I have a friend looking to hunt mountain lions. Is there anyone in Texas that offers guided hunts? Any recommendations for other states?
Thank you.

Calvin Redhouse in the Navajo Nation. Great young man, Marine and has good dogs. You can see him on episodes of CARNIVORE and go to his facebook page, Rez Hounds.
Adios,
Gary

Thank you, Gary.
Rich

Sounds like fun. I would love to try one when I have a chance.

There's a ranch out in west Texas offering a more hands on hunting experience.

But you need to practice your roping skills a bit beforehand...

How come they have the boots on that critter? Nice chaps.

And.....just imagine. On horse back, rope that critter and then rush up and toss him on his back to tie up the paws. Seems sort of risky.
and..just kidding.
Are there any ranches in West Texas that will let you hunt on your own for cougar? There is a place on the net with tapes, etc. for calling them.

Some real cowboys right here

So what do you consider hunting? I once ran a lion 9 miles from Chalk Mountain down White Bluff Creek to the State Park and back up to Ice Branch one night. Treed it several times but couldn't get there quick enough for it to stick. Man that was a long night, we released at dark and I remember walking up to Clyde and Mr. McCoy on Hwy. 67 as the sun was coming up. That was a 18 mile hike through some of the roughest cedar breaks on that mountain. Is that the kind of lion hunt your looking for?

I feel for you HornSlayer, until a hunter has his dogs chasing game and going out of hearing in country you don't know, a guy doesn't understand how stressful this is. It is rare to run a lion that far if your dogs are really pushing him. Trailing a lion for nine miles on snow is not so rare. I had my dogs open and trail a six day old lion track in moist ground in the Navajo Nation. My dogs were wasting my time as there was no way we were going to catch up with that female.
The chase around Chalk Mountain is not the kind of hunt I want to be on. Too many landowners and dogs crossing into places where I did not have permission would make me nervous about someone shooting one of my dogs. This is why I prefer to hunt the Navajo Nation, public land or large West Texas ranches. There is also a much higher population in these areas than Central Texas.
The highest lion population I have ever seen is SW Colorado. Seems to be a lion under most every bush...
Adios,
Gary

You know I would do it again if I could. My best recollection is that race occurred somewhere around 1976. The area was still pretty wild back then and it wasn't uncommon for a big old ridge runner to take to a bluff and run a mile before landing in a big Liveoak. I was blessed as a young man to be able to experience the thrill of a long race with a couple of solid bawl mouth tree dogs. Mr. Dobson's bitch was a grand daughter to Finley River Chief, he was sure proud of her and she provided us with many hours of enjoyment and good times.

I had a male out of Finley River Chief back in the early 70's. He was a fair hound but could not warm up the running walker/bluetick cross dogs that most cat hunters were hunting back then and even today. I would say that most of the cat hunters have gone to even more running dog breeding as most are not interested in trailing anything. They want to hear a race.
Fun times that not many folks get to experience any more.
Adios,
Gary

I would imagine in the forty years since these dogs have changed? His dogs where cold nose maybe to a fault, but you never would hear Mr. Dobson complain about one of his hounds trying to work out a cold track. We were in a severe drought during most the early 70's that I recall, and coon hide prices hit an all time price for a time. I remember Mr. Dobson saying to me at the end of a long night after jumping out the same coon a couple times, "Let's leave him be and he will be worth the $5 in gas it took to get here again next week". Fun times for sure. Over the 10 years or so that I hunted with hounds, my best guess is that we ran maybe a dozen bobcats and 4 Lions in all that time. It was a privilege just to be able to go hunting like that and a real treat when a cat would cross our tracks!

Shaymus Wyman, Laramie Wyoming.
Mountain cats are very nice in winter fur.

Sproul Ranch. Fort Davis. Roy Hurley.