I have a few buddies who are timber cruisers. They worry about those things more than anything else, except for maybe weird people.
All of them carry heat into the woods, and I don't blame them. They also take dogs with them if nothing else to give them a heads up. Those things are deadly af.
There have only been a handful of cougar attacks, let alone fatalities, in the last 100 years in the U.S. If you're worried about cougars you're a pansy.
I have a few buddies who are timber cruisers. They worry about those things more than anything else, except for maybe weird people.
All of them carry heat into the woods, and I don't blame them. They also take dogs with them if nothing else to give them a heads up. Those things are deadly af.
I've regularly walked 1-5 miles at a time alone in the woods for work going back to the early 90s (thousands of miles by now) and have exactly one cougar encounter. It was on a short section of stream running right through a town. It ran away from me but still scared the shit out of me. I was, like everyone in my field of work, carrying a walking stick with an small hook on one end and a flimsy knife with no point and a dull, serrated blade.
There are dozens, hundreds at times, of people out walking in the northwest woods alone for work every day, almost year round, with no dog or weapons (by policy). While the number of fatal or dangerous cougar encounters is rising quickly, it's still at zero.
Dogs are nothing but cougar bait unless you have multiple noisy ones with you.
Not sure I agree with you on that point. They hear and smell the thing long before you're in a position to say "oh shit, it's a cougar".
And the guy who had his stomach eaten last May? The guy on the bike? 1>0.
I'm not saying it's an epidemic; but if I'm in the woods often, I'm going to be prepped. Being eaten alive is on the creep's priority list of things to avoid.
That guy wasn't working unless I'm mistaken, so I'm still right
U don't do as much field work anymore but still get out a few times a year alone and I fish alone all the time. I'm usually nervous when doing it and often joke about wearing a mask on the back of my head. I know many, many folks who are out there for 40ish hours a week though, and few who have ever seen one let alone had an encounter.
One of my friends does solo owl calling at night. He is a private contractor and does carry a pistol. The one time he pulled it was for a bear that kept circling him. Scary shit.
Cougars are well known for stalking and attacking individual dogs, wolves, and even young bears. The specialists I've talked to all agree that bringing a single dog with you, even a very large and/or vigilant one, increases your odds of being followed or even approached by a cougar.
I have a few buddies who are timber cruisers. They worry about those things more than anything else, except for maybe weird people.
All of them carry heat into the woods, and I don't blame them. They also take dogs with them if nothing else to give them a heads up. Those things are deadly af.
There have only been a handful of cougar attacks, let alone fatalities, in the last 100 years in the U.S. If you're worried about cougars you're a pansy.
Tuff talk. Statistically insignificant numbers of people get bitten by white sharks, but I hard passed every invite to surf off the northern coast of California, because it does happen there.
Even Chuck acknowledged that the run-in rate with mountain lions is increasing. Plus, I saw Deliverance when I was like 11 or 12.
Do what you want. IDRGAF. I myself don't like to be in the woods w/o a gun, so I don't be in the woods w/o a gun.
I have a few buddies who are timber cruisers. They worry about those things more than anything else, except for maybe weird people.
All of them carry heat into the woods, and I don't blame them. They also take dogs with them if nothing else to give them a heads up. Those things are deadly af.
I've regularly walked 1-5 miles at a time alone in the woods for work going back to the early 90s (thousands of miles by now) and have exactly one cougar encounter. It was on a short section of stream running right through a town. It ran away from me but still scared the shit out of me. I was, like everyone in my field of work, carrying a walking stick with an small hook on one end and a flimsy knife with no point and a dull, serrated blade.
There are dozens, hundreds at times, of people out walking in the northwest woods alone for work every day, almost year round, with no dog or weapons (by policy). While the number of fatal or dangerous cougar encounters is rising quickly, it's still at zero.
Dogs are nothing but cougar bait unless you have multiple noisy ones with you.
Not sure I agree with you on that point. They hear and smell the thing long before you're in a position to say "oh shit, it's a cougar".
And the guy who had his stomach eaten last May? The guy on the bike? 1>0.
I'm not saying it's an epidemic; but if I'm in the woods often, I'm going to be prepped. Being eaten alive is on the creep's priority list of things to avoid.
