Best non res State for mt lion?

Joined
Jan 18, 2015
Messages
413
Location
Northern Michigan
Hey everyone,

Any advice on a good place to be looking at for a non resident to come hunt Lions with hounds? I'm not looking for outfitters we want to bring dogs out and hunt on our own. Fully admit I haven't done a lot of homework on regs by state yet but thought I'd throw it out there.

Thanks,
Tim


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

kickemall

WKR
Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
964
Location
SD
Right off the top of my head - Nevada. Open to non - residents and allowed two tags per year over the counter. Lots of public ground.
 
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
7,407
Location
S. UTAH
AZ has OTC tags too, I think. I know when you buy a license they ask if you want to buy a lion tag. At least that's the last I remember.

Utah has open quota units starting March 1. I don't know if there are non resident restrictions.
 

RoJo

WKR
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
403
Location
South Central Arizona
Yes, AZ is OTC, year-round, with no restrictions on non-residents. A non-resident hunting license is $160, and a non-resident lion tag is $75, pretty darn cheap. Some units have a multiple bag limit allowing 1 lion per day until the bag limit for the unit is reached.

Edit: Sorry, misread your post...I see you want to bring your own hounds. If you are driving all the way from northern MI with hounds, you probably don't want to drive all the way to AZ. You might check out SD, WY, or CO.
 
Last edited:

frankrb3

WKR
Joined
May 10, 2016
Messages
529
Location
SW Montana
Montana is OTC for Non Residents. $320 for your tag. Not sure if we are the best state for lions as I don't hunt them.
 

Trial153

WKR
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
8,187
Location
NY
If i was traveling with my pack it would be ....Idaho hands down. I think of all the states it has the most unbroken cat country. not to mention northern Idaho has some big ass trophy cats....Just my 2cents.
 
OP
bowieknife50
Joined
Jan 18, 2015
Messages
413
Location
Northern Michigan
Thanks everyone. Anywhere is a long drive to hunt big cats from here so pretty much any State is on the table. Only thing that worries me about Arizona is all the rock which the dogs never run on here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

RoJo

WKR
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
403
Location
South Central Arizona
I think any western state will potentially be very rocky. And some parts of Arizona are rockier than others. Cacti might be a bigger issue in the low desert.

Are your hounds used to dry ground trailing? If not, you would be restricted to higher elevations in the winter, and there still may not be much snow.
 

kickemall

WKR
Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
964
Location
SD
Idaho might be a little tough to do because they require a non - resident hound permit and they're hard to come by.
 

RoJo

WKR
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
403
Location
South Central Arizona
Yeah, it would probably be a whole new ball game for you and them. But you never know!

The good thing is that pretty much the entire state is cat country, and most of the state is public land. People get lions in their backyards in the suburbs of Phoenix and Tucson. I have gotten lions on game cameras just 20 minutes from my house.

Mom and three cubs at a guzzler:

37013587963_7f73006288_z.jpg


My camera caught this one out in broad daylight:

40008760884_31c4dc26e4_z.jpg


Oops...wrong photo...
 
Last edited:

nidaho

FNG
Joined
Aug 15, 2016
Messages
79
Location
idaho
i would look at any state with otc hound hunter permits and snow. I run my hounds on lions and bobcats and I believe they would do a fresh dry ground lion but I have heard it is hard to find where they cross roads, ridges ect. with the lack of tracks you would have to let the dogs find the track and run it. I believe you would struggle getting it done on dry ground for your first lion hunt. I have heard stories of it taking years to find the right travel corridors of lions before having success and then it is still hard to get it done. Idaho is draw for the hound hunter permit I don't know the odds of getting one I have heard they were hard to get.
 

MTNRCHR

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 17, 2012
Messages
209
Location
CO
Another thing to keep in mind is to stay away from wolf country. They'll kill your dogs...
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
3,996
Location
Alaska
Apply for the Idaho hound hunting permit, if you draw, then head out and make it happen. You can even get a second permit in some units. Plenty of lions to chase.

If that doesn't work, NV would be a great choice.
 
Top