New law coming to CO.

[FullCryHounds]

"CPW will initiate a process to establish a new fall mountain lion season in the future for hunters with a valid elk/deer license that will be valid during open rifle elk or deer seasons (hunting with hounds not permitted)."

This is a new law coming next year. I don't think it has been thought out very well.
Several negative affects will be: some units with low quotas will close before the hound season even opens. You will also have guys shooting a lion while out deer or elk hunting then going and buying a tag. I've already contacted my local wardens and told them what I think is going to happen and to make sure they are aware of what a lot of guys are going to do.
I'm not sure how to help prevent it? Maybe not allow the sales of lion tags once the elk or deer season opens, but that will create other problems too.

[Big Cat]

I am with you Dean. I think its a horrible idea, But I think it is a prelude of whats to come. They will be watching to see how many lion can be killed without dogs. Then try to take our hounds away from us. We take it in the hind end because the majority rules. And the voting majority of Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins win ever time. I also beleive cpw head office has it out for us too. I hate to see this deal take place its B.S. in my opinion.

[sheimer]

This will make Colorado the same as Montana. We have a "foot" season that coincides with the big game season. Around where I live, not many cats get taken. Last year is the first year I recall that any cats were put on the quota in the area I live in prior to the hound season starting. Get this though, two lions were shot on the ground ant turned in to the quota....BOTH were females. Without treeing a cat and taking some time to figure it out, the vast majority of people can't tell what sex it is, nor do they care. I thought I read that Colorado was "requesting" that the hunters laid off killing females. This is a step in exactly the wrong direction.

[FullCryHounds]

That's a great point Scott. We do have a program to help slow the female harvest in a lot of units. This new regulation won't help that at all.

[dwalton]

It is nice to see someone being able to take a cat if they see it while deer or elk hunting. The real reason the game commission is doing this if they are like most commissions is getting the extra money from tag sales. Dewey

[super white hunter]

Gonna be just like bear, just shoot it and hope its a big tom

[duck duck goose]

They have a season like this in AB. Like mentioned I don't think many cats get taken as I rarely hear of hunters harvesting a cat during big game season.

My thought is it is more of a cash grab to get tag sales up. Most guys will start buying a cat license "just in case". Just my 2 cents.

[dhostetler]

Montana has both an archery and general rifle season for lions without hounds very few are taken. The FWP kills more depredation cats than foot hunters do. I don't think you Colorado guys have anything to worry about, that it will have much of an impact. Anybody in Montana that buys one of those foot hunting tags can not put in for any winter kill tag drawings which I like as it gives us hound hunters better odds. Another thing that can be good about is it might help with poaching. A lot of deer and elk hunters hate lions and I know of Montana lions that have been shot and left lain by hunters. If you give hunters an option to do it legally it could keep that from happening.

[catdogs]

Like others have said, not many will be taken. In real open areas like the badlands in SD, they do quite will where they can glass a lot, but few are taken in Montana. The problem like Scott said is their is no way to sex a cat in a boot season. I know of one cat killed last year in an area in a boot season that had only a male quota....guess what, it was a female. Guy got fined and lion taken away.

A quick check this year in Montana. Our boot season ended yesterday. Statewide, 11 cats killed. 6 females and 5 males.