Insignificant bill
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I believe that is false
Cougar kills young man in California
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Jim NE
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I try to walk 4 or 5 times a week for exercise, and during nicer weather I usually do it on a trail outside of town, often before sundown. We don't have a lot of mountain lions in our state, but they are here, so this story has me thinking that a little bit more power in my carry handgun is needed for when I'm on the trail. There was a mountain lion sighting this year less than an hour to the east of us on the periphery of Omaha. The only large predators I get evidence of around here are coyotes, and I'm not much worried about them. Nevertheless, I almost always walk alone.
I have a Ruger LCP that's with me all the time. I'd prefer to take a revolver along as well when I trail walk, but the smallest powerful revolver I have is a more or less K frame size six shot Interarms Rossi .357 with a 3" barrel. It's a little bulkier and heavier than I'd like, as I prefer pocket carry for this purpose. I also have a polymer revolver which feels great for carry, but it's .38 +P, which might be ok on lions with Buffalo Bore ammo. I also have a Taurus slimline in .40 and a S&W Shield in .45acp. I'll probably end up using one of them unless anyone has a better idea.
I have a Ruger LCP that's with me all the time. I'd prefer to take a revolver along as well when I trail walk, but the smallest powerful revolver I have is a more or less K frame size six shot Interarms Rossi .357 with a 3" barrel. It's a little bulkier and heavier than I'd like, as I prefer pocket carry for this purpose. I also have a polymer revolver which feels great for carry, but it's .38 +P, which might be ok on lions with Buffalo Bore ammo. I also have a Taurus slimline in .40 and a S&W Shield in .45acp. I'll probably end up using one of them unless anyone has a better idea.
Insignificant bill
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We have wild hogs getting closer to us and coyotes and Bobcats
Shanghai McCoy
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My friend's Dad kept hounds and we'd go with him out to the state land around Mt Shasta. He and some other men would run the hounds chasing mountain lions and we'd head down to the river and catch trout. Must have been 70-71..? Back then the lions were fair game any time as I recall.
Good times.
Good times.
crstrode
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Bill, I believe you are correct.
Are hobos endangered in CA?
Elkins45
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I would think the dead brother would be a pretty good proof.
crstrode
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I got stuck in a wringer - once. Made it out with all my fingers.
The Undertaker - that is another load of laundry altogether . . .
Mountain lions are not that big, 200lbs is a huge one.
I would carry nothing special, a 9mm handgun would work well if you are hiking - light, out of the way, easy to access, a few extra rounds to warn off the cat before killing it if it’s getting a little too curious
I would carry nothing special, a 9mm handgun would work well if you are hiking - light, out of the way, easy to access, a few extra rounds to warn off the cat before killing it if it’s getting a little too curious
Easily provable if you call the States Game Wardens immediately and dont disturb the scene. People get in trouble when they try and hide/cover it up, and dont contact the GW's
It's illegal to kill people in CA, too. But sometimes it's a necessity if they are attacking you.
Double Naught Spy
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The legality of killing an endangered animal attacking me isn't even a remotely relevant consideration for me at the time of the event.
.45Coltguy
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How many here have actually seen a mountain lion? I have while hunting in Tulare Co. Ca a few years ago. Maybe 150+ yards away. We stopped and looked at each other for a split second and that cat was GONE! It was a bit uneasy around camp that evening, but, never heard/saw that cat again. A pretty chilling feeling to be sure. Don't like 'em at all.
.308 Norma
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I suspect any of the guns you listed would be adequate for self-defense against mountain lions. I'm prone to using every excuse I can dream up for not going on my daily exercise walks, but I too "try" to walk for about 30 minutes every day. However, we already live "outside of town," I walk alongside a country road, usually by myself, and there's plenty of mountain lions (more than "plenty" if you were to ask our rancher friends) around here.
