I need help setting up for a critter hunt

[patw]

For the background.  We hunt 1500 acres in the Texas hill country.  The deer population dropped significantly after the drought.  We were hitting the last weeked of deer hunting (managed land permit), saw next to no deer, no pigs.  One hunter was watching a couple of axis deer and caught movement.  In a 15-20 foot opening he saw a cougar trailing the deer about 50 yards to the side, did not have time to get his rifle up, unfortunately.  That evening, he shot a couple of jackrabbits in the fields around the camp, about 75 yards from the porch.  That evening one of the guys was out making a phone call outside the camp and I blew a predator call on the other side of the camp to see what reaction I would get out of him (it got his attention).  In any case, the next morning we looked for the rabbit carcasses, but all we found was nothing but tufts of fur here and there.  We had also thrown some corn but it was left untouched.  It seems we have more meat eaters than we need.

This is the second sighting of a cougar this year.  I saw a bobcat a few years ago, we see foxes every so often, and we have occasionally seen animals that we could not tell if they were fox or coyote, but never confirmed coyote sighting.  There are coyotes in the area because one ranch a several miles down has quite a few hanging on their fences.  We have never hunted predators on the ranch and none of us have any experience with this.

We are going back weekend after next and want to try to get some of the meat eating critters.  I have a Foxpro spitfire and a homemade call that  I can download whatever sounds.  Another hunter also has an electronic call.  I have a second generation night rifle scope on my ar in 300 Blackout with a IR illuminator, good for 100-150 yards, and some first generation binoculars.  We also have red lens predator lights and one guy has the XLR250 kill light.  Also a couple of motorized predator decoys.  Plenty of equipment and no knowledge on how to use them for predator hunting.  We will be hunting the blinds for hogs and axis (and predators) morning and evening, and would like to hunt the critters at night around the camp.  The fields around the camp give us close to 200 yards clear shots.

ANY help advice and comments would be appreciated.

[SHOOTALL]

Sometimes we hang a white light and place a moving decoy under it. set up a caller then wait . Sometimes a feather or shiney CD disk will draw a critter , they can be quite curious. Other times we call and sit back , we check with a light red or white  every so often. One thing is you train them everytime you hunt them so you will need to change your way of hunting if you hunt the same critters. A turkey call at day break or sunset can bring in a bobcat or such. Try calling light first so close critters will come . If nothing call louder . We alway listen for 15-30 min before calling and call for 30 min , if nothing wait maybe 10 more min then try another place. All that and if bait is legal , place it then watch . I have heard a white chicken staked out is a magnet. But here we can't use live bait or any bait . If you know a route they use stake it out and remain quiet. And don't over look traps if your goal is to rid your lease of critters.

[patw]

The light idea is a good one.  What light do you use?
What sounds do you use?  I have jackrabbit in distress, baby cottontail, vole squeaks, raccoon fight, a couple of bird sounds on the caller now, plus the usual coyote and other calls.  I was thinking of getting some of the rodent and coaxers sounds.
We also have a couple of those driveway motion detectors we were going to put next to rabbit carcasses.    I tend to get sleepy in the evenings, staying up is not as easy or exciting as when I was younger.

[Glanceblamm]

Sometimes we hang a white light and place a moving decoy under it. set up a caller then wait . Sometimes a feather or shiney CD disk will draw a critter , they can be quite curious. Other times we call and sit back , we check with a light red or white  every so often. One thing is you train them everytime you hunt them so you will need to change your way of hunting if you hunt the same critters. A turkey call at day break or sunset can bring in a bobcat or such. Try calling light first so close critters will come . If nothing call louder . We alway listen for 15-30 min before calling and call for 30 min , if nothing wait maybe 10 more min then try another place. All that and if bait is legal , place it then watch . I have heard a white chicken staked out is a magnet. But here we can't use live bait or any bait . If you know a route they use stake it out and remain quiet. And don't over look traps if your goal is to rid your lease of critters.

Very good post and I do like those change-up calls such as the Turkey diaphram, bird distress, or even an old Mr. Squirrel call that I "shriek" with while operating a nearby sapling, shaking it hard, via foot pressure. Those predators are going to try to get behind you of course but you can control this somewhat by not calling too much.
 