That guy wasn't working unless I'm mistaken, so I'm still right
U don't do as much field work anymore but still get out a few times a year alone and I fish alone all the time. I'm usually nervous when doing it and often joke about wearing a mask on the back of my head. I know many, many folks who are out there for 40ish hours a week though, and few who have ever seen one let alone had an encounter.
One of my friends does solo owl calling at night. He is a private contractor and does carry a pistol. The one time he pulled it was for a bear that kept circling him. Scary shit.
Cougars are well known for stalking and attacking individual dogs, wolves, and even young bears. The specialists I've talked to all agree that bringing a single dog with you, even a very large and/or vigilant one, increases your odds of being followed or even approached by a cougar.
Are you related to Bob?
Interesting point about the dog. You don't want to attract, but our senses are so fucking dull compared to theirs, I think on balance I'd rather take on some marginal degree of probability and decrease the likelihood significantly that I'll be jumped w/o warning, thus rendering my gun useless.
I have a few buddies who are timber cruisers. They worry about those things more than anything else, except for maybe weird people.
All of them carry heat into the woods, and I don't blame them. They also take dogs with them if nothing else to give them a heads up. Those things are deadly af.
I've regularly walked 1-5 miles at a time alone in the woods for work going back to the early 90s (thousands of miles by now) and have exactly one cougar encounter. It was on a short section of stream running right through a town. It ran away from me but still scared the shit out of me. I was, like everyone in my field of work, carrying a walking stick with an small hook on one end and a flimsy knife with no point and a dull, serrated blade.
There are dozens, hundreds at times, of people out walking in the northwest woods alone for work every day, almost year round, with no dog or weapons (by policy). While the number of fatal or dangerous cougar encounters is rising quickly, it's still at zero.
Dogs are nothing but cougar bait unless you have multiple noisy ones with you.
Not sure I agree with you on that point. They hear and smell the thing long before you're in a position to say "oh shit, it's a cougar".
And the guy who had his stomach eaten last May? The guy on the bike? 1>0.
I'm not saying it's an epidemic; but if I'm in the woods often, I'm going to be prepped. Being eaten alive is on the creep's priority list of things to avoid.
That guy wasn't working unless I'm mistaken, so I'm still right
U don't do as much field work anymore but still get out a few times a year alone and I fish alone all the time. I'm usually nervous when doing it and often joke about wearing a mask on the back of my head. I know many, many folks who are out there for 40ish hours a week though, and few who have ever seen one let alone had an encounter.
One of my friends does solo owl calling at night. He is a private contractor and does carry a pistol. The one time he pulled it was for a bear that kept circling him. Scary shit.
Cougars are well known for stalking and attacking individual dogs, wolves, and even young bears. The specialists I've talked to all agree that bringing a single dog with you, even a very large and/or vigilant one, increases your odds of being followed or even approached by a cougar.
Are you related to Bob?
Interesting point about the dog. You don't want to attract, but our senses are so fucking dull compared to theirs, I think on balance I'd rather take on some marginal degree of probability and decrease the likelihood significantly that I'll be jumped w/o warning, thus rendering my gun useless.
Bob? Maybe?
Yeah I get your thinking. If you have a way to fight then any warning is helpful. Plus there's always the good chance that it's too busy killing your dog to bother with you, which is good too.
He is lucky it was just a little squirt. I work with CPW predator staff. Some of the big males they've collared are 2 hundo. In that region as well.
I’m never hiking horsetooth again...
You'd only have to worry about an old, sick, or injured cat. If you see one, it's because he/she wanted you to see them. Dogs often miss scent as they are watching from above.
Travel in pairs and carry bear spray (yes, bear spray) and a good knife on your hip or inner thigh. Not in your backpack or faggy fanny-pack millenial cellphone shit.Make lots of noise. Announce your presence around blind corners.
We've got NPs and NFs in MT, WY and Alaska we cannot carry firearms to collect remote sensing data. "Minimum tool" analysis bologna.
Bear spray is deadly effective on wolves, bears and cats.
They go right to panic mode and bolt.
The sound of a gunshot alone can often turn a predator into kill/fight mode. When you hit them and don't kill them, it is worse. Seen it first hand with partially trapped or maimed bears.
Many large northern predators know a gunshot means a dinner bell. You may bring in more trouble to your camp the next day....even if you scared off your initial nuisance target.
He is lucky it was just a little squirt. I work with CPW predator staff. Some of the big males they've collared are 2 hundo. In that region as well.
