Mtn. Lion Calling

[Carrot Farmer]

After dismal Fall Buck & Elk hunting, we’ve decided to go back in December for cat hunting…. We had more cat pics than Buck pics on trail cams

Question:

What call set ups do you recommend for calling in Mtn lions?


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[shootnrun]

If you search the topic with some @roosiebull comments on them, you'll get some great starting points.
By chance, are you hunting open country or timber? If open country, I'd recommend waiting til the deer hit their Winter ground and spend several days glassing the periphery. I like cliffy country. Cats seem to like walking edges and its usually open. If thick stuff, calling is the best and really lone option. Rainshadow calls YouTube is plum full of stories as is his website.

 

[mtnbound]

I tried using a predator call for bears a few years ago and had a cat come in. You need to set up with really good visibility or a safe backside, as my encounter led to suddenly realizing a cat had gotten to about 25 yards behind me before I saw it. I would also consider a tree stand or saddle setup.

 

[roosiebull]

I tried using a predator call for bears a few years ago and had a cat come in. You need to set up with really good visibility or a safe backside, as my encounter led to suddenly realizing a cat had gotten to about 25 yards behind me before I saw it. I would also consider a tree stand or saddle setup.

They want to approach from above the call, that is a very important detail when choosing a spot to set up and call, if you are trying to get the vantage and calling, you are not going to kill them, and if you do call one in, it’s going to feel like it was sneaking up on you, but that’s not the case, they aren’t like coyotes, they will go out of their way to get above the call.

That’s the hardest part of picking a good setup, is setting up below where you want the cat to come, and still being able to see

You need to use terrain features to your advantage, draws are a good start, it’s a way to funnel a cat into a smaller area. A flat is a possibility too, I killed one I called onto a flat once, it was the only place I could get any visibility

 

[Carrot Farmer]

If you search the topic with some @roosiebull comments on them, you'll get some great starting points.
By chance, are you hunting open country or timber? If open country, I'd recommend waiting til the deer hit their Winter ground and spend several days glassing the periphery. I like cliffy country. Cats seem to like walking edges and its usually open. If thick stuff, calling is the best and really lone option. Rainshadow calls YouTube is plum full of stories as is his website.

Open country… cliffy canyons

Non migratory deer herds


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[Carrot Farmer]

They want to approach from above the call, that is a very important detail when choosing a spot to set up and call, if you are trying to get the vantage and calling, you are not going to kill them, and if you do call one in, it’s going to feel like it was sneaking up on you, but that’s not the case, they aren’t like coyotes, they will go out of their way to get above the call.

That’s the hardest part of picking a good setup, is setting up below where you want the cat to come, and still being able to see

You need to use terrain features to your advantage, draws are a good start, it’s a way to funnel a cat into a smaller area. A flat is a possibility too, I killed one I called onto a flat once, it was the only place I could get any visibility

Perfect! Have a few places in mind… allows me to place call 100-150 yd below on a flat saddle and allow me to crawl up into some rock pinnacles


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[RockAndSage]

if you are trying to get the vantage and calling, you are not going to kill them,

I want to make sure I understand what you're saying here...

Are you intentionally giving up the vantage-point or high spot to the cat - expecting to shoot it there?

As in, not expecting to shoot them closer to the call, like you would a coyote, but shoot them on that high spot, while you're in a 3rd spot with visibility on both the call and the higher vantage point you're expecting the cat to want to look down from?

 

[Plainsman79]

@go_deep some helpful discussion.

 

[roosiebull]

I want to make sure I understand what you're saying here...

Are you intentionally giving up the vantage-point or high spot to the cat - expecting to shoot it there?

As in, not expecting to shoot them closer to the call, like you would a coyote, but shoot them on that high spot, while you're in a 3rd spot with visibility on both the call and the higher vantage point you're expecting the cat to want to look down from?

Correct, without utilizing draws, you would want to be sitting at the bottom looking up, the cat will want to approach from above the call and sneak down on it,

If you find a good ridge, and give yourself the vantage looking down, you are going to almost certainly have the cat come up behind you and you either won’t know it ever came in, or you are going to have some pretty good excitement when you realize you have a cat behind you and now you need to get all the way turned around with Mr meow mix already too close… he isn’t trying to sneak up and kill you, your setup was wrong

That has benefits, but it does make it tough to find a setup with decent visibility.

 

[go_deep]

Anyone ever have luck using a visual attractent, like how they use cd's for Bobcats to draw their attention away from you while calling?

 

[RockAndSage]

Correct, without utilizing draws, you would want to be sitting at the bottom looking up, the cat will want to approach from above the call and sneak down on it,

If you find a good ridge, and give yourself the vantage looking down, you are going to almost certainly have the cat come up behind you and you either won’t know it ever came in, or you are going to have some pretty good excitement when you realize you have a cat behind you and now you need to get all the way turned around with Mr meow mix already too close… he isn’t trying to sneak up and kill you, your setup was wrong

That has benefits, but it does make it tough to find a setup with decent visibility.

This is killer info, big thanks for sharing.

