Danny had no dogs. Finding a cougar would be tough. After all, many outdoorsmen spend years in cougar country without seeing one.

Then again, Danny was not only a skilled hunter, and physically fit; he was optimistic. "You have to stay on the track even when you know the odds are low," he says. "Trailing cats demands persistence."

Dawn came clear and cold, with a feathery inch of new snow on a base not yet too deep for easy hiking. Danny cut the spoor on a hill just above town on a sagebrush slope footing basalt cliffs. He worked the track all morning, aware that it was hours old and that the cat could be miles away.

But this time he got lucky. The track led him into the rocks. He stopped short of a cliff. "You'd best not show up at the front door," he advises. "Unless you want the cougar to stay inside where you can't shoot." Instead, Danny circled the bluff, looking for outbound tracks. He found none.

"So I went back below, swinging wide." It was now noon, hours after he'd seen the first prints. "I figured the cat would appear if I poked around long enough. But I didn't expect to see it so soon." Danny had hunted cougars enough to stay alert when he didn't expect action. "That's usually when things happen. In this case, the cat was out and moving - on my track!" He doesn't think the lion was stalking him. "Just curious, I suppose." Danny triggered his .25-06 Remington. The 100-grain Hornady put the cougar down.

It was this hunter's second cougar of the month. The first had jumped from a coulee Danny had entered to call coyotes. Another running shot. "You don't get the kitty-in-a-tree pose when you track," he grins. "And you seldom get second chances."

Doing It With Out Dogs
Cougar hunting without dogs, once as laughable as fishing without a hook, no longer seems so far-fetched. For two reasons. First, in much of their range, cougars are more plentiful than ever.

Secondly, in many places, hounds are no longer an option. Public outcry over the use of dogs on bears and cougars has made such chase illegal in my home state of Washington, as well as in neighboring Oregon. California too has banned hunting cougars with hounds. (Note: Hounds remain legal for hunting cats in the Rocky Mountain States. Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming have seven-month seasons. New Mexico's cougar season runs from December to May, while Arizona's spans the entire year. Washington and California allow dogs on depredation hunts or when cats threaten public safety.)

Ironically, the anti-hound people have made it easier to get cougar licenses. With no other way to control cat populations, Washington now issues up to two tags per hunter. "The opportunity is there," says Danny. "If you like to track or call game, cougar hunting is a great way to extend your season."

Using a predator call to lure lions is another option. "You'll bring in lots of coyotes before you see a cat," Danny points out. On the other hand, if you don't have snow for tracking, the call is your best alternative.

Cougars thrive on deer - a full-grown cat may take one deer a week and nursing females more - but no big predator will turn down a free rabbit. Camouflage is vital, as cougars have excellent eyesight. Remember that cougars like to ambush their prey; keep that in mind when you choose a place to hide. Give the cat enough cover to approach within shooting range, but not so much that it can surprise you up close.

Swelling Populations
With the hound closures, cougar populations have grown fast. The cats are now popping up where they didn't before, in areas with low deer numbers and less then optimal cover. You've read of them taking pets from suburbia and stalking joggers. When pushed from more desirable haunts by bigger, older males, the young get crowded against subdivisions, hungry enough to eat poodles. It's the price of territoriality. That situation works in your favor when you call, because inexperienced cougars in marginal habitat must pay attention to any available food source. Calling mature cougars in prime deer country is much less effective.

What about still-hunting? Forget it. I still-hunted deer and elk for 28 years before I saw a cougar, though the cats were quite plentiful in those areas. When, as a state wildlife officer, I followed a cougar that had mauled a horse, I understood why. The animal slid through thickets that would stop a snake. The spoor took me over and under windfalls, into ravines - all places a still-hunter would have trouble moving, let alone moving quietly. Eventually I bumped into a nest of hornets and thrashed out of the brush tunnel that had me all but trapped. I called for dogs and shot the cougar in a tree.

Since then, hunters and ranchers have told me about many incidental sightings. But when you add them up, they represent a huge block of field time - not counting tens of thousands of hours invested each year by hunters and stockmen who never see a cat.

I prefer tracking to calling, mainly because I like to move. Tracking conditions matter. Crusted snow may get you within rifle range of an elk, but cougars are hard to see far away, and to surprise one up close, you must have soft snow. In deep, fluffy snow, the cats also have a harder time moving, so chances are the trail will be shorter. Stay alert. Last winter I took the track of a cat up the side of a ravine with only a few pines on its hem. Above it lay open sage. Convinced the cougar was off to some more secure place, I scrambled up the slope - and stumbled upon the animal in its bed under a pine. It was gone in a blink.

Guns For Cats
You don't need a powerful cartridge to kill a cougar. A .250 Savage, .243, 6mm, .257 Roberts, 6.5x55 or .260 Remington is adequate. Use bullets of 100 to 120 grains. Pick a lightweight rifle and mate it to a compact scope. You'll carry the artillery miles before you shoot. Almost as important as the rifle is a good binocular. Again, weight matters. Even compact glasses work, though I prefer an exit pupil of at least 4mm. An 8x32 works fine.

Camouflage helps you see cougars before they see you. Wear white in snow. Dress in layers for winter tracking, so you can move fast without steaming up. I prefer unlined leather boots with aggressive lug soles.

Before you hunt cats, contact the state wildlife agency for regulations. Some states that allow use of dogs suspend hound hunts during deer and elk seasons. However you make your kill, you'll likely have to report it, and perhaps provide teeth for aging.

Most hunters prize a cougar's hide - rightfully so. If you don't want a life-size mount, the tawny-and white pelt makes a fine wall-hanging. Make sure to save the meat. It is tender and mild-tasting - like the best pork in flavor, texture and color.

From Cabela's http://www.cabelas.com/story-123/vanzwoll_cougars/85/The+New+Way+To+Hunt+Cougars.shtml