I’m never hiking horsetooth again...
You'd only have to worry about an old, sick, or injured cat. If you see one, it's because he/she wanted you to see them. Dogs often miss scent as they are watching from above.
Travel in pairs and carry bear spray (yes, bear spray) and a good knife on your hip or inner thigh. Not in your backpack or faggy fanny-pack millenial cellphone shit.Make lots of noise. Announce your presence around blind corners.
We've got NPs and NFs in MT, WY and Alaska we cannot carry firearms to collect remote sensing data. "Minimum tool" analysis bologna.
Bear spray is deadly effective on wolves, bears and cats.
They go right to panic mode and bolt.
The sound of a gunshot alone can often turn a predator into kill/fight mode. When you hit them and don't kill them, it is worse. Seen it first hand with partially trapped or maimed bears.
Many large northern predators know a gunshot means a dinner bell. You may bring in more trouble to your camp the next day....even if you scared off your initial nuisance target.
Yeah, I’ll just stick with skiing and running in town...
He is lucky it was just a little squirt. I work with CPW predator staff. Some of the big males they've collared are 2 hundo. In that region as well.
I’m never hiking horsetooth again...
You'd only have to worry about an old, sick, or injured cat. If you see one, it's because he/she wanted you to see them. Dogs often miss scent as they are watching from above.
Travel in pairs and carry bear spray (yes, bear spray) and a good knife on your hip or inner thigh. Not in your backpack or faggy fanny-pack millenial cellphone shit.Make lots of noise. Announce your presence around blind corners.
We've got NPs and NFs in MT, WY and Alaska we cannot carry firearms to collect remote sensing data. "Minimum tool" analysis bologna.
Bear spray is deadly effective on wolves, bears and cats.
They go right to panic mode and bolt.
The sound of a gunshot alone can often turn a predator into kill/fight mode. When you hit them and don't kill them, it is worse. Seen it first hand with partially trapped or maimed bears.
Many large northern predators know a gunshot means a dinner bell. You may bring in more trouble to your camp the next day....even if you scared off your initial nuisance target.
Yeah, I’ll just stick with skiing and running in town...
Colorado is mild. CPW has been paying a team of mercenaries to keep all predators down (cats, coyotes, black and griz) for decades. There are two populations of isolated griz here CPW is forbidden to discuss....
This is just so out of state noobs can pop a giant 5x5 lawn elk 50 yards from the ATV trails. Many of these bucks were eating fresh sod on front lawns the previous spring in Estes Park.
I'd be more worried around ellensburg and north of Colville. Huge cats (nearing 3 hundo), wolf packs and the red man will get you before any Boulder hippy mini-cat will.
EDIT: WDFW will laugh at you if a bear/cat/wolf disturb your camp and you call in (see pic). CPW will be forced to remove it.
He is lucky it was just a little squirt. I work with CPW predator staff. Some of the big males they've collared are 2 hundo. In that region as well.
I’m never hiking horsetooth again...
You'd only have to worry about an old, sick, or injured cat. If you see one, it's because he/she wanted you to see them. Dogs often miss scent as they are watching from above.
Travel in pairs and carry bear spray (yes, bear spray) and a good knife on your hip or inner thigh. Not in your backpack or faggy fanny-pack millenial cellphone shit.Make lots of noise. Announce your presence around blind corners.
We've got NPs and NFs in MT, WY and Alaska we cannot carry firearms to collect remote sensing data. "Minimum tool" analysis bologna.
Bear spray is deadly effective on wolves, bears and cats.
They go right to panic mode and bolt.
The sound of a gunshot alone can often turn a predator into kill/fight mode. When you hit them and don't kill them, it is worse. Seen it first hand with partially trapped or maimed bears.
Many large northern predators know a gunshot means a dinner bell. You may bring in more trouble to your camp the next day....even if you scared off your initial nuisance target.
Yeah, I’ll just stick with skiing and running in town...
Colorado is mild. CPW has been paying a team of mercenaries to keep all predators down (cats, coyotes, black and griz) for decades. There are two populations of isolated griz here CPW is forbidden to discuss....
This is just so out of state noobs can pop a giant 5x5 lawn elk 50 yards from the ATV trails. Many of these bucks were eating fresh sod on front lawns the previous spring in Estes Park.