Nevertheless, I just carry my regular EDC (a 9mm) on my exercise hikes, a canister of pepper spray and a great big hiking staff. However, as I've said several times before on THR, those things (my gun, my pepper spray and my hiking staff) are more for protection against the large farm and ranch dogs that will run a hundred yards down driveways to yell at me for trespassing on "their" sections of a public road.
BTW, in the 42 years we've lived in this house and I've been walking up and down the road out front, the only thing I've ever had to do to discourage those large farm and ranch dogs from harassing me was yell at them and tap my hiking staff on the asphalt - showing the dogs I'm carrying a "big stick." And except for the mountain lion our rancher friend's dogs ran up a tree near their neighbor's horse corral last winter, the only mountain lions we've ever seen were running away as fast as they could go.
On the other hand, while I don't know if it's true or not, I read a long time ago that mountain lion attacks are more common in California because a lot of California mountain lions have lost their fear of humans. I still think the 9mm I carry on my exercise hikes would be adequate - even for California mountain lions.
.45Coltguy
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.308 Norma, while I fish and camp in the Eastern Sierra's of Ca, I always carry one of my .45 Colt revolvers. That one sighting is something I'm not going to forget.
In camp, usually have my 30-30 around also. Don't care for those big cats. At all.
In camp, usually have my 30-30 around also. Don't care for those big cats. At all.
OP
OP
Old Hobo
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A great uncle of mine liked to catch the trains and hobo around. Two railroad bulls (private police; sometimes the Pinkertons), caught him, beat him, then through him under the train, cutting his head off. My father's brothers watched the railroad bulls murder another man. At least in Southern Appalachia, hobos were banned back in the 1930s.
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Reading the details of this attack deeply saddens me. I would that both had been armed. Self-defense is a natural law, not something permitted by government. Such was the belief of our Founding Fathers. "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."
.38 Special
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Twice now, both times at dusk. They badly scared me on both occasions, though there was nothing confrontational either time. Frankly, being armed was the only thing that kept me from wetting myself.
I've been known to jump ten feet straight up when surprised by a rattlesnake, though, so might not be the manliest man to ever wander the desert...
Ignition Override
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This young guy in the video was lucky that he :
1) noticed the cat way up ahead, barely clear of the trees (Not looking down at a cell phone or talking on it).
2) could see that the cat ---Quickly Disappeared!--- was trying to partly flank him in the trees near the road. Our small cats often do this to get around the kitchen.
3) the guy didn't panic, and continued walking backwards as far as necessary - Never giving in to panic.
4) must have been mentally prepared to begin his walk by being on the lookout. If he had fired two shots, maybe the beast would have run away?
It would be tempting to run in a zigzag but then you get jumped.
Maybe something in this video can help a person(s) You Know (maybe your wife with her friend
) react correctly to what is probably very Unexpected.
I never would have thought about this unless briefed by knowledgeable outdoors people. Many panthers (long tails, not bobcats) have been seen well west of Nashville TN over the years, normally just before sunrise.
www.youtube.com
1) noticed the cat way up ahead, barely clear of the trees (Not looking down at a cell phone or talking on it).
2) could see that the cat ---Quickly Disappeared!--- was trying to partly flank him in the trees near the road. Our small cats often do this to get around the kitchen.
3) the guy didn't panic, and continued walking backwards as far as necessary - Never giving in to panic.
4) must have been mentally prepared to begin his walk by being on the lookout. If he had fired two shots, maybe the beast would have run away?
It would be tempting to run in a zigzag but then you get jumped.
Maybe something in this video can help a person(s) You Know (maybe your wife with her friend) react correctly to what is probably very Unexpected.I never would have thought about this unless briefed by knowledgeable outdoors people. Many panthers (long tails, not bobcats) have been seen well west of Nashville TN over the years, normally just before sunrise.
