Calling in Mountain Lions

Schmekel

FNG
Joined
Oct 15, 2024
Messages
4
What type of distress calls should I utilize to call in cats? I’ll use the distress sounds of obvious game in the local area like (rabbits, coyotes, fox, bobcat), but maybe put out some domesticated cats or birds?
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2021
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1,913
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Montana
I'm interested in this discussion but the tough part is getting close enough to be heard. I cut tracks of a big tom over three days while hunting elk. In those three days, he covered +12 miles and I was still behind him.
 
Joined
Oct 5, 2018
Messages
2,125
Location
Colorado
I'm interested in this discussion but the tough part is getting close enough to be heard. I cut tracks of a big tom over three days while hunting elk. In those three days, he covered +12 miles and I was still behind him.
I'll second this. At a previous job I got to assist on a mountain lion radio collar study and the amount of ground they cover in their territories is pretty vast. I came away from that experience thinking that the best way to hunt a lion without dogs was to find a fresh kill that was still being eating on and post up on it. Obviously that would also be extremely difficult.
 

jmez

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
7,643
Location
Piedmont, SD
Best way to kill them without dogs is to follow fresh tracks in snow. If they are fresh you can walk one down.

Blind calling them is a true needle in a haystack situation. It is better if you can find a track. Figure out the direction they are ging, then loop way around until you no longer cut the track then they should be between you and the last track.

Lions do 2 things, eat and reproduce. They don't have a "breeding season." When they are traveling they are looking to eat or looking for a mate. Follow their tracks and you can quickly figure out which they are doing. If the tracks are wandering around they are looking for food. Traveling essentially a line they are looking for z mate.

When on wandering tracks use prey sounds, elk calf, fawn or deer in distress. When on straight line tracks use lion sounds, tending/mating sounds.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2024 using Tapatalk
 
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
4,992
Location
Colorado
Yea think finding a kill is probably
Best bet. I found a kill last year and stumbled upon the cat at 30 yards. Unfortunately it was 2 days before the Lion season opened. Come opening day the carcass was all cleaned up.

Lions do cover some serious ground. There’s a book called the long walkers. It’s a good read.
 

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Joined
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Montana
Here was one near my barn the other night. I have seen track on my porch. They have the balls of a brass monkey.
 

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wowzers

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
204
I worked with a guy who called two on different occasions turkey hunting.
 

wyogoat

WKR
Joined
Jul 28, 2014
Messages
813
Location
Wyoming
Yea think finding a kill is probably
Best bet. I found a kill last year and stumbled upon the cat at 30 yards. Unfortunately it was 2 days before the Lion season opened. Come opening day the carcass was all cleaned up.

Lions do cover some serious ground. There’s a book called the long walkers. It’s a good read.
Amazing pic.
 
Joined
Jun 6, 2020
Messages
73
Location
Boise, Idaho
I had two (subadults?) come in while turkey hunting. They flushed birds that I was calling to, but I didn't know what was going on at that moment. I just kept aggressively calling till I saw them staring at me from 20 yards away. After a few seconds, one of them then started quickly crawling towards me until I stood up and they spooked off.
 

Austink47

WKR
Joined
Dec 1, 2018
Messages
672
I had two (subadults?) come in while turkey hunting. They flushed birds that I was calling to, but I didn't know what was going on at that moment. I just kept aggressively calling till I saw them staring at me from 20 yards away. After a few seconds, one of them then started quickly crawling towards me until I stood up and they spooked off.
Also called in a subadult while turkey hunting. It was 20 yards behind me when I stood up to change spots. We scared the crap out of each other.
 

philson208

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 16, 2021
Messages
103
I found a fresh kill years back where I was baiting for bears, so I stole my camera off the bait site and hung it on the kill site. I came back daily in an attempt to hunt off the kill, but never had an opportunity as the lion only came in at night to feed. I tried using a hand call one day figuring the lion had to be near but shot a coyote that day instead. My presence on the kill site definitely put the lion on edge, and it was overly cautious every time it came to feed. The first night it circled the kill site multiple times before feeding, and each night after would come in and watch and listen for 5-10 min before feeding. After about 5 days a mature bull elk was reduced to a bone pile, and the bears and coyotes took over the site.
 
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