Cougar across the street? From 9 to .45

P97, was your dog killed in Oklahoma? That place is too flat to have mountain lions :D Well, a few rolling hills here and there, so maybe Charlie Brown's "gully cats".

I bet he wouldn't know a cougar from a Husky.
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Easy to tell. The Husky will be purple and the Cougar will be a nice crimson.

Bart Noir
Who was there when Wash State U. had a real cougar. "Butch" is now just a guy in a suit, prancing at the football games.
 
I live up here in the mountains of Colorado and we basically live in an elk herd LOL. There are mountain lions, bears, wolves, coyotes, rabid animals, etc. right in our back yard. I've been stalked by HUGE mountain lions and have seen them in the back yard. I suggest having two guns. You'll probably want to carry a 45 ACP on you at all times (I do) and then have a rifle with a scope handy, probably a 3x fixed scope. The rifle is for situations where the cat is on top of someone else or has someones pet in their mouth. Then you want to place a very precise accurate shot.

In any cat encounter your ears are your best friend, you'll hear the cat long before you'll see them. And they will follow you from behind. I was stalked for probably an hour by a cat and never saw him till I jumped in my pickup and drive back down the road where I came from, then he jumped out and walked right in front of me.

I knew a guy who was jumped by a big cat, basically they will come running full speed and go for your neck. You'll need a small handgun not a rifle if a big cat is on you. You'll never get enough room with a rifle if you are attacked.

Plus you should NEVER shoot a cat if he is just strolling through your neighborhood! That is a crime big time. I can't think of any situation where a shotgun with 00 shot would be useful unless you are lucky enough to shoot the cat when he is headed right for you. You can only shoot him if he is endangering you or your pets or your neighbors, and always check your backstop, better not to shoot than to over penetrate and shoot something not intended.
 
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WOW! I am in the same boat. How weird.

Well, welcome to Washington. The weather is odd, but cougars are around here more than most people realize. I don't understand why they venture farther into town during this unusual cold snap, but this is the second case I know of this week. I have yet to have to shoot one, but from what I have read from PH accounts, they are not very hard to kill, if you can get good shot placement. However, large cats are very stealthy, and lightening fast so a pistol is not your best bet. You need a 12 Ga. with buckshot or next best, a light, handy, semi-auto carbine larger than .22, like a CAR, instead of your Kahr.

If a pistol is all you have, a 1911 with quality ammo of 230 JHP +P variety is about as good a pistol choice as you can get as long as you can hit a moving target with it. This would probably be a good case in which to to employ a hi-cap 10MM.

Funon1
 
Funon1 - I think they are showing up west of the foot hills which are their normal hunting areas at the higher elevations and upper mountains because of the Artic snap that has been driving us nuts for about the last 3 weeks. When the snow and cold gets bad in the high mountains they go lower looking for prey. I have not heard of any missing pets around so maybe the cat was just passing through...Looking at the national weather forcast its going back to rain and 40+ degrees by Friday night so maybe our feline guest will migrate back to the mountains and be an interesting tactical discussion point soon.

I opted for a Delta Colt 10mm for now but the hairs on the back of my neck refuse to settle down yet. You are right they are ambush hunters and a carbine If one could carry it around the neigborhood would be OK. I think the 00 buck shot is a better option though for sitting near the front door...
 
We are also moving into their territory more and more.

22LR?? That's for if you are hunting them and don't mind taking chances.... We're talking about them possibly hunting us:eek:

I like the .357 and it would be the minimum in a revolver... 10MM would work in an auto.

.25-06 would be great in a rifle but the .223 or .22-250 would work.

In a split second, a 12 gauge would be hard to beat up close.

Bullet proof vest?? That's what cougars sharpen their teeth on.

Do the math... 40 mph top speed... 0-40 in how many seconds? A bite force that meets or exceeds that of a black bear... How much time do we have to react?
 
I have to say it:

"I thought I saw a puddy cat...

I did! I did saw a puddy cat!"

I think you got a lot more important things to worry about than some big cat eating your lab or you.