I'd be more worried around ellensburg and north of Colville. Huge cats (bearing 3 hundo), wolf packs and the red man will get you before any Boulder hippy mini-cat will.
EDIT: WDFW will laugh at you if a bear/cat/wolf disturb your camp and you call in. CPW will be forced to remove it.
He is lucky it was just a little squirt. I work with CPW predator staff. Some of the big males they've collared are 2 hundo. In that region as well.
I’m never hiking horsetooth again...
You'd only have to worry about an old, sick, or injured cat. If you see one, it's because he/she wanted you to see them. Dogs often miss scent as they are watching from above.
Travel in pairs and carry bear spray (yes, bear spray) and a good knife on your hip or inner thigh. Not in your backpack or faggy fanny-pack millenial cellphone shit.Make lots of noise. Announce your presence around blind corners.
We've got NPs and NFs in MT, WY and Alaska we cannot carry firearms to collect remote sensing data. "Minimum tool" analysis bologna.
Bear spray is deadly effective on wolves, bears and cats.
They go right to panic mode and bolt.
The sound of a gunshot alone can often turn a predator into kill/fight mode. When you hit them and don't kill them, it is worse. Seen it first hand with partially trapped or maimed bears.
Many large northern predators know a gunshot means a dinner bell. You may bring in more trouble to your camp the next day....even if you scared off your initial nuisance target.
Yeah, I’ll just stick with skiing and running in town...
Colorado is mild. CPW has been paying a team of mercenaries to keep all predators down (cats, coyotes, black and griz) for decades. There are two populations of isolated griz here CPW is forbidden to discuss....
This is just so out of state noobs can pop a giant 5x5 lawn elk 50 yards from the ATV trails. Many of these bucks were eating fresh sod on front lawns the previous spring in Estes Park.
I'd be more worried around ellensburg and north of Colville. Huge cats (nearing 3 hundo), wolf packs and the red man will get you before any Boulder hippy mini-cat will.
EDIT: WDFW will laugh at you if a bear/cat/wolf disturb your camp and you call in. CPW will be forced to remove it.
My friend who goes to Central had a big car encounter not too long ago. Said it was a smaller one though.
He is lucky it was just a little squirt. I work with CPW predator staff. Some of the big males they've collared are 2 hundo. In that region as well.
I’m never hiking horsetooth again...
You'd only have to worry about an old, sick, or injured cat. If you see one, it's because he/she wanted you to see them. Dogs often miss scent as they are watching from above.
Travel in pairs and carry bear spray (yes, bear spray) and a good knife on your hip or inner thigh. Not in your backpack or faggy fanny-pack millenial cellphone shit.Make lots of noise. Announce your presence around blind corners.
We've got NPs and NFs in MT, WY and Alaska we cannot carry firearms to collect remote sensing data. "Minimum tool" analysis bologna.
Bear spray is deadly effective on wolves, bears and cats.
They go right to panic mode and bolt.
The sound of a gunshot alone can often turn a predator into kill/fight mode. When you hit them and don't kill them, it is worse. Seen it first hand with partially trapped or maimed bears.
Many large northern predators know a gunshot means a dinner bell. You may bring in more trouble to your camp the next day....even if you scared off your initial nuisance target.
Yeah, I’ll just stick with skiing and running in town...
Colorado is mild. CPW has been paying a team of mercenaries to keep all predators down (cats, coyotes, black and griz) for decades. There are two populations of isolated griz here CPW is forbidden to discuss....
This is just so out of state noobs can pop a giant 5x5 lawn elk 50 yards from the ATV trails. Many of these bucks were eating fresh sod on front lawns the previous spring in Estes Park.
I'd be more worried around ellensburg and north of Colville. Huge cats (nearing 3 hundo), wolf packs and the red man will get you before any Boulder hippy mini-cat will.
EDIT: WDFW will laugh at you if a bear/cat/wolf disturb your camp and you call in. CPW will be forced to remove it.
My friend who goes to Central had a big car encounter not too long ago. Said it was a smaller one though.
What, like an old Lincoln Town Car? Or are we talking stretch limo?
He is lucky it was just a little squirt. I work with CPW predator staff. Some of the big males they've collared are 2 hundo. In that region as well.
I’m never hiking horsetooth again...
You'd only have to worry about an old, sick, or injured cat. If you see one, it's because he/she wanted you to see them. Dogs often miss scent as they are watching from above.
