where I hunt, big mountain lion tracks were everywhere. It made me a little uneasy, when the only gun I carry is the 500 fpe single shot bigbore airgun. Now I know the gun can take it down if I can hit it in case of an attack, but what If I missed? I planned to hunt coyotes in that area with the bigbore, or the 500 fpe air shotgun with buckshot, but calling in coyotes might also attract the mountain lions. And those suckers are known to attack from behind, that's the problem. I don't have any handguns, the only thing I always carry with me beside the bigbore is the big 10 inch blade Bowie knife. That is still better than nothing incase I missed with my bigbore. But I know mountain lion attacks are very rare, and they usually run away at the sight or smell of a human, however, there is always the possiblility of a "rogue" one that likes human flesh he.. he. Seriously, should I be worried? another option is to buy a .44 magnum revolver, or take my .300 Weatherby Magnum, or the 12 guage shotgun loaded with buckshot with me when I hunt the coyotes with the bigbore. Do you think I'm a little paranoid? or my concern is valid? I know, they are not hard to kill, they have been kill by .22 long rifle all the time. I would love to shoot one if the sucker tried to attack me he..he...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2009 09:17AM by peter-n.

Take a S & W Model 500 X-Frame revolver with a 4" barrel as a backup. Five .50 cal shots, and it weighs just 56 oz. The only problem is the recoil will probably tear your arm off if you ever have to fire it.

S & W also makes more "sane" choices for exactly the situation you mention like the Alaska Backpacker .44 magnum, which weighs less than three pounds. You don't want to have to carry two rifles, do you?

I know Gary's Hoss and Hawg pistols are up to the task, but they're both single-shot, relatively heavy "horse pistols."

-- Jim

I always find that I can't shoot very well ... with the gun over my shoulder ... and while running as fast as I can!

I'd recommend a nice up-armored ATV and one of my chain gun carbines. But ... that's just me.

Gary

I dont think your paranoid at all.....

Carry pistol, in a holster, outside of any clothing you have on.

Practice drawing it, and at the range, practice point shooting at close distances, shoot it laying down, on your butt, on your side. you may not know your being attacked, until it knock you down. You may have to fight from the ground, in a defensive posture you may not have be used to or have thought of. Keep carrying the knife.

Jim,

I really like the SW .500 Magnum, that gun can take down an elephant he..he.. but you are right, too much recoil for my situation. The .44 magnug sounds good!

Sometimes I feel the urge to just use my Bowie knife ln case of an attack, "mano a mano" no guns, just me the knife and the mountain lion, but then I realized I'm not Tarzan, and I refuse to be its dinner he..he.

Gary,

Yeah, it would be tough to shoot the rifle over the shoulder while running for my life he..he..

Dan,
Thanks for your advice, practice shooting while on the ground sounds like a good idea.

While I know the chance of being attacked by mountain lion is a one in a million chance, but calling in predators would've increased the odds of an attack, I think I'm going to buy a .44 Magnum revolver just to be safe and have a peace of mind while hunting coyotes.

Thanks guys!!!

Since you are going to be calling in coyotes I would definitely recommend carrying a sidearm. Another big plus is to set your mojoe away from you a good distance, 40 to 50 yards and place your electronic calling device somewhere in the middle. We had a guy attacked by a bobcat during turkey season this year in the county. Luckily for the guy the bobcat was just as surprised as the hunter. Minor injuries that required antibiotics, and rabies injection.
Anytime you predetor hunt the roles are reversed, you become the hunted.

Yeah, you're right Joe, set up the decoy and the call a good distance between me is a good idea, that way the predators don't mistaken me for a meal. I've read an article in a predator hunting mag, it says whenever you hunting predators in a bear and cougar country you would have to be extra careful.

We don't have mountain lions over here in NZ, Peter, and I have to say that I'm kinda pleased about that!
Probably the most dangerous prey here would be the wild boar. Haven't encountered one yet and I have to say I'm kinda pleased about that too!
Good luck
Neil

Probably the best thing you can do is to bring along a buddy. Mountain Lion (cougar) aren't particularly tough critters, a .357mag is plenty enough pistol, and some folks that hunt them for a living go with a Glock in 10mm since they're fast moving and agile. What they really are is sneaky, classic ambush hunters with exceptional stalking skills. A buddy who can (literally) watch your back is probably the best insurance.

BTW, although it sounds weird, mountain lion are EXCELLENT eating. I had some served to me at a "big game feed" dinner party and it was by far my favorite dish at the table, it reminded me of a very flavorful pork loin, not gamey at all. The hosts wouldn't tell us what it was until we tried it (due to the "ick factor", I guess), but everyone liked it and I went back for seconds! It must be something about the big cats, as trappers up here in Alaska will usually tell you that Lynx are the tastiest of the critters usually caught in their traps. Of course, compared to beaver and martin it's not much of a contest.

Peter has a valid point concerning the food chain order. It pays to help insure that you stay the top link when hunting near critters like bears and cougar. Up here in S.E. Alaska there are a number of large islands that have both blacktail deer and lots of bears. It's not at all unlikely to draw in a bear when you're working a call for deer, and even big brown bears can move with frightening quiet and speed when they want to. Some of the guides on Kodiak island swear that there are bears who key in on gunshots during deer season. When they hear one nearby, they come to investigate on the off chance they'll end up with some free deer meat. Not the best time to dwell on the finer points of property rights; the bear almost always gets posession unless you have a bear tag too!

A last bit of info. my brain stored as "interesting" once when watching a special on the big cats. Tigers are known for attacking people from the rear. The native "woodcutters" must work in the forests. And they have taken to wearing a hat/mask which has a face painted on the rear flap covering the back of their heads. They believe they are increasing their odds - and that the Tiger will not attack - if they see a face watching them.

Gary

If you are going with the "realistic practice" theory; I'd suggest you arrange to be frightened nearly to death, and surprised by someone whacking you on the back with a club while you are practicing. If you can keep your composure, find your gun, and not shoot yourself in the frenzy ... then I'd say you are ready.

Oldy but goodie . . .

Two guys are being chased through the jungle by a tiger. One of them stops running and starts putting on a pair of running shoes.

"Are you crazy?" says his buddy. "You can't outrun that tiger."

"I don't have to," says the guy putting on the shoes. "I just have to outrun YOU."

-- Jim

Good advices everyone, thanks! The irony thing is I've been also wanting to hunt mountain lion for a long time, just never had a chance. Here in Nevada, there are a lot of them, you can just get a tag over the counter and hunt one. They hunt them by dogs, after the dogs treed them several times and might take up to a couple days into the hunt, the mountain lion finally got worn out by the dogs, and the hunter just came over and shoot it with a handgun or a carbine on top of the tree. Only firearms or archery maybe used in this State, that's too bad as I'd like to hunt them with the bigbore airgun also. The hunt probably costs about 3 to 4 grands, as you would have to hire a guide and his pack of dogs. As far as I know this is the only method to hunt the big cat. They are just like ghosts, it's almost impossible to spot them without the help of the dogs. A full body mount of the mountain lion would make a beautiful and awesome trophy, I think.