do you get this feeling too???

[yekrut]

How many of you walk in to your stand when it is dark out, in the time before daylight. Do you feel a bit nervous? Do you get at all worried about getting attacked by a cougar or mountain lion , as we call them here. I get a little nervous, my heart beats faster and my hands shake until I am up in my stand. That is if you have them in your area!! There has been alot of sightings here, and were I hunt there were 2 sighted during the deer season right on the property we hunt!! So just wondering how you huys deal with tis and is there anything I can do to make myself not worrie about it , when I am walking in.Thanks

[Cyrille]

I don't know what the hunting laws are where you're from but if you can, carry a "back-up" handgun with you in nothing smaller than .45 caliber.

[Kingwouldbe]

It is something to think about, but that's about as much as I do about it.

I saw a lion about a month ago while hog hunting, then saw his tracks in the mud that had dried.

As I was back packing about 45lb pounds of boned out pork after dark to my vehicle about a mile and half away, I did think, what would I do if I got attacked by that lion.

#1 I will fight like hell to make it think twice about what it got into ( they can't afford to get hurt ether) before I die.

#2 I'm pulling my knife and going gensu on it.

California's Mountain Lion are protected, because my state is full of wackos, that don't understand that Lions only kill to eat.

My son, his friend and I where hog hunting and he had a lion bale out of a tree over his head, a big tom about 120-130lb.

Could you imagine that lion hitting you from above!!!! pile-driving you to the ground, your done, that's all.

It's much safer to sit on the couch or watch it on TV, me, I want to live it, and having Lions around just makes it a little better.

I believe this is a Walt Frances Pic I kept.
 

[Killdeer]

A concealed carry permit supersedes game laws. As the firearm will only be used for self-defense, I have no qualms about carrying.

Killdeer

[TNstickn]

If I felt endangered in anyway I would carry a backup. Heck I carry every day in the urban wilderness I work! If I thought something was gonna jump out and eat me I would carry it in hand! Be safe!! Take care of your safety yourself, or some official will write about it in some report!!

[Jesse Minish]

That is a beautiful pic.!

[mcgroundstalker]

Right Now on Discovery Health is a story about a mountain biker that was attacked by a cougar...

... mike ...

[The Whittler]

Here kitty kitty lol. Some people have seen them around here also, but the game wardends deny them (don't know why).

[Norseman]

Not so much the cougars in our area that I worry about....it's walking up on a Grizzly.  We have both in plentiful numbers and it seems that every year they just keep getting bigger and bigger.

I was away fishing this past week and the wife told me there were two black bears at the same time looking in the back door window and one on the stairwell window looking in.....scared the crap right out of her.

We live in the wilderness and I would not have it any other way. I would far rather worry about walking up on a cougar or grizzly than having to dodge bullets from some gang banger in a major city.....LOL

[GMMAT]

A concealed carry permit supersedes game laws. As the firearm will only be used for self-defense, I have no qualms about carrying.
 

Not in NC it doesn't.

[Barney]

I'm with Norseman. I don't really "worry" about the Griz, but I think about them. If you're gonna live with 'em, you gotta live with 'em.

[IronCreekArcher]

When I lived in Montana I carried the S&W .44 Mag Mountain Gun.  We had a lot bigger things to worry about than pussy cats though...Yogi was more of a concern where I hunted...   Carry a gun if you are allowed and I second the nothing less than a .45 caliber.

[Brian Krebs]

The danger is in the trips to the hunt and back home in your vehicle.

 Yes mt lions LOVE to follow hunters to see what they are up too- but if they were like leopards or lions or tigers --- there would be few of us left alive.

 I have been attacked by a lion; by bears; and even had an elk wrapped in my fence go after me and beat me half to death.

 But the biggest dangers to us are the smallest things; like ticks; and mosquitoes and .....panic.

 Me- I hope it is an angry bear or lion that ends up taking me out. I have volunteered for hospice a lot; and laying in a bed while your relatives talk about how much: 'he used to love hunting'... is not really a 'good death'.  

So why worry about it?

[Killdeer]

I guess I won't retire to NC!   :eek:
I would be more leery of big predators in state parks where they are not hunted, than out where guns keep me at the top of the food chain. The bears in the National Forest get the heck out of Dodge when they wind you, but those in Shenandoah NP look at you as a food source.

Yes, I feel more at risk in my own neighborhood than I do in camp. But I keep my buddy handy! Stuff happens.

Killdeer

[MYSTIKBOW]

Quote:
 A concealed carry permit supersedes game laws. As the firearm will only be used for self-defense, I have no qualms about carrying.

Not in NY State either!
 
 At least not during the bow hunting season.

[BCWV]

I'm a little north/west of you Killie and our ccw permit is the same as yours. We can leaglly carry for self defense only while bow hunting.

 BC

[Killdeer]

OK, I see the raised eyebrows.
Here are excerpts from the VDGIF site;

"Legal Methods and Restrictions During Archery Deer Seasons

Special restrictions may apply during this season. See Legal Use of Firearms and Archery Equipment and Local Firearms Ordinances for details.

    * Archery tackle (including crossbows) only.
    * Broadhead widths must be at least 7/8-inch wide or expand upon impact to 7/8-inch.
    * Bows must be capable of propelling a broadhead arrow at least 125 yards.
    * It is unlawful to use arrows to which any drug, chemical or toxic substance has been added or explosive head arrows.
      * It is unlawful to have a firearm in possession (see exception for concealed handguns).  
    * It is unlawful to use dogs."

And under those exceptions:

"Concealed handguns may be in the possession of hunters during the archery and muzzleloading seasons when they also possess a valid concealed handgun permit. Such handguns may not be used to shoot wild animals during these seasons."

So, maybe your states are different, but in Virginia, at least, we are not denied the defensive use of firearms merely because we are hunting. If you have a concealed carry permit, you may wish to review your game laws in depth, consult your state's pro-gun organizations and the NRA, or push for revisions to your laws and regain your ability to exercise your right to self-defense.

Killdeer

[larry]

Killy, you're my kind of gal  

[Biggie Hoffman]

I open my Case pocketknife if I get really nervous.

[yekrut]

It is illegal in sd, from what I understand. To carry a gun while you are bowhunting!!!! BUt I could be wrong?? But last fall I was a little nervous waking in, but once in my stand I was happy!! I guess I would rather walk in in the dark, thanout, but thats just me!!