and after half an hour or so, work up through juvie chirps to bringing in the territorial male lions, and finally mating vocalizations. (sometimes throw in an after-glow purring sequence for good measure.)
Rinse and repeat.
LionHo
Welcome to Predator Masters! You've certainly picked a lively topic for your first post. And, yes, most of us who are hard-headed enough to call lions truly need more than a little help /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Much of what you'll read on the topic is amusing. I find some of what's been posted here already to be as entertaining as anything I've read in many weeks.
(Personally, I've yet to call a mountain lion that came bounding to a handsqueak at full tilt from a 1/4 mile off to a just few feet from me, though numerous coyotes have responded thus over the years. With me standing in the open, no camo. In areas where mountain lions are much more common than coyotes. Yet, I'm just enough of a sucker to listen with rapt attention to what lion-mind-bending tricks others may be employing, to call them as easily as coyotes. Do tell, ChiliRojo and Pomoxis).
Several of us who are very focused on this particular pursuit--even in areas with relatively high densities of lions--can report having gone several years between detecting or sighting called ones (let alone getting a clear view). My results are about what Bearmanric said: I've called at least six for which I had good evidence in 18 years of trying. Also will mention I have yet to get a good look at a called one. About the same number I've seen in the headlights over the years.
(Might have perfected breeding and training a pack of hounds, in far less time. Q: Does SD allow dogs?).
ML typically stalk deer and elk in a wraith-like fashion. Though they're opportunistic and may respond to rabbit screams occasionally, it's probably more out of curiosity than anything else. Exceptions may be females teaching youngsters how to hunt, juvenile dispersers just establishing their own territories (often in marginal areas, particularly young males in areas of high lion density), or old lions slowed by age and infirmity whose days are numbered (Lotta chained-up goats and dogs disappear in suburban areas here due to all three of these, incidentally).
As a rule-of-thumb, the healthier and more adult the cat, the more focused on deer as prey, is the general consensus. Best bet will be fawn bleats and elk or deer calls for prey sounds. If you want to break up the boredom and call other stuff while you're waiting, a gravelly jackrabbit reeded call is a fair compromise.
If you can track one in fresh snow or find a fresh kill, you stand a better chance. Finding a kill that is a week old or less, however, can be akin to finding a needle in a haystack. I've developed a network of hikers, ranchers, biologists, etc. for this purpose.
As far as evoking a territorial response goes, I've also been using an array of lion vocalizations for a number of years now, and find they're no magic bean, either. If you're going to do this yourself, suggest using an ecaller with a remote speaker.
My stands for lions last upwards of an hour. I start with a variety of jackrabbit and deer sounds, and after half an hour or so, work up through juvie chirps to bringing in the territorial male lions, and finally mating vocalizations. (sometimes throw in an after-glow purring sequence for good measure.)
Rinse and repeat.
LionHo
Thank you guys for the help sounds like it is deer sounds that get the vote so far,but was wondering the GF&P guys say that the cats prey heavily on turkeys around here.Was woundering if you all have had such expericence?
No SD doesn,t allow dogs /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif seems kinda stupid to me they have a 25 cat quota to fill and no dogs or baiting.I agree whith no baiting but think we should be able to use dogs.I don,t think they will get even close to the quota.
No SD doesn,t allow dogs /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif seems kinda stupid to me they have a 25 cat quota to fill and no dogs or baiting.I agree whith no baiting but think we should be able to use dogs.I don,t think they will get even close to the quota.
No such experience here, though we have lots of turkeys, lots of lions. Wouldn't surprise me if they take a turkey from time to time, or that one might turn up to surprise a turkey-caller in the spring. But have a hunch that if the turkey population is getting decimated, bobcats are the more likely culprit. (reason being they weigh only slightly more than a turkey full grown, and are more likely than a ML to reach them on roost limbs at night.)
LionHo
LionHo
LionHo, ......... a little help???
I figure I need a whole bunch of help!
Zanec,
You might try a rabbit distress also. If you "got rabbits" the lions like'em too!
.... and the deer sounds are good. Bears like rabbits and deer and elk and .... so carry a big stick and be alert.
Our cougs are following our local elk right now.
Good luck
Three 44s
I figure I need a whole bunch of help!
Zanec,
You might try a rabbit distress also. If you "got rabbits" the lions like'em too!
.... and the deer sounds are good. Bears like rabbits and deer and elk and .... so carry a big stick and be alert.
Our cougs are following our local elk right now.
Good luck
Three 44s