Viral video shows cougar stalking Utah hiker in terrifying 6-minute encounter - FULL VIDEO | ABC7
A man's terrifying encounter with a cougar on a hiking trail in Utah has gone viral after he managed to record a six-minute video of the incident.Full story:...
www.youtube.com
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buck460XVR
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"Easily provable" is a relative term. If you or your domestic animals have bites/claw marks it's easy, if not and the animal was shot from the side, you will probably find yourself facing heavy scrutiny. We have the occasional cougar here in Wisconsin. Has one attack the cattle of my DIL's neighbor and was scared off by a Turkey Hunter. When her dad asked the warden what constituted "self defense", he was told there had to be something other than just paw prints on the ground. We have several "self defense" bear shootings here almost ever year. About half of them are proved to be false.
Lions have their fan club. Mostly these are people who have never been stalked or watched one repeatedly follow cow elk to feast on newborn elk calf as it emerges. They are usually smart enough to avoid humans, but if starved all bets are off. I have no interest in killing one of the ratty things, unless absolutely necessary.
It is difficult to imagine time afield without so much as a knife along.
It is difficult to imagine time afield without so much as a knife along.
unspellable
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Haven't seen a mountain lion face to face in the wild. (Zoo doesn't count.) But I did have a face to face encounter with a jaguar in the Peten
I've never seen a mountain lion face to face. (Zoo doesn't count.) But I've been face to face with a wild jaguar in the Petèn. The cat didn't threaten us, just seemed curious.
jmorris
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I think its more like a child messing up their room and then moving on to another thats not already a wreck and carry on.
If they really recognized the cause and effect relationship, they wouldn't retain the same voting criteria, that caused the damage in the first place.
It seems to depend a lot upon where they are moving to, but it hasn't been a problem in FL for the past 4 years or so. DeSantis and the FL Legislature are so hated by the types who have repeatedly voted to destroy many a other states that those types are in the minority of people who move here. That group has hotlines, support groups, aid groups counsellors, etc., working to help persuade outsiders of their persuasion not to move here, and to help the ones who already live her relocate to a state more accommodating to their causes.
Desantis won his first election for governor in 2018 by 0.4%. He won in 2022 by 15% over a fairly accomplished, well-backed politician who had been governor before. And it was due to good governance, because he is not necessarily a great speaker, and not a slick-talking BS politician campaigner (as people saw in the recent primary campaign). He simply gets good things done. Doesn't pause more than a few minutes to brag about what he just did, just moves on to the next good thing. But if you get your news from the national mainstream, you'll hear spin and lies, and you'd think he was Hitler crossed with the great satan himself. That's only because they are getting their butts kicked up between their shoulder blades here. Every day.
I've only had one encounter with a mountain lion.
It was at argyle lake in Colchester il around 2006.
My girlfriend and I went there to hike. I was very young and didn't carry anything with me that day. As was my ritual, when starting a trailhead I found a decent walking stick and "tested" it by hitting it against a tree to make sure it was sturdy enough.
This made a loud cracking type sound not unlike a firearm.
Well, this time after affirming a solid walking staff, a huge shape about 30 yards up the trail leaped down from the thick foliage of a tree, landed on the trail, and beat feet out of there.
It was unmistakably a very large lion. We exchanged looks and took off in the opposite direction which was thankfully towards the car.
I think Usain Bolt had nothing on me that day!
It was at argyle lake in Colchester il around 2006.
My girlfriend and I went there to hike. I was very young and didn't carry anything with me that day. As was my ritual, when starting a trailhead I found a decent walking stick and "tested" it by hitting it against a tree to make sure it was sturdy enough.
This made a loud cracking type sound not unlike a firearm.
Well, this time after affirming a solid walking staff, a huge shape about 30 yards up the trail leaped down from the thick foliage of a tree, landed on the trail, and beat feet out of there.
It was unmistakably a very large lion. We exchanged looks and took off in the opposite direction which was thankfully towards the car.
I think Usain Bolt had nothing on me that day!
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