As many have pointed out the lion population is on the increase, we get one here every few years. As I was saying to a friend this weekend, "you can't go a quarter mile here in Texas without seeing a blind and a feeder. With the increased food source comes increased populations of those that use it and those that feed on those that use it. Whitetails are at an all time high in this area and the big cats utilize that resource well. i see the lion population doing nothing but increasing. I might add that these as you call them "cool critters" can devastate a mans livelihood in short order. There's a reason they are shot on sight and it's not because they're cute and cool, it's because they are deadly and can take down animals much larger than most men.

Very Nice!

By almost a million tag holders... so lions kill more deer per lion then deer per hunter.

Several south and western counties with high lion populations

That’s great , I’d love to get one someday . Glad you enjoyed it

Simply stating that lion populations are on the rise gives you justification to shoot them for a selfie or to put a mount in their game room... I am not sure of what your argument is here? It is ok to continue to shoot them on the spot with unregulated means because doing so isn't curbing the population already? If you want to shoot a lion since it is a rare thing, a challenge, and you feel accomplished just say so. Don't kid yourself and say you did it for "conservation" or to save the poor farmer trying to scrape out a living.

Who's livelihood are they devastating? Don't just say a rancher unless you have an example of a problem mountain lion in Texas.

Frustrating to me that a bunch of hunters simply don't care about a balanced ecosystem and keeping the wild wild. Using myth and irrational fear that a lion can kill big animals therefore we need to shoot them on the spot is sad. You are significantly more likely to be killed by a deer in a vehicle collision annually in Texas than ever attacked by a lion in your lifetime.

To the claim that there are more corn feeders, therefore more deer, therefore more lions. I don't disagree with the logic but the problem for lions hasn't been a lack of food it is getting hit crossing roads and being shot/trapped.

To someone else's question, yes I live in a city, just like 88% of Texans...... I can't wait to see where your lack of common sense takes this argument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO5PnHnErGs&t=455s

https://www.wideopenspaces.com/list-of-fatal-mountain-lion-attacks-in-north-america/

Well done Wally.

If the population's healthy, it's legal and you want to, you should shoot whatever you like. If you're going to attack people for hunting legally, you should just become an anti-hunter. Fighting amongst ourselves is a waste. It's just like that guy trying to make alligator gar a game fish. He says he's concerned about their conservation (despite all scientific data suggesting their population is robust and healthy) but in reality he's either trying to force his opinion on the rest of the state or (more likely) trying to create a monopoly for himself. If he were truly concerned, he'd be suggesting TPWD do a study on the alligator gar mortality rate of line-caught fish.

OP, congrats on the lion.

I would like to see the studies showing lions are on the increase in order to know what the data really are. I am not even sure what that means in the grand scheme. That is academic, however. Hunting mountain lions is legal. Period.

If you don't want to hunt legal game, TQ, that is on you. I don't hunt deer or fowl.

Congratulations! Nice rifle too by the way. I hope to get a cougar one day.




I 100% agree with you. I balked when i saw the naysayers posting in this thread. This is the Texas Hunting Forum, not the Texas PETA Forum, and as far as I can tell conservation is the #1 goal of almost everyone on this forum.

Mountain lions need to be hunted. Apex predators, probably need to be carefully controlled, moreso than everything else.

Anybody that is gonna openly shame a man publicly for legally and ethically taking game ought to be banned from the forum. I swear! Texas HUNTING Forum! And content thereof removed. Shameful than anybody would post something to detract from this man's once in a lifetime trophy, harvested legally and ethically!

Trolls gonna troll...

Congratulations on a once in a lifetime kill.

Congratulations.