Cutting Lion tracks at night

[Amonty]

What is everyone thoughts on cutting tracks at night? Lion move more at night, while cutting tracks you usually have a dog box loaded with dogs, a few flashlights, usually a firearm or bow if your intending to harvest a lion. Does this fall into the category of spotlighting? NMG&F seems to believe it does. What are your experiences and thoughts regarding this issue? Or have any of you had any run in's/arrests regarding cutting tracks?

[Conejos]

I wouldn't mind them shutting everyone down at night. It sucks to have to compete with guys that never sleep. Seems to be much easier for everyone to trespass at night as well.

[Joe Bliss]

I am a firm believer in cutting tracks at night, in my opinion they are a lot easier to find after a fresh snow, although there are laws on using only a drycell flashlight or of course your headlights. Here we can hunt lions at day or night. My only concern on it is that it is very dangerous crawling on them rocky ledges and i dont know about you guys but i like that extra heat from the sun I dont know how many nights i have been out bein so cold you cant even unzip ur zipper haha For you guys that have never tried it grab a couple red bulls load up the dog box and head out haha i believe night or day its a blast

[M Evertsen]

I personally feel that if you are out doing anything for the purpose of hunting, then you are hunting. If you have dogs, gun, all your equipment, etc, then I see it as hunting.

So, depending what your hours are that you can legally hunt, I can see it being an issue.

I feel that its different that if you are scouting for deer in the summer time. You don't have a gund, and no way to kll that animal, or pursue it other than with your eyes.

We have a 24/7/365 season here, and I still don't leave the house until 4 am at the very earliest. I could turn loose at any time, but no sense in getting myself or the dogs hurt.

[bigfootexp]

I don't believe it is ever a good idea to request more restictions on our hunting RIGHTS so be careful what you wish for, besides what if you just want to hunt coons at night. Implamenting new restrictions always has some unintended effect.

[inchtowntracking]

That when we do most of our hunting here. If it snows all day it is perfect if it stops around 2-3 and go out around 5-6 at night. We caught two lions around an hr and half apart about a week ago. I would rather look for a hot track to run then have to cold trail for hours.

[lbird]

Take lion hunting out of your example and put in elk hunting if you get up a 3am to hike into a spot you got your gun you got your flashlight by your example your hunting at 3am and in Wyoming you would be hunting illegally by your example as you can not take a game animal 1/2 hour before sunrise.I would say as long as the dogs are still in the box till a 1/2 hour before sunrise or are leased up and not following a track and no game has been taken you are not hunting. What happens if a day of hunting runs longer than you expect and your hounds has something tree after dark and you go into to get them around here I have a gun on me when ever I am in the woods.So by retrieving my hounds am I breaking the law?This idea is a slippery slope when hunters start to critizes one way of hunting and often has been used to eliminate hound hunting in many areas.While that style maybe not be to your liking doesnt make it wrong.

[Conejos]

Guys don't mind me I'm just a little bitter cause I got up at three am last week and went to cut tracks only to find someone had beat me to my own property! I think we should be able to cut tracks at night but we got a couple of guys here that pay kids to cut tracks all night. Its real hard to compete with a guy that has 10 to 20 rig running all night. Its getting to where I hate to see it snow.

[George Streepy]

I have had very good luck cutting tracks at night. I do not take dogs with me and rarely even take a gun. It is illegal to pursue at night here and I wouldn't want the Game Dept to think I am trying to start tracks at night. Leave the dogs at home or at camp, take them back at daylight.

[Doogie]

always been that way here, you'd come back to a truck parked on the track if you did that here George.

[shoot4fur]

if a trucks parked on the road on a track i walked out that guys a prick, i worked harder lost more sleep, and found a track, while he was sleeping. leave a note will run, go home get some sleep, dogs, and what ever else you forgot while you were still half asleep falling out the door to go cut first tracks

[George Streepy]

I suppose you could stomp the tracks out but the guys would just walk out to see what you were doing. We don't have a lot of hunting here, but at least when we get drawn it isn't to bad of a rat race. I try to get out where other guys don't want to go or aren't able to go. I have rarely even seen another Houndsmen while on the lion hunts here. When I do they are either on the roads by town or parked at the bar.

[Conejos]

Ya the bad thing about here is the "bar is usually their truck". Run into a bunch of 18-25 year old with guns at 1 in the am and they are all coked up and drunk and then tell me you don't want more wardens out there patrolling!

[SHADOWHUNTER]

HUM, LETS THINK ABOUT THIS FOR JUST A SECOND I BELEIVE THAT THE "NMDGF RULES" ARE REALLY BROAD AND OPEN FOR INTERPRETATION. I RECENTLY HAD A NMDGF OFFICER TELL ME THAT I COULD CUT TRACK ALL NIGHT LONG AS I DIDNT USE A FLASHLIGHT (HEADLIGHTS OK). HE SAID I COULD TURN OUT DOGS ON A TRACK (BEAR OR LION) IN THE DARK AS LONG AS I DIDNT PURSUE THE GAME WITH A FLASHLIGHT. HE SAID I COULD FOLLOW THE DOGS IN THE DARK WITH A FIREARM ( NO LIGHT ), BUT COULD NOT SHOT THE ANIMAL UNTIL LEGAL SHOOTING LIGHT WHICH IS 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SUNRISE? NOW THIS MAY SOUND CONFUSING, BUT THE PROCLAMATION HAS A CHART OF LEGAL HUNTING HOURS ON PAGE 16 OF THE NEW MEXICO BIG GAME AND TRAPPER RULES AND INFORMATION. SO THE QUESTION HERE IS WHATS LEGAL HUNTING? OUR BEST BET IS FIND A TRACK AND SIT ON IT TILL DAYBREAK. MY DEFINITION OF LION OR BEAR HUNTING IS WHEN YOUR OFF THE TRUCK WITH YOUR PACK, RADIO, TRACKING/GPS AND FIREARM IN PURSUIT OF HARVESTING YOUR INTENDED GAME!

[box rocker]

conejos sounds like you hunt in some f$#%ed up areas are you from espanola or vegas cause I was born in las vegas the way you sound is like I did when I was up north. I live down south by cloudcroft and there is no theivin crack heads runnin around down here all night lookin for tracks but then again even some of the houndsmen down here are game wardens but it sucks we can't hunt coon at night.