New Info for Colorado

FullCryHounds · Post by **FullCryHounds** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:20 pm

Colorado now has a very good ID test that everyone that hunts lions in CO. must take and pass before hunting. You can take the test as many times as you need to until you pass and there is no charge. (It is more for education then a real test) It is very good with a lot of pictures to help ID male from female. Give it a shot and let us know how you do.
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/Hun ... nLionEduc/

This year, Colorado also has an online page that you can follow to see how many males vs females have been taken out of a certain unit along with the total number of lions taken in each unit. When a units quota fills in CO., that unit is closed to further hunting and you must hunt in another unit that is still open.
For the past several years, Colorado has asked houndsmen/hunters to voluntarily cut back on the number of females taken is some of the units that have had a high female harvest. The program seems to be working well since the female harvest numbers seem to be getting lower.
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/Mou ... tatistics/

Mike Leonard · Post by **Mike Leonard** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 5:00 pm

Dean,

I agree with you this is a good thing, and for your information New Mexico is also instituting this test for it's 2009-10 season. New Mexico is also placing a female quota on for each hunting zone. They have reserves the right to shut all harvest down if the female harvest number is approached within 10%of overall total. This will give incentive to make sure before the trigger is pulled, not only to new houndsmen that harvest 50% plus percent females but also to some outfitters that want to talk their clients into whacking the first adult lion they tree to cash that check get em to the airport and pick up another hunter before the snow melts. They will slow down the female kill a bit when they realize they might have to call the booked hunter and say well let's try it next year Charlie they closed it down because too many females were taken.

FullCryHounds · Post by **FullCryHounds** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 6:46 pm

Perfect Mike, glad to see some other states jumping on board. Seems to me that Utah is probably the worst offender out west here. Hopefully they will do something soon.

Mike Leonard · Post by **Mike Leonard** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:34 pm

I know where you are coming from Dean. Utah may well be the posterchild for lion hunting. No state even Arizona can boast the history of lion hunting like Utah. It's a natural and even though the Beehive State as gradually moved from the haven of huge mule deer to the record writing elk state it is still very much lion country. I would love to see this state adopt similar restrictions. I hate restrictions like everybody else but I still like to following a bawling hound on a cougar track and if you still have the mentality that you kill every long tail because you watched Bambi when you were a kid, somthing has to be done.

I am pretty hard to like when it comes to lions and coyotes and I have killed a pretty good number of each but I sure don't want to see them wiped out.
Big dog coyote runs across the two track yesterday and runs out there about 150 and stops . Wife says you gonna shoot him, I have my 257 laying there on the front seat. Nope , I reckon he is having a pretty tuff time out here trying to catch these jack rabbits and the occasional blue quail. So I guess unless Obama clears these issues up for him and his kin the least I can do is give him a pass today.