Lion Experiences

[COUESAZ]

I have not heard of that. I am sure it would work they sound like a baby crying and that is a sound they will run to. I do know guy's have used there calls and a fur on a string, But it only works when you know there is someting looking at it and then you move it. We used to take cows and there babies If they died and take them out in a wash. and after a couple of day's we would go back and shoot the heck out of yoties that would be eating on them.

[elkmaniac]

First of all, I am offering an apology to Josh and his friends who obviously support him and what he does. I didn't intend for the assumptions and speculations that I made to upset anybody, just trying to make a point about my feelings on the importance of shooting all the cats we can. Amanda and AZ guide you are absolutely correct about personal choices when it comes to hunting and the type or quality of animals we choose to harvest. Like the saying goes, "To each his own". It is obvious what my "own" is but I guess it doesn't have to be that way for the next guy. I guess I must be a little jealous about their opportunity to shoot a cat since I have never had a chance like that and I've glassed 18 cats in the last 8 years. I have not been able to kill even one of them. Hopefully my time will come. I spent some time with Jim Reynolds this weekend and he told me that Josh would love to smoke a cat. I hope he gets another chance to. As bad as I want to kill one, I would have to say they are about the prettiest critters out there in the hills, I think they would still look just as pretty in my trophy room though, he he, he. If anybody with dogs is interested in running some of these areas let me know. I would love for somebody to start thinning some of them out.

Chris Jacob

[COUESAZ]

elmaniac

I fill the same way you do about hunting mtn lions it is something that can't be beat. It is like taking that coues buck that just takes your breath away when you see it in your scope. Hit the email spot on here for me and lets talk about lion hunting. Like I said in one of my other posts I like talking lions as much or more than deer and elk. I may have something that would intrest you a bit.

[CouesWhitetail]

Well said Elkmaniac. I hope you get your cat. Pretty amazing that you have glassed up so many and yet not been able to get one! I hope your luck changes soon.

 

Amanda

[coues addict]

Treestandman

Back in 1978 or 1979 I was Bowhunting mule deer in Utah. I was working the edges of some large aspen groves. I had spotted some does and was squatting down just watching them in my bino`s. I heard something coming toward me directly behind me. I was so new at bowhunting that I totally Froze, so that I would not spook whatever it was. I was thinking Deer, because it sounded like a large animal. Well, I knocked an arrow and turned my head extremely slow. I saw brown fur, but, I still couldn`t make out what it was. It was only 10 feet or so behind me. I decided to turn and Draw back kinda all in one motion. Well a huge Tom lion was right there a little above me on some rocks. I was so stunned that I just watched as he ran off. I never even thought about killing him it was just awesome seeing him. All my budies said I should have shot at him, but I was just fine with the whole thing just like it happened. Now I will tell you what`s really sad.

I live in California, So check this out, I can buy an Arizona lion Tag, legally harvest a lion, Have it mounted in Arizona, but, I cannot legally bring it into California. So my point is, You guys should be thankful you can still hunt them, but I don`t believe a hunter should ever be pressured into killing anything! It`s just way to personal, I commend elkmaniac for his apology to Josh. Please do what you can to keep fighting the anti`s because once they get lion hunting they will start with another species, Trust me. Coues Addict

[CHD]

I am in total agreement with elkmaniac's statement that 'the only good lion is a dead lion'. Same goes for coyotes. Are we gonna raise deer or are we gonna raise deer predators??? Can't have good numbers of both. Both directly impact deer populations that my $$$ and efforts are trying to support. Also threaten my favorite hobby. Why would anybody that is a true deer hunter (a classic and HUGE American pastime) speak highly of a predator that will decimate a deer pop given the opportunity and is the flagship of the anti-hunters???

 

Last time I checked, the deer and pronghorns around the west are not sustaining their populations due to a number of factors. In fact, in many areas the pops are way down. The predator impact is much more noticeable now that pops are down. Studies have proven time and again that coyotes are responsible for a large percentage of fawn mortality. I have watched educated coyotes hang around doe antelope at fawning time waiting for an easy meal. I'm not sure that a lion kills a deer per week, but it is certainly a helluva lot of them. For trophy hunters especially, lions are heck on the older bucks because they both are reclusive and live in the same type of country. Right now more than ever, the deer and pronghorns need tighter predator control. If you doubt me, you oughtta take a look at what the wolves (ain't they in Arizona, now?) and grizzlies have done to the elk and moose pops in NW Wyoming. It ain't pretty. Arizona obviously has a HUGE lion problem, one that I wasn't aware of until recently. I don't have a problem with having a few lions, wolves, and grizzlies around, just don't let them have control of the entire ecosystem.