I would also say yes on the traps if they meet your regulations. A common dirt hole set is easy and fast to make but a rusty or new trap is a no go. You can check with your locals on boiling or coating procedures.

[Larry L]

You didn't say what county in Texas so I can't give you exact info but if you think you have a cougar issue, don't kill him....unless you like jail. If he is a tagged animal, you can't touch him. If untagged, he's fair game but he's not going to be easy to kill. They have about a 40 sq mile range in the Texas hill country and it takes them about 2-3 weeks to make their rounds. If you can get a real good look at him and see a collar, he's protected. Probably the best course of action for you is to call Animal Damage Control to see if they have a trapper in the county. Most of the hill country does have a trapper in each county. Let the trapper worry about the cat. One of the regional offices is in San Antonio around the Fredricksburg Rd and 410 area.
If you think you have bobcat. Walk the roads and look for cat crap or scats. Texas Bobs are noted for doing their business on the roads. If you see a lot of it, obviously you have too many. On 1500 acres I would expect to see only a few- like 5-6 at most. You can hunt over used kitty litter or you can try calling them in. Calling a bob in the hill country is an art as they don't come in like a normal animal. They'll usually come to an opening, sit down beside it and watch. If you're lucky enough, he's sitting where you can see him but they seem to be like Houdini, they just all of a sudden are there. I'd be more suspect that you have a Bob issue than a cougar issue. Bobs take more fawns than any other predator around here.
Might research the characteristics of each of the animals. If there are sheep any where within 10 miles, a cougar not going to be hunting deer. Sheep are a much easier target. They will usually kill more than one, sometimes as many as 30 and only take one. They have been observed killing for sport as well taking none of the kills. You can find the info at Texas A&M website or Texas Parks and Wildlife.

[SHOOTALL]

the light I use to spot is called a light box by stream lite I think. add a red lens from sporting goods store , here our light can't be attached to any vehicle even 4 wheeler. The hanging light is a cheap light from lowes , it has a strap handle that can be used to hang it facing down. It is not bright but lights enough to see not scare the critter. You will have to try different thaings start with simple then work up.

[patw]

Shootall, thanks for the info on the light.  One of our hunters is ill and this is his bucket list hunt.  I want to make it as interesting as I can.  Even if we don't see the mountain lion (I am sure we won't), the possibility of seeing it will be enough to make it interesting.  If we see bobcats or coyotes, good, and if we see nothing, it will still be a memorable trip.

Larry, we are between Rocksprings and Junction in Edwards county.  I already called the local biologist of the sighting.  You had me wondering about the legality of taking the mountain lion so I went looking.  I do not want to break any laws.  I found this in Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine:  " On private land, cougars are not protected in Texas and can be killed legally year-round by anyone with a valid hunting license."  I do not pretend to know all the laws, so I appreciate a heads up, better safe than in jail.  I had to learn what cat crap looks like, but thanks to the internet we can get the answer quickly.  This will be another activity while we are there, walking the roads looking for bobcat crap. 

BTW, we have goats a couple of miles from us, but from the way this cougar was acting, he was hunting the deer. 

[Larry L]

I'm not 100% clear about the location of the biologist you chatted with but the State has programs where they go into area where cat sightings have been reported and trap the animal. They put a collar on the beast and turn them loose. Killing one of these is against Federal Law and it's a 15 year sabbatical at taxpayer expense. The folks you need to chat with are out of Uvalde. Sorry, I don't have the head guys name anymore but Hoppe was the head nut there a few years back. They have a trapper in Edwards county or at least they did last year. These are rancher mandated clubs rather than full Federal, State, and county supported like say Webb county. I think yer still in the discovery stage and need more cougar local information before shooting something that might be more costly than you want to pay.
You might want to call the regional office in Uvalde. Wildlife Services 210-278-4464. I'd go with what ever they have to say. They may even give you tips on how to deal with yer problem. They're a pretty good bunch of Texas country boys.

[SHOOTALL]

When did fed law out law all cougar hunting ? The ones from Fl. might be the ones in CA are protected by state law. Here is how stupid the law can get in Va. we can't because the cougars are from FL. in WVA. they can cause they are from out west . HOW DO THEY KNOW ?