Big Game
Puma concolor
Photo: James St. John via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-2.0) · CC-BY-2.0 · Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Conservation status
Least ConcernTag difficulty (general)
Mix of OTC + drawVaries by state and unit.
Methods generally used
Mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther, catamount — same cat, different region. Puma concolor has more common names in English than any other mammal in the Americas, a side effect of having the widest north-south range of any land mammal in the Western Hemisphere. Adult toms run 120 to 180 pounds in most of the Lower 48; females are smaller, typically 80 to 120. Tawny coat, long heavy tail roughly a third of total length, black-tipped ears, and white muzzle markings. Kittens are spotted for the first few months and lose the markings as they grow.
They are obligate carnivores and ambush predators. Mule deer and elk make up the bulk of the diet in the West; bighorn sheep, feral hogs, and smaller mammals fill in where available. A lion typically kills every seven to ten days and caches the carcass under leaves, dirt, or snow between feedings. Home ranges are huge — a resident tom may defend 100 to 250 square miles. Densities are low even in prime habitat, which is why sign tells you more than sightings.
Lion hunting is legal in some western states and banned in others. California outlawed all sport hunting of mountain lions in 1990 by ballot initiative and they are a specially protected mammal there. Where hunting is permitted, methods, quotas, and pursuit rules vary widely — check your state's hunting page for what applies. The cats are recolonizing parts of their historic range east of the Rockies, with confirmed dispersers reaching the Midwest and rare records as far east as Connecticut.
Historically continent-wide from southern Canada to Patagonia. In the modern Lower 48, breeding populations are concentrated in the western states from the Rockies west, with an isolated and federally endangered subpopulation — the Florida panther — in southern Florida. Confirmed dispersing toms have been documented as far east as the upper Midwest and occasionally the Eastern Seaboard, but breeding females have not followed.
Rugged country with cover and prey. Lions favor broken terrain — canyon rims, rock outcrops, mixed conifer and pinyon-juniper slopes, riparian corridors through arid country. They tolerate a wide elevation band, from sea-level desert to subalpine basins, as long as deer or elk are present and they have stalking cover.
Where rifle hunting is permitted, the same treed-cat reality applies in most pursuits — short range, vital shot, controlled finish. Where pursuit with hounds is restricted or banned, hunters work fresh tracks in snow, predator calls, or natural choke points. Calibers in the .243 to .30-06 range are sufficient; what matters is precise placement on a small target.
Hound pursuit is the traditional method across most western states that still permit lion hunting. Trained dogs strike a fresh track, the hunter follows on foot or horseback, the cat trees, and the hunter walks in for the shot. Pursuit-only seasons (catch-and-release with hounds, no kill) exist in some jurisdictions. Hound use is banned in some states and limits the legal method set substantially — check your state's hunting page.
Archery on a lion almost always means following a hound pack to a treed cat for a still, close shot. Spot-and-stalk archery on a lion is exceptionally rare — the cats see and hear better than you do, and an unaided stalk in deep cover is a long-odds proposition.
Some states allow handgun harvest on a treed cat. Magnum revolvers in .357 and up are the practical setup, with deliberate, one-shot discipline at very close range.
Legal methods, weapons, and seasons vary by state and unit — confirm with the issuing agency before you hunt.
USFWS Mountain-Prairie via Wikimedia Commons (PD) · PD
USFWS Mountain Prairie via Wikimedia Commons (PD) · PD
10 states