Heck, if I had a choice on how I went... being eaten by a mountain lion might actually be one of them. Better than being run over by an 18 wheeler or just having a heart attack while watching reruns and eating cheetos.
 
I think you got a lot more important things to worry about than some big cat eating your lab or you.
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Depending upon where one lives, it's quite possible that the odds of being set upon by a mountain lion are higher than having to defend yourself against two-legged varmints.

Don't discount a threat just because it isn't a threat to you personally.
 
1. A 200 lb mountain lion is at the upper end of its weight range! The average male weight is more like 150 lbs and 100 lbs for females. Not every cat walking the neighborhood is 200 lbs.

2. These are very thin skinned animals. Most practiced hunters use rifles chambered in .223, .22-250, 243 etc. Some use .22WMR while some just use .22LR. Hunters usually use dogs to tree the cats and shoot for the head, unless they want to mount the skin. They are not hard to kill and usually retreat when wounded.

3. That said, we're not talking about purposely hunting these animals but defending against the chance sighting at or near our homes – with the very small possibility of defending against a deliberate attack. For this, I would carry a centerfire handgun, in a good caliber (9mm and up for an auto, .38Special +P and up for a revolver), and have a rifle or shotgun ready in the home.

4. I wouldn't worry about a vest. Most successful mountain lion attacks are from behind and result in neck and head punctures since the animals exhibit similar tactics to other large cats – to kill by suffocation.

I've been stalked by mountain lions several times while hunting deer in the Owyhee mountains of Idaho. One of my favorite hunting areas (War Eagle Mountain near Silver City) had so many lions on it that Idaho Fish and Game placed traps there with the goal to remove five animals from the population!

I wouldn't shoot a cat that was nosing a woodlot across the street but wouldn't hesitate a bit if it were actaully on my yard or especially, on my porch, in my garage, etc.
 
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For exercise, I used to walk down a short, fairly isolated road at work. Walked down to the end one day, turned and headed back. A hundred yards back up the hill, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something thrashing about. It was a fox and it's neck was freshly gnawed on. Security got the humane society out there and they told me it was most likely a mountain lion that chewed on the fox.

I must have walked right by the cat. Good thing the fox was handy or maybe ol' grymster would have been on the menu.
 
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It seems to me this gets gone over again and again and again and .... It also seems to me that the 'Service handgun catagory' is pretty equivilent across the board. Pick your personal favorite and then practice.

Cats are pretty quick. You'll be lucky to get one shot off in such a scenario as an attack.
 
Vest? Good idea

Mine have plates that would stop claws from evicerating you. Why not wear one? Capstick, as I recall, used on old Marine Corps leather neck guard and a football helmet when hunting wounded leopard. The Cougars are about the same size and speed etc. If I knew I had one around that had already been aggressive, I would wear my motorcycle gear, including full leather, boots, spine guard and take the fight to the cat, if I could find it. Of course, that is much easier said than done.

We had one that frequented our property (in rural WA). We found lots of spoor, a kill, and heard it calling. Once I was walking a trail alone at dusk, and I could swear there was something shadowing me. I had the same hair on the back of your neck experience. I kept my wits, drew my gun and slowly and methodically moved into the adjacent clearing, turning 360 degrees several times to try to pinpoint its location. I never could. But it was shot by a hunter soon thereafter in almost the same place. Creepy. It never did make an aggressive move though people lost lots of cats and a couple dogs though I don't know for sure if the big putty tat or the coyotes got them.

Kinda exciting to know that we can still walk amongst large carnivores in this part of the country.

I think South Carolina might not have the kind of wild feline populations that we see out West. It might not be a problem there, but it can be from the Rockies through the Cascades out here. I think more than the threat itself, there is something very mystifying about being in the woods with another apex predator that just is not there in the city.I assume that is why we have a lot of bear and cougar discussions.

Take care

Funon1
 
P97, was your dog killed in Oklahoma? That place is too flat to have mountain lions Well, a few rolling hills here and there, so maybe Charlie Brown's "gully cats".
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I can tell you haven't been in the Southeastern part of the State. Leflore and McCurtain Counties.
 
I