Travel in pairs and carry bear spray (yes, bear spray) and a good knife on your hip or inner thigh. Not in your backpack or faggy fanny-pack millenial cellphone shit.Make lots of noise. Announce your presence around blind corners.
We've got NPs and NFs in MT, WY and Alaska we cannot carry firearms to collect remote sensing data. "Minimum tool" analysis bologna.
Bear spray is deadly effective on wolves, bears and cats.
They go right to panic mode and bolt.
The sound of a gunshot alone can often turn a predator into kill/fight mode. When you hit them and don't kill them, it is worse. Seen it first hand with partially trapped or maimed bears.
Many large northern predators know a gunshot means a dinner bell. You may bring in more trouble to your camp the next day....even if you scared off your initial nuisance target.
Yeah, I’ll just stick with skiing and running in town...
Colorado is mild. CPW has been paying a team of mercenaries to keep all predators down (cats, coyotes, black and griz) for decades. There are two populations of isolated griz here CPW is forbidden to discuss....
This is just so out of state noobs can pop a giant 5x5 lawn elk 50 yards from the ATV trails. Many of these bucks were eating fresh sod on front lawns the previous spring in Estes Park.
I'd be more worried around ellensburg and north of Colville. Huge cats (nearing 3 hundo), wolf packs and the red man will get you before any Boulder hippy mini-cat will.
EDIT: WDFW will laugh at you if a bear/cat/wolf disturb your camp and you call in. CPW will be forced to remove it.
My friend who goes to Central had a big car encounter not too long ago. Said it was a smaller one though.
What, like an old Lincoln Town Car? Or are we talking stretch limo?
Comments
U don't do as much field work anymore but still get out a few times a year alone and I fish alone all the time. I'm usually nervous when doing it and often joke about wearing a mask on the back of my head. I know many, many folks who are out there for 40ish hours a week though, and few who have ever seen one let alone had an encounter.
One of my friends does solo owl calling at night. He is a private contractor and does carry a pistol. The one time he pulled it was for a bear that kept circling him. Scary shit.
Cougars are well known for stalking and attacking individual dogs, wolves, and even young bears. The specialists I've talked to all agree that bringing a single dog with you, even a very large and/or vigilant one, increases your odds of being followed or even approached by a cougar.
Even Chuck acknowledged that the run-in rate with mountain lions is increasing. Plus, I saw Deliverance when I was like 11 or 12.
Do what you want. IDRGAF. I myself don't like to be in the woods w/o a gun, so I don't be in the woods w/o a gun.
Interesting point about the dog. You don't want to attract, but our senses are so fucking dull compared to theirs, I think on balance I'd rather take on some marginal degree of probability and decrease the likelihood significantly that I'll be jumped w/o warning, thus rendering my gun useless.
I went hiking with my wife
*rim shot*
Yeah I get your thinking. If you have a way to fight then any warning is helpful. Plus there's always the good chance that it's too busy killing your dog to bother with you, which is good too.
Travel in pairs and carry bear spray (yes, bear spray) and a good knife on your hip or inner thigh. Not in your backpack or faggy fanny-pack millenial cellphone shit.Make lots of noise. Announce your presence around blind corners.
We've got NPs and NFs in MT, WY and Alaska we cannot carry firearms to collect remote sensing data. "Minimum tool" analysis bologna.
Bear spray is deadly effective on wolves, bears and cats.
They go right to panic mode and bolt.
The sound of a gunshot alone can often turn a predator into kill/fight mode. When you hit them and don't kill them, it is worse. Seen it first hand with partially trapped or maimed bears.
Many large northern predators know a gunshot means a dinner bell. You may bring in more trouble to your camp the next day....even if you scared off your initial nuisance target.
This is just so out of state noobs can pop a giant 5x5 lawn elk 50 yards from the ATV trails. Many of these bucks were eating fresh sod on front lawns the previous spring in Estes Park.
I'd be more worried around ellensburg and north of Colville. Huge cats (nearing 3 hundo), wolf packs and the red man will get you before any Boulder hippy mini-cat will.
EDIT: WDFW will laugh at you if a bear/cat/wolf disturb your camp and you call in (see pic). CPW will be forced to remove it.
PNW style "Kitty"
(Same spot the last extant moose pop calves)