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any body from or hunt in the rifle colorado area. just wondering how the lion and bear hunting is in the area. i might be getting transford to this area for work.

i used to deer hunt near rifle. never have had the oppurtunity to drop any dogs in there. but i have seen 2 bears and many many nice lion tracks around piance creek.

Very good around that area. Plenty of public ground but you won't be alone.

I thought that Colorado had outlawed the hunting of bear with dogs??? Is that not the case?

You can still run lions with dogs here, no bears.

I have spent alot of time around rifle. The lion hunting isn't bad, but as far as over all I would stay in Utah.

I also spend a good deal of time around Rifle, Meeker, De Beque and Parachute. It was a great spot for years and still is to some respect. The boom in the gas fields all across Pience Creek, Roan Plateau, and the surrounding areas has impacted hunting. Not so much that the actual industry itself affects the bear or lion population but the amount of people living there, and traveling the roads day and night does have an affect, and it also has an affect on the good nature of private land owners that control some access points.Also the general decline in the mule deer herd all across the inner mountain west has had an impact on lion numbers. Some say we have more lions than ever before, but they can't really give crediblility to this statement to a cryptic creature that is very hard to count. Your best indicators come from your sport hunters that have done it for some time. Why sport hunters? Because they have no agenda other than recreation and love of the sport. Why not outfitters? They have an agenda, it is called making a living. Are you going to tell the DOW holy smokes can't hardly find a lion track out there anymore, when they might say well, maybe we should cut back on the harvest numbers. Oh no better not do that. I am not saying outfitters are deceptive but it is their livlihood, and you better protect that at all costs, so you can buy shoes for the kids. Why not trust the biologists they are experts are they not? When in comes to these animals they are anything but, and if they see two sets of lion tracks in a partticlar area during one winters season they are absolutley convinced that these critters are thick as flies on a summer gut pile.

Now then before it snows too much you can head up out of Carbondale over the top and the areas around Crawford, Paonia, and Sommerset hold decent lion numbers but again they get a ton of snow later. Head over to the Raggeds, Elks, Grand Plateau, Escalante Canyons, and then back towards Cisco from Junction and there is plenty of rugged as heck lion country. Meeker has a lot of sheep ranchers and they are usually willing to let you come across and hunt for a lion track as well.

hey mike do you know colrado city area, hachet ranch, sikes ranch warfno canyon area my brother moved out there last week looking to go there this winter to run a cat maybe. thanks todd from mi.