 

FYI, here is the hidden agenda of the anti's. Stop lion hunting=lion pop grows large=lions eat all the deer=deer hunting stops because no game=we don't have to fight deer hunters directly to win this game.

 

{EDITED - the paragraph that was here was removed by the moderator of this forum due to offensive content. The rest of this post remains unchanged}

 

I had a real hard time posting under this thread because I resent the fact that there are 35 replies discussing lions while most threads about the magnificent Coues deer last less than 10.

 

Chris

Edited January 1, 1970 by CouesWhitetail

[Diamondbackaz]

Well CHD I don't have a hard time replying, you have insulted most everyone that posts on this site. It is toatlly unethical of any hunter to take a delight at watching any animal suffer even if it is a coyote or even a rattlesnake. You have totally discredited yourself by displaying your ignorance and your ethics. Where in the world did you come up with that "hidden" agenda. This is totally baseless and based totally on your assumptions. The research that you mention, if you can't tell me what research it is, and who did it, don't mention it. Your thread is just what gives anti hunters ammunition for their cause.

Edited January 1, 1970 by Diamondbackaz

[coues addict]

CHD

I have no doubt about your passion for Coues deer hunting. I personally have killed to many coyotes to count. I also feel they are hardest on fawns.I do think however you may want to Rethink the way that you say you take delight in a slow agonizing death of the coyote. That is just the kind of talk the anti`s will use to convince the rest of the country that we are all a bunch of heartless people that don`t care about God`s creations. I am sure you probably mean well, I just don`t think we need to advertise all the details to our kills. I really believe all predators have a right to exsist, Its just up to us to control their numbers if we are gonna have deer and other game animals to hunt. In an earlier post I mentioned the fact that we can`t even hunt them anymore in California. I voted to keep hunting lions some fifteen years ago here in Ca. but the general public didn`t see it that way. Now that we have lost lion hunting people are getting killed in places like Cuyamacca State Park in San Diego County. I appologize if I have hurt anyone`s feelings but maybe you just DON`T KNOW WHAT YOUR MISSING UNTILL IT`S GONE. I truly Love hunting in Arizona and am thankful for every hunt I get to go on in Your great state, but I think its up to us to kill any animal we hunt in the most humane way possible, and all of the above is just my own personal opinion.

Coues Addict

[galiuro mountain man]

..............

Edited January 1, 1970 by galiuro mountain man

[COUESAZ]

Well I am done with this one . Treestandman It was a great one to start , But it's going to be a bad end. I have stoped posting on other sites because of this type of stuff. I truly do enjoy hunting all big game . I do not like to see it go this way. In the guiding buisness you run into all types of people. I have even given hunters the chance at trophy class deer and elk just to have them say I can't shoot it because it is to hard to end the life of something so great. I just respect there choice. I move on . I think that alot of the hostility comes from just wanting to get a lion and not knowing how or when it will happen. I can say I have a passion for hunting predators ,But I have killed them also. To come face to face with a lion as it knows it faces death, But it puts up a fight that is so impresive and honorable is more than some people can stand to see. I will respect lions all my life , But also hunt them for the as long as my body and health will alow. Lets stop throwing punches at each other and take it down a notch or to. I mean heck sakes we are all grown men and AMANDA I don't know of any other ladies on here so sorry.. We are on here to talk about hunting not fighting.

[Rembrant]

Just a matter of maturity.

I know more than a couple of gents who have walls full of trophy animals who still spend major time hunting and very little time killing. While hunting with one of my older brothers in 6A a couple of years ago, I watched him pass on a high 80's buck on the last day. This man has a physical disability that does not prevent him from out walking even the best of us. His rifle was raised, I had the buck in my glasses - waiting for the shot - and he didn't shoot. I said, "Guess you don't have a need to kill a fine coues buck today?" He replies, "That's the part I don't like." There was a pause, and then I asked, "Matt, what part would that be?" He says, "The killin part. I won't kill a deer any more unless his antlers really do something for me - their just too beautiful."

