The cougar he bagged early in 2018 was shot only 200 yards from his rig in thick cover at just 20 yards. He likes to have a vantage point from where he can see for some distance, usually on sidehills or ridgelines with a good view, preferably, of at least 200 yards or more. Davis usually sets up at least a quarter mile from his vehicle, and frequently is a half to a full mile from the truck. “I’ve had come in all times of the day,” he said. Setting up multiple stands at least a mile apart in country where he has seen fresh sign, the calls can be heard for a half mile under the right conditions. When lions commit to the call, they usually come in at a trot or lope.ĭedicated, Davis hunts from dawn to dusk. Mike uses a variety of mountain lion vocalizations along with fawn or elk calf-in-distress calls, and he will frequently stay in one spot for an hour or more when calling. If I catch a glimpse of a cat, or if I see fresh tracks or a kill, I stay two hours.” “I hunt them kind of like turkeys, calling for over an hour. The other 60 percent just come in,” said Davis. “I’d say only 40 percent ‘talk’ to me when I’m calling. They will respond to a lot of different sounds,” said Davis, who has been collecting different sounds for years, and he frequently hears cats calling back to his recordings before he can see them. They have a whistle that almost sounds like a flicker, especially in the summer. Davis said cub calls will work during the summer and fall, too. In the summer and early fall, he uses whistles or chirps more, often in conjunction with deer, elk or turkey sounds. In the spring or summer, he might start with elk or deer sounds and then switch to a female cat chirp. In the winter he likes to use breeding sounds. If he is hunting near a recent kill, he will use feeding sounds. He varies his calls by season and situation. He also uses deer and elk distress sounds, and he will throw in other sounds on occasion. He has sounds of a cougar feeding, purring, making soft vocalizations, chewing, cougar kitten sounds, mountain lion communication whistles, female barking and breeding vocalizations. Those are the quiet times, and with cat hunting, most of the time is quiet.ĭavis mostly uses mountain lion recordings on his Fox Pro e-caller. “I’ll spend a week and not see or know if a cat came into my calls,” said Davis. Even with all the background and success, however, it’s not a lock. During deer season he likes to take kids deer hunting and helps them get their first big bucks.ĭavis will tell you there are three keys to calling mountain lions: Using the right sounds, investing the time learning about lions and scouting, and camouflage. When he is not calling lions, he calls black bears or coyotes. Since he retired in 2004, Davis spends most of his time in the field doing depredation work on a 35,000-acre ranch and hunting public lands around his home. Most of his cats are taken within 40 yards.“It took me about 10 years to figure it out, but I’m getting there,” said Davis. Above: Mike holds up one of many lions he has shot in the past decade after calling them in with his electronic caller. He relies on camouflage and little movement. Then again if you "use or employ" a call and shoot a cougar you may be breaking a law without any consideration of what your "intent" was.Īs always, a call to Edmonton Fish & Wildlife to the fellow who deals with all regulations questions would be the best way to get "HIS FINAL ANSWER".Īlright, Cause ya me and the dad were talking about going wolf hunting and then If a cougar came in and we shot it (with a tag) if we would be breaking the law or not.Mike Davis calls lions in areas with a good view. It may be pretty hard for you to prove your intent was to hunt wolves. Often with a "game law" the "intent" has to be sorted out. Recorded wildlife calls or sounds, or an electronically operated calling device except 1) when hunting migratory game birds with the use of calls or sounds that mimic snow geese and the hunting does not occur with the use of decoys that mimic migratory game birds other than snow geese, and 2) using electronic calls can be used to hunt crows, magpies, coyote, red fox and wolf (using sounds that mimic these animals or rodents). Set out, use or employ any of the following items for the purpose of hunting any wildlife:
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