Two years ago I was hunting during a late archery season. There was a foot of fresh snow on the ground. I walked up an old cat road to an area I had seen a buck the weekend before. I hung out in the area for about 45 minutes rattleing. I walked back out the way I came in. A cougar had walked up the road behind me. His paw prints were in my boot prints. I could clearly see where it had come down off the side of the road and where it decided to get back off the road. He was within 30' of me as I rattled and blew on the grunt tube. Seeing how close that cat was to me without me knowing made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

After that day I never left the truck without my rifle slung over me back as well as my bow in my hand.

The last place I lived was quite aways out of town. The house was about a quater mile off the main raod in a stand of timber. I had lots of deer, turkeys and the occasional elk in the yard. One night my Rott was acting funny so I let him and the other mutt out. Both dogs took after something in the yard. I got a glimpse of it and it was a cougar. The must have been the smarter of the 2, he turned tail and ran back in the house. The Rott kept after it and chased it into the brush. All I hear is the dog going crazy and that doing the same. Then I here one heck of a yelp from the dog and he comes running back with a decent gash on the side of his face.

Come to find out the night before the nieghbor who lived about a 1/2 mile behind lost 6 goats to that cat. And 2 days later another nieghbor who lived aboud 1/2 mile the other direction shot a cougar that was stalking his horses in broad daylight.

It was a good thing that cat got killed. It was getting a little too brazen.