With draws, how would this work? Assuming same principles of the cat wanting to look down and sneak down...you just put the call in a deeper spot in the draw, and try to find good spot to see it sneaking down into the draw from up above? Do they come down the draw, or along the rim of the draw?

 

[JohnB]

Thanks for the thoughts Roosie. I'm still trying for my first cat but as the snow shows up I'm going to be full on between ski season and cat hunting.

 

[Hnthrdr]

They want to approach from above the call, that is a very important detail when choosing a spot to set up and call, if you are trying to get the vantage and calling, you are not going to kill them, and if you do call one in, it’s going to feel like it was sneaking up on you, but that’s not the case, they aren’t like coyotes, they will go out of their way to get above the call.

That’s the hardest part of picking a good setup, is setting up below where you want the cat to come, and still being able to see

You need to use terrain features to your advantage, draws are a good start, it’s a way to funnel a cat into a smaller area. A flat is a possibility too, I killed one I called onto a flat once, it was the only place I could get any visibility

What about setting up on the opposite side of a drainage? Assuming a parallel wind. Like putting it low and then getting across from it up a tad higher?

 

[roosiebull]

This is killer info, big thanks for sharing.

With draws, how would this work? Assuming same principles of the cat wanting to look down and sneak down...you just put the call in a deeper spot in the draw, and try to find good spot to see it sneaking down into the draw from up above? Do they come down the draw, or along the rim of the draw?

If you are set up on a draw, you can set it up on the opposite side and give yourself better visibility vs no draw. I have utilized draws in a couple ways, they are very useful topography for calling cats

 

[roosiebull]

What about setting up on the opposite side of a drainage? Assuming a parallel wind. Like putting it low and then getting across from it up a tad higher?

I have killed cats that way, it’s great if you know that they aren’t on the side you’re on, but yeah, when applicable, it’s a great scenario

 

[Hnthrdr]

I have killed cats that way, it’s great if you know that they aren’t on the side you’re on, but yeah, when applicable, it’s a great scenario

Thanks Roosie! Any tips for hunting them in timber? I am fairly certain I have cats that frequent a timbered bowl close to buddies cabin, 2 years now have found mt. Lion kills (1 yearling moose and 3 MD does, stashed in a drainage not far off, 2 years ago was yearling elk and 2 MD) it’s fairly thick, couple spots where its openish in the timber think 60-90 yards instead of 30-50.

 

[mtnbound]

Correct, without utilizing draws, you would want to be sitting at the bottom looking up, the cat will want to approach from above the call and sneak down on it,

If you find a good ridge, and give yourself the vantage looking down, you are going to almost certainly have the cat come up behind you and you either won’t know it ever came in, or you are going to have some pretty good excitement when you realize you have a cat behind you and now you need to get all the way turned around with Mr meow mix already too close… he isn’t trying to sneak up and kill you, your setup was wrong

That has benefits, but it does make it tough to find a setup with decent visibility.

This was my exact set-up, and it played out the same. I even figured that a bear, cat, or wolf might try to get behind me, so I wanted to set myself up to see as well as possible. Still, the cat got a lot closer than I wanted or expected.

 

[roosiebull]

Thanks Roosie! Any tips for hunting them in timber? I am fairly certain I have cats that frequent a timbered bowl close to buddies cabin, 2 years now have found mt. Lion kills (1 yearling moose and 3 MD does, stashed in a drainage not far off, 2 years ago was yearling elk and 2 MD) it’s fairly thick, couple spots where its openish in the timber think 60-90 yards instead of 30-50.

I think a tree stand or saddle, I bought a couple stands, just haven’t got around to it, but hunting off the ground in the ferns/brush is very limiting, I have not figured it out yet, but next time I find a ridge with consistent scrapes, I’m putting a stand there. If there isn’t much brush or ferns I’m fine calling in it, but cats are hard to see moving as it is, and they use cover very well, especially females

Toms can be a lot more careless ime, which is nice when it sounds like an elk coming through the brush. I had a big tom come in once that I thought was a bear or elk, it was not being sneaky

 

[Hnthrdr]

I think a tree stand or saddle, I bought a couple stands, just haven’t got around to it, but hunting off the ground in the ferns/brush is very limiting, I have not figured it out yet, but next time I find a ridge with consistent scrapes, I’m putting a stand there. If there isn’t much brush or ferns I’m fine calling in it, but cats are hard to see moving as it is, and they use cover very well, especially females

Toms can be a lot more careless ime, which is nice when it sounds like an elk coming through the brush. I had a big tom come in once that I thought was a bear or elk, it was not being sneaky

Makes sense, we don’t have a ton of ground cover, mostly lodge pole and aspen mix in this area, I do have a stand and a saddle so that would make sense when you say scrape line, are they clawing trees like a bear would?

 

[roosiebull]

Makes sense, we don’t have a ton of ground cover, mostly lodge pole and aspen mix in this area, I do have a stand and a saddle so that would make sense when you say scrape line, are they clawing trees like a bear would?

They make scrapes on the ground kinda like whitetail, but do it with their back feet. I’ll try to find a couple pics and post them