AStone
Member
I'd not go any smaller than a sling shot.
(With preference for a wrist rocket.)
(With preference for a wrist rocket.)
Mountain Lions?
- Thread starter BoneDigger
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yongxingfreesty
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neither, need a .460
45 will work but if you do see a mountain lion just shoot around them with anything you got they will take off. Unless they are hunting you, then obviously they want something. But 9 out of ten times they will get scared just by the sound of the gun. My buddy shot a 22 at one he came across while hiking and the lion just took off. We are here in NM and there is a very big food shortage for the mountain lion so I figured he got lucky it did not attack him.
I am going to go out on a limb and say a 9mm will work as well just to see some responses. Anyone else agree?
I am going to go out on a limb and say a 9mm will work as well just to see some responses. Anyone else agree?
Crunker1337
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Keep your religion out of THR. I'm sure your very faithful and all, but this really isn't the place to discuss how religious faith can help you in the real world.
Mountain lions actually attack you from the back and go for the neck. That's bad, as it means you have only a few seconds to eliminate it.
A long knife at your side would be good. Draw it in underhand fashion and stab the cat in its guts, then move it around and around till it gets off. It will probably die of blood loss/organ failure quite shortly after.
A pistol would be good also, but you'd have to try to aim it a little more upwards to make it most effective. As a gunshot would is very deep but not very wide-reaching, I'd go for the upper torso.
As mountain lions attack from the back or from trees and go straight for your neck, they are ambush predators that rely on stealth and surprise. If you don't want to wear infrared vision every time you go out into the wilderness, then you are at a major disadvantage.
The best defense against a mountain lion is a friend at your side.
quickcanary
Member
Crunker1337 said:
I don't think that's what he meant...I took no offense to his comment and don't see why you did, either.That being said, I think it would be interesting to see someone try to pull a knife, stab a mountain lion in the guts, and "move it around and around until it gets off" with the cat gnawing at his/her neck and vertebrae. But I guess someone gets lucky every once in a while.
AgentOrange
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MAN do i LOVE reading all of the "caliber" debates all of the time.
i had a well known ballistics and firearms expert and outdoor writer tell me one time "look at it like this. if it ( a firearm and / or specific caliber) will kill a human being, its plenty good for whatever you want to shoot"
i dont know how true that is, but ive killed cats with 22lr and 17 HMR, so id assume whatever you use with the exeption of a BB gun ( and then maybe even that. i saw a shot awhile back where these guys were hog hunting with 22 cal. air rifles and weredropping them like flies) whatever you have is probably sufficient.
as far as which handgun to carry...im one of those "1911 freaks" who shoots his pixstol on a daily basis (literally as i have a 500 yard range right behind my house) to the tune of sometimes 500 rounds a day, and i wouldnt be caught anywere without mine. i can shoot it accuratelty with both hands,hanging upside down, and would hesitate to bust one off of my own back with it.
if you dont kill it and it runs off, theres virtually no chance its comming back so whatever u use is a good bet.
i had a well known ballistics and firearms expert and outdoor writer tell me one time "look at it like this. if it ( a firearm and / or specific caliber) will kill a human being, its plenty good for whatever you want to shoot"
i dont know how true that is, but ive killed cats with 22lr and 17 HMR, so id assume whatever you use with the exeption of a BB gun ( and then maybe even that. i saw a shot awhile back where these guys were hog hunting with 22 cal. air rifles and weredropping them like flies) whatever you have is probably sufficient.
as far as which handgun to carry...im one of those "1911 freaks" who shoots his pixstol on a daily basis (literally as i have a 500 yard range right behind my house) to the tune of sometimes 500 rounds a day, and i wouldnt be caught anywere without mine. i can shoot it accuratelty with both hands,hanging upside down, and would hesitate to bust one off of my own back with it.
if you dont kill it and it runs off, theres virtually no chance its comming back so whatever u use is a good bet.
Spyvie
Member
Lion attacks do happen, there have been a couple of deaths I'm aware of over the years in CO and AZ, joggers and bicyclists are among the most vulnerable human victims. I looked for a link but couldn't find any, so here's a link to a story of an attack about a year ago in CA. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5089959
The chances of a pet being eaten by a lion are actually pretty good in some areas, even in your own back yard. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_6801652 http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_7131023
As has already been said, attacks happen very quickly, your best defense has to be a wingman. If you were going to rely on a weapon, I would think it needs to be very easy and quick to use in a sheer panic situation.
The chances of a pet being eaten by a lion are actually pretty good in some areas, even in your own back yard. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_6801652 http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_7131023
As has already been said, attacks happen very quickly, your best defense has to be a wingman. If you were going to rely on a weapon, I would think it needs to be very easy and quick to use in a sheer panic situation.
romma
Member
Okay, if I have time before my car crashes,,, I will be sure to shoot it!
What caliber for my car?
Psst! It's a Kia Optima.
XD-40 Shooter
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I'd feel fine with my Taurus Mil-Pro 40 and my handloaded 180 grain XTP's in mt lion country. For dayhikes, I carry the Mil-Pro, for overnight or weekend camping trips, I take my 357 mag and my handloaded 158 grain Rem JSP's.
DENALI
member
Absolutely no handgun is sufficient for defense from any large predator! But it's better than your fist's.....
Nomad101bc
Member
Hmm VS predatory cars you might want FMJ .45
Mr.510
Member
The right load for cougars - 230 grain .45 JHP?
