will a 9mm stop a mountain lion?
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KaceCoyote
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9mm would ruin the cat's day, but I dont know if It'd stop him from ruining yours. Big cats are pretty shy, and pretty stealthy. By the time you see it, you should be prepared for contact work with something capable of causing massive soft tissue damage. 10mm would be an excellent choice in an autoloader but think you'll wanna go bigger. .44mag or larger.
329PD is a nice option.
329PD is a nice option.
loop
Member
Soda,
If you are in the Owyhees you ought to know how to spell it. I suggest you spend more time in class at Marsing High School and less time fantasizing about your hunting trip up Reynolds Creek.
Owyhee is the original spelling of Hawaii by Capt. Cook. The county got its name from a group of Hawaiians going into the mountains seeking their fortune and no trace was ever found of them.
Cook's spelling was used to pay tribute to Cook and the lost explorers.
Reynolds is a great place to get a two-pointer, but during deer season it is unlikely you'll be out of earshot of another ATV. You'll hear them buzzing around all day long. That may be why F&G will have a checkpoint set up along the road out.
You won't get a trophy and you won't get attacked by a lion.
Aside from that, please explain how it is that you would carry a rifle with the chamber empty, but a sidearm cocked and locked. And how you can drop your rifle, draw, aim and fire a pistol faster than racking a round into the chamber of the rifle that is already in your hands.
Lemme see, I'm gonna toss the rifle I'm carrying, scope and all, into the rocks so I can quick draw my sidearm!
I carry my rifle with the chamber empty because:
A: I don't trust the safety.
B: I want to scare any deer away with the noise of racking my rifle.
C: I'm driving around on an ATV and want to carry my rifle, but things shake, rattle and roll and the safety might slip off as I off road.
D: I'm dumb as a rock and want to show off my fast draw.
There won't be a single cat willing to show its face in Reynolds during the deer hunt. There will be far too many ATVs and far too many people rapid firing to try and chase down a forker for cats to think of you as lunch.
If you want a deer, go to the canyons on either side of Reynolds. Go a good way uphill on the side away from Reynolds. Set up a blind two weeks ahead of time. Go to it two days before the season opens and make a cold camp. Be in the blind two hours before dawn on opening day.
If you get et by a lion, you deserve it.
If you come home empty handed you deserve that too.
If you come home with a fork-horn, well, you did as well as a lot of other lazy hunters.
If you are in the Owyhees you ought to know how to spell it. I suggest you spend more time in class at Marsing High School and less time fantasizing about your hunting trip up Reynolds Creek.
Owyhee is the original spelling of Hawaii by Capt. Cook. The county got its name from a group of Hawaiians going into the mountains seeking their fortune and no trace was ever found of them.
Cook's spelling was used to pay tribute to Cook and the lost explorers.
Reynolds is a great place to get a two-pointer, but during deer season it is unlikely you'll be out of earshot of another ATV. You'll hear them buzzing around all day long. That may be why F&G will have a checkpoint set up along the road out.
You won't get a trophy and you won't get attacked by a lion.
Aside from that, please explain how it is that you would carry a rifle with the chamber empty, but a sidearm cocked and locked. And how you can drop your rifle, draw, aim and fire a pistol faster than racking a round into the chamber of the rifle that is already in your hands.
Lemme see, I'm gonna toss the rifle I'm carrying, scope and all, into the rocks so I can quick draw my sidearm!
I carry my rifle with the chamber empty because:
A: I don't trust the safety.
B: I want to scare any deer away with the noise of racking my rifle.
C: I'm driving around on an ATV and want to carry my rifle, but things shake, rattle and roll and the safety might slip off as I off road.
D: I'm dumb as a rock and want to show off my fast draw.
There won't be a single cat willing to show its face in Reynolds during the deer hunt. There will be far too many ATVs and far too many people rapid firing to try and chase down a forker for cats to think of you as lunch.
