Where are the mountain lions?

[IsThisOneTaken?]

This site will show you the state-owned/managed public land. It doesn't show any Fed. or other land, but there probably isn't much, if any of that in that area.

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[jeepejeep]

I wouldn't be overly concerned as they usually avoid contact with people, but if injured, hungry or protecting a food cache, they have attacked people. Every time I'm in the woods, I'm alert to my surroundings without being paranoid about it and always carry a side arm. Anyone going into an area that has wildlife capable of chewing on them and doesn't carry a gun and/or a good can of bear pepper spray is foolish in my mind.

[Sandhills Guru]

I walk some rather remote areas along the Niobrara River in the Valentine area on a regular basis. I have never felt the need to carry a side arm, fire arm, or pepper spray. I carry a fencing pliers or camera in most situations, if you catch my drift. A jug of water is also a good idea...

[itsMeFred]

That's what I'm thinking. I mean, we aren't talking the high country of Wyoming or something...
BTW, it bears mentioning, people don't always feel the need to report mountain lion sightings. Kind of a local-yokel method of protection...

~Erin

[jeepejeep]

To me it's kinda like a fire extinguisher. Better to have it and never use it than need it and not have it.

[Gunluvver2]

I have hunted and fished in almost every state West of the Mississippi. Some of my fishing was in Bear country in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. I have also spent a lot of time fishing and hunting in Alberta and British Columbia, definitely Bear country. I usually carry a .22 handgun on these fishing trips. Obviously when hunting Elk or Deer I carried a larger caliber rifle, especially when in Canada. I have had several encounters with Black Bears but never anything serious enough to require discharging a firearm. Any Grizzlies I have seen when I was on foot were so far away I wasn't even sure they were Grizzlies. I have seen several fairly close from boats but they were no threat.

Rattlesnakes are another thing. I have probably shot a dozen of more that I stumbled on. Usually snakes can be avoided if you make noise. However when you are stalking either fish or game you will not want to make noise so you increase the chance of sneaking up on a Rattlesnake. Rabid Raccoons and Skunks are bigger threats than snakes in my opinion. If I see either one of them acting strangely in any way I shoot them. They are both nocturnal so if you see them out in daytime that alone is a reason to suspect them of being rabid. My favorite .22 handgun is an old High Standard Military Citation or Victor. I can hit a penny at 25 feet with them every time and they have put a lot of meat in the pot over the years.

GL2

[roots'nbulbs]

When I was a little girl, on a childish excursion into the barn, I used a B-B gun and shot a pigeon. I nearly died, myself, to have that poor bird in an eternal stare at me. A little older, my brother came home from the marines and helped me fire some big gun at a hay bale. It knocked me flat on my backside. We had to hire the vet to put an injured dog out of misery and destroy a sick horse. None of us, tough or not, had the heart. Very hard. Dad had to go after something that would get the chickens and an agressive racoon that got into the granary.

I learned the way of the world, out here. Survival of the fittest, sympathy for the unlucky and life cycles. Blood, sweat and tears.

Guns are no new news to me. But, when I moved off the farm and into the city, I didn't see them as self-defense or farm tools, any longer. Guns and the wacko criminals who used them made me mad.

Then, I moved back out here. I couldn't believe my murderous anger when, after arduous, hard work, some%#@+& birds nearly wiped out a vineyard and berries that I had created. I could load that sucker with the best of you! :-)

It wasn't the best way to save my investment. Bird netting has worked much better.

So, now, here I am wondering about a lion................