DIY mountain lion hunt

[wolfpup]

Any of you guys try doing a diy mountain lion hunt with your own dogs? I’m trying to figure out my options because it’s always been a dream of mine to shoot a mountain lion. I was stupid enough to pay the 1000s of dollars for an outfitter and that is simply not going well. I can’t afford trying a second time but do have experience with coon dogs and have friends with dogs that would be interested in trying to hunt lions with them. It’d be way cheaper and more fun. Doesn’t matter so much if you don’t have success on a diy hunt but when you spend almost 10k on a guided/outfitter hunt with little to no action it really sucks.

 

[PathFinder]

From someone who has started basically from scratch, it's not nearly as simple as you're wanting to believe. Unless you have 10k-20k to invest in finished dogs (and know what you're looking for in one), it's gonna be a long, long road. Thousands in tracking equipment and dog food. Years of beating on vehicles. Loads of time out on the mountain gathering dogs that went all over trashing or just plain lost.
Plan on 3 years of 30 hunting days minimum and triple what the guided hunt costs before it works out training dogs. That's if you live in a good area to hunt. Don't forget you'll be paying for, dealing with, and feeding those dogs all year long. They need to get out and run, they can't just sit in a kennel all the time.
If you just want a lion, it's not the way to go.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[justinspicher]

I just usually wander around lost and hope to find one.

This hasn’t worked very well but it is still better than being at work.

 

[Wrench]

If you know where the toughest old bucks that don't want to come down the mountain like to winter..... you have a great spot to begin your search. Late season calling after spotting tracks would be my play.

 

[Axlrod]

Back in the early 90's I had a buddy that bought some pups, and trained them. He would run roads til he cut a track, then follow the track until he jumped the lion and release the hounds. Within a couple years he had really good dogs. As was stated above it is a lot of time and money.

 

[wolfpup]

From someone who has started basically from scratch, it's not nearly as simple as you're wanting to believe. Unless you have 10k-20k to invest in finished dogs (and know what you're looking for in one), it's gonna be a long, long road. Thousands in tracking equipment and dog food. Years of beating on vehicles. Loads of time out on the mountain gathering dogs that went all over trashing or just plain lost.
Plan on 3 years of 30 hunting days minimum and triple what the guided hunt costs before it works out training dogs. That's if you live in a good area to hunt. Don't forget you'll be paying for, dealing with, and feeding those dogs all year long. They need to get out and run, they can't just sit in a kennel all the time.
If you just want a lion, it's not the way to go.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

You’re right on the money sir and I’m not naive to any of the points you made. However, in my case, the dogs are already owned, at least some if not all of the tracking gear needed is acquired, and the rest as far as finding a lion and the wear and tear is a part of the adventure. I know it’s maybe not easy, but when you save up for that dream hunt and it simply doesn’t work out that really sucks. I’d rather fail on my own on a diy than pad someone else’s pocket for the same outcome.