If you want a deer, go to the canyons on either side of Reynolds. Go a good way uphill on the side away from Reynolds. Set up a blind two weeks ahead of time. Go to it two days before the season opens and make a cold camp. Be in the blind two hours before dawn on opening day.
If you get et by a lion, you deserve it.
If you come home empty handed you deserve that too.
If you come home with a fork-horn, well, you did as well as a lot of other lazy hunters.
ezypikns
Member
Many of the Old Time Lion Hunters Used a .22
Running and treeing lions with dogs was the most reliable way to find and shoot them.
Of course, they had the cat up a tree, it was a sitting shot, the cat was focused on the dogs, and they could take their time with the shot...or two, or three as needed.
Having said that, I'd still want at least a 9mm pistol with me for casual hiking (unless it was deer season and the main armament would be something heavier).
Running and treeing lions with dogs was the most reliable way to find and shoot them.
Of course, they had the cat up a tree, it was a sitting shot, the cat was focused on the dogs, and they could take their time with the shot...or two, or three as needed.
Having said that, I'd still want at least a 9mm pistol with me for casual hiking (unless it was deer season and the main armament would be something heavier).
Demitrios
Member
Masked Man pretty much summed it up. Now autoloaders are great but the only I would personally trust against a wild animal would be 10mm, .45 Super and .460 Rowland. Your best bet however is go revolver, particularly .357, .44 Magnum or .454 Casull or better, those are the most tried and true rounds for defensive purposes in the woods. Plus revolvers are more reliable than autoaders (this will probably raise a few eyebrows) but when it comes to mechanisms of any kind less means more reliable. . . . usually.
eatont9999
Member
Sure a 9mm will kill a mountain lion. It is just a matter of how many times you can shoot it before it eats your face.
jaydubya
Member
eatont9999 said, "Sure a 9mm will kill a mountain lion. It is just a matter of how many times you can shoot it before it eats your face."
First there will be a little chewing on the back of your neck, after which caliber and placement becomes academic.
Cordially, Jack
First there will be a little chewing on the back of your neck, after which caliber and placement becomes academic.
Cordially, Jack
makarovnik
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Yes it will. I bet pepper spray and a few whacks on the nose might stop one also.
ScareyH22A
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It penetrates just as well as a .40 or .45 so it has potential. You just need to hit it where it counts.
Rammer
Member
Its been a year or so ago... But in "Combat Handguns" Chuck Taylor is talking about preferred load for his Glock 17. He lists killing different animals with the different loads. One of the animals was a mountain lion. If I remember correctly, it was one of the Hornady loads with the XTP bullet.
Rammer
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BushyGuy
Member
use 147grain Hydra shoks or the +p+ 124 gr coming out of a 4 inch or longe rbarrel should do the job , as long as you have a full clip of 17 rounds or more .
I used to carry a .22 mag pistol when running my hounds for lions. After the cat was treed, it would take one shot (most times) to the chest to let the cat bleed out before it dropped on the ground dead. This was the way to keep the cat from killing all the dogs. A more powerful caliber would knock the cat out of the tree; and, it could/would wreck havoc on a pack of hounds before it died.
I'd have no problem now, carrying a high capacity 9mm as protection when I'm hiking. Except, I'm not sure how it'd work on wolves. I'd sure like to try it though.
BTW, I used to scout/hunt (Idaho side) from Rogerson to Rolland Nv. to Grasmere to the other side of the Duck Valley Indian reservation and points west. I love this state.
I'd have no problem now, carrying a high capacity 9mm as protection when I'm hiking. Except, I'm not sure how it'd work on wolves. I'd sure like to try it though.
BTW, I used to scout/hunt (Idaho side) from Rogerson to Rolland Nv. to Grasmere to the other side of the Duck Valley Indian reservation and points west. I love this state.
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481
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Silliest thread I've read in a while. Laughter it got.