This guy used to tell me, "They won't fall down if you don't shoot at 'em." and "Shoot 'em and wound 'em and shoot 'em again!"

This man has matured.

The first time I witnessed a thing like this was when my Jr High biology teacher who was in his 50's tried to explain to me the mixed emotions he experiences when he takes the life of a trophy animal. He says he weeps. This guy has multiple book entries, rifle and bow. And still hunts.

I'm calling this maturity.

Too bad it takes a lot of us bone heads most of our lives to learn true reverence for the awesome creation we've been blessed with. It seems that a lot of us need to get older and face our own mortality before we are able to understand this.

Mike

[TREESTANDMAN]

I have always held a lot of respect for those that are able to pass up smaller bucks. That takes a lot of self control in my opinion. This January was the first time I actually passed on a spike and a little forky whitetail from my treestand and it felt good! I was sitting some salt in the pines in January and a few does were congregated around the salt. I was sitting up high watching them chase and nip at each other and then a little spike comes in trotting towards them. All 3 does ran away from him and he just stopped there trying to figure out which one was in heat. It was kind of interesting how the does would keep there distance from him. I felt kind of bad for the poor guy. Another day a little 2 point came in with some does. He seemed a little ruttish but the does just kind of ignored him.

 

Sorry this was a little off the original subject.

[elkmaniac]

Mike

I could not agree with you more on your comments. It is a feeling only those of us hunters who have been in that situation can explain, the fact that you are set up on an animal who is either feeding or sleeping and you are about to squeeze the trigger and take its life, and it has no idea. I mean, there is absolutely no doubt that this animal is a gonner, and you control its fate in your fingertips. If that animal does not absolutely pump me up, then I don't put those few pounds of pressure on the trigger. Just knowing that I could be holding that deer/elk rack if I let the lead fly is sometimes satisfying enough if it is an animal that does not make my heart race, I don't have to kill them just to get that personal satisfaction.

My dad has taught me about everything I know about hunting and the outdoors. A couple of the most important things he has taught me is to respect the animals we pursue and when it quits getting exciting, then you need to hang it up and find another hobby. There will probably be a day when I hunt with a camera. And that is fine with me. You know, (for example) Josh is an avid hunter and spends a lot of time in the hills, its obvious by the amount of sheds and skulls he picks up, and I would be willing to bet, because it is the same way with me, that he gets just as much satisfaction out of finding a giant shed or skull as he would if he actually shot it. Both take just as much effort and require the same amount of boot leather. I am a long way from hunting with a camera, as I have too many desires and goals not yet met that I have set for myself, but I know that day will come.

There are extremes in all aspects of life, especially in the hunting arena. I think the reasons some of these threads get heated up is because we are dealing with people who are 100% passionate about what they do and they only see it there way, ie. people who would rather beat brush instead of glass. Either side would argue that they have the best method because it has worked well for them. That doesn't make the other guy wrong for the techniques he uses. I know I'm getting off on a tanget but when it all comes down to it, we are all in the same boat. I was in the wrong for going after Josh's decision 8 years ago, and I admitted and apologized in front of everbody, after reading others thoughts I realized I was in the wrong. We have to realize that hunting is a privelage that can be taken away, just as being a member of this site can also be a privelage that we can loose. Let's not fill it with offensive content. Just my two cents. Oh and since this is still a thread about lion experiences, Death to Mt. Lions!!! (I couldn't help myself)

Chris Jacob

[TAM]

I take offense to CHD's comments! I thought this sight was for those who enjoy and respect coues deer and the great outdoors. CHD has greatly disrespected the hunting and outdoor community that visits this forum. His statments are ignorant, inhumane and unethical! It is comments like his that get hunters labeled as killers.

 

Amanda - For the benefit of all hunters, outdoorsmen, and coues deer lovers on this site, I ask you to please remove CHD's ignorant post, or at least the 4th paragraph??? The hunting community does not need comments like that!

 

Thank you.

 

TAM

[Guest Guest_NMTcoueshunter]

I personally feel that a few lions in an area is not a bad thing. It makes the hunting more challenging by keeping the deer alert and weary. Yes an over abundance of lions is definantely not a good thing and people need to hunt lions to keep the numbers from exploding and decimating the deer herd. I have only ever seen one lion, and I just happened to walk up on him. They are very impressive animals, and I hope CHD rethinks his earlier comments.

 

NMTcoueshunter