We've had a very large cougar prowling around our house in Belfair Washington for the last year or so. Our property backs up to a huge State Forest. We've heard the big cat growl at our house cat and seen it's tracks many times. We report everything we see or hear to the local game warden per his request. His handgun advice was: "The hottest 230 grain .45ACP defense round you can get! That's what I carry." So I bought an XD 45 Compact and keep it full of +P Federal HSTs. The cat that's prowling around our place has a walking gait of 38" which I'm told makes it a HUGE animal. Probably over 300 pounds by the warden's estimate. The cougar was on the neighbor's property about a month ago when I spooked it by opening a door. I watched it slink silently up a ridge that was covered with dry leaves. What an unbelievable sight! And ZERO sound. Spooky. It was about 60 yards out and my guess is 9-1/2 feet long nose-to-tail. The game warden says they don't typically spring onto people from the brush as they do with deer and elk. Apparently they don't generally see us as potential prey? In our area there are so many white tail deer that cougars can kill at will. Deer is their filet mignon so they don't generally even bother with livestock. He said the biggest danger is either spooking one at close range, getting between it and it's kitten(s), or making it feel cornered. Since hound hunting was outlawed the game wardens spend a lot of time tracking and killing "problem" cougars themselves out here.
There is some really good information on these animals and how to interact with them in a 129 page field guide you can download here: http://www.cougarnet.org/idguide.html
There's a good video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7MuFDVEUro of a mother cougar taking on a grizzly in defense of her kitten.
We've had a very large cougar prowling around our house in Belfair Washington for the last year or so. Our property backs up to a huge State Forest. We've heard the big cat growl at our house cat and seen it's tracks many times. We report everything we see or hear to the local game warden per his request. His handgun advice was: "The hottest 230 grain .45ACP defense round you can get! That's what I carry." So I bought an XD 45 Compact and keep it full of +P Federal HSTs. The cat that's prowling around our place has a walking gait of 38" which I'm told makes it a HUGE animal. Probably over 300 pounds by the warden's estimate. The cougar was on the neighbor's property about a month ago when I spooked it by opening a door. I watched it slink silently up a ridge that was covered with dry leaves. What an unbelievable sight! And ZERO sound. Spooky. It was about 60 yards out and my guess is 9-1/2 feet long nose-to-tail. The game warden says they don't typically spring onto people from the brush as they do with deer and elk. Apparently they don't generally see us as potential prey? In our area there are so many white tail deer that cougars can kill at will. Deer is their filet mignon so they don't generally even bother with livestock. He said the biggest danger is either spooking one at close range, getting between it and it's kitten(s), or making it feel cornered. Since hound hunting was outlawed the game wardens spend a lot of time tracking and killing "problem" cougars themselves out here.
There is some really good information on these animals and how to interact with them in a 129 page field guide you can download here: http://www.cougarnet.org/idguide.html
There's a good video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7MuFDVEUro of a mother cougar taking on a grizzly in defense of her kitten.
Furncliff
Member
Unless you have eyes in the back of your head, you will not not have a clue, til it's too late. The guns just hangin on your belt while you're waving your hands in the air and you're gasping for breath while the cat efficiently strangles you. We have two cats nearby, I hope one takes me before I die slowly of some malingering disease
P.S. Keep the gun, there are two legged critters that could be more dangerous.
P.S. Keep the gun, there are two legged critters that could be more dangerous.
takhtakaal
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- 853
.45 LC, with at least a 5" barrel, preferably something big, nasty, and hard-cast -- bare minimum: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=10345
Just make sure to use a Ruger. S&W won't take the punishment of a steady diet of this stuff.
Just make sure to use a Ruger. S&W won't take the punishment of a steady diet of this stuff.
RobertFBurnett
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- Dec 17, 2007
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- 415
LAPD response to Mountain Lions
In the spirit of this post,
Around here in the foothills when there is a Mountain Lion sighting 6 LAPD Foothill Division officers show up with 9mms in 3 black and whites and a helicopter, and the Mountain Lion just goes away.
So I recommend 9mms, with a helicopter backing you up.
RFB
P.S. "Pardon me Roy, is that the Cat that ate your new shoes"?
In the spirit of this post,
Around here in the foothills when there is a Mountain Lion sighting 6 LAPD Foothill Division officers show up with 9mms in 3 black and whites and a helicopter, and the Mountain Lion just goes away.
So I recommend 9mms, with a helicopter backing you up.
RFB
P.S. "Pardon me Roy, is that the Cat that ate your new shoes"?
I personally wouldn't spend much time worrying about attacks by mountain lions. They just don't happen all that often. As others have stated, you have a better chance of being killed doing damn near anything else than you do being killed by a mountain lion.
However, if forced to draw and shoot on a big cat, both the .45 and .357 should work just fine provided you get a quality hit or two.
However, if forced to draw and shoot on a big cat, both the .45 and .357 should work just fine provided you get a quality hit or two.
North Bender
Member
It hasn't been a year since the last Cougar post has it?
I've spent decades in the woods in Washington. I've only seen one Cougar; that was on a logging road on the Olympic Penninsula. I've heard a couple of them screeching - now that will put the fear of God into you!
But I do not worry about coming across a Cougar. I love to just for the sight. But they stay completely away from people. You will not be able to sneak up on their ledge and suprise them.
I've spent decades in the woods in Washington. I've only seen one Cougar; that was on a logging road on the Olympic Penninsula. I've heard a couple of them screeching - now that will put the fear of God into you!
But I do not worry about coming across a Cougar. I love to just for the sight. But they stay completely away from people. You will not be able to sneak up on their ledge and suprise them.
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