Taking on a large cat that is highly adrenalized and strongly motivated to make a meal of you, with a 9mm (much as I like the caliber) no matter what it is loaded with, will likely result in a "score" of:
Big Kitty: 1
You: 0 (And a "tie" of any sort is not a "win".)
Taking on a large cat that is highly adrenalized and strongly motivated to make a meal of you, with a 9mm (much as I like the caliber) no matter what it is loaded with, will likely result in a "score" of:
Big Kitty: 1
You: 0 (And a "tie" of any sort is not a "win".)
North Bender
Member
Silliest thread indeed. How did this get 4 pages of replies?
Shoot at a raging cat with a 9mm if that's your wish. Good luck, see ya.
Shoot at a raging cat with a 9mm if that's your wish. Good luck, see ya.
And for the people calling it silly- How about Sanf Francisco or San Diego zoo a year or two ago when three police officers had to kill a TIGER with their .40 pistols? Yeah .40 packs a little more juice than 9mm, but a mountain lion-> tiger is a significantly bigger change than 9->.40
BushyGuy
Member
yeah a double tap multiple times till the Mountain Lion stops moving, either 147gr JHP or 124 gr FMJ will get the job done -if it doesnt after you empty the Mag into it and it still aint dead means you have an aim problem 
481
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NG IV: said:
Not exactly a "brilliant idea" either.
While you have to use what you have when you are caught in an unanticipated situation, the first thing that I (especially being a Police Officer) would've done, had I been dispatched to such a dangerous and unpredictable situation (Zoo animals "on the loose") , would be to un-rack and charge my issued shotgun (an 11-87 loaded with 00 Buck) if ordered to respond to the situation.
Tiger, mountain lion, leopard or lion: taking a service pistol (9mm, .40S&W, .357 SIG, .45ACP) willingly into a situation that likely requires shots being fired in order to "resolve the problem" is a foolhardy decision at best. Besides compromising your survival potential, making such an unsuitable decision is also likely to violate one of the Zoo's other rules: "Don't Feed The Animals"
See post #81.
NVCZ
Member
The OP was talking about hunting and what may take down a large cat.
I hunt and I would use my freaking rifle to try to stop it or anything else coming at me.
Never hurts to carry a sidearm but, hey I got a 9mm on my hip and a .30-06 cocked and locked maybe IN MY HANDS, what am I going to use? hmmmm.
Now if I was bow hunting that might be different but I would likely still have a bow IN MY HANDS for Gods sake. With a knocked arrow.
And as stated earlier, most people rarely see a big cat in the wild and the possibility of being attacked is not likely. Can it happen? yes. Chances are? No. I've never seen one in the wild, seen signs of them though.
I've been a Ranger for twenty years and deal with thousands of back country folks who have never seen a lion.
But I do wonder how many lions saw THEM...
NVCZ
I hunt and I would use my freaking rifle to try to stop it or anything else coming at me.
Never hurts to carry a sidearm but, hey I got a 9mm on my hip and a .30-06 cocked and locked maybe IN MY HANDS, what am I going to use? hmmmm.
Now if I was bow hunting that might be different but I would likely still have a bow IN MY HANDS for Gods sake. With a knocked arrow.
And as stated earlier, most people rarely see a big cat in the wild and the possibility of being attacked is not likely. Can it happen? yes. Chances are? No. I've never seen one in the wild, seen signs of them though.
I've been a Ranger for twenty years and deal with thousands of back country folks who have never seen a lion.
But I do wonder how many lions saw THEM...
NVCZ
NWCP
Member
If trekking in mountain lion territory, which is more often than not black bear territory as well, you'd be better served by a wheel gun rather than a semi auto. I would think a .41 magnum would cover your butt well and not be too cumbersome to hike with. As previous posters have stated, the lion will see you long before you see it 9 times out of 10. There's a good reason to hunt with a partner. Cougar is one of them, but not the most important. A 9mm would kill the big cat with proper shot placement. It's just not the ideal pistol for the job. Better than beating it with a cedar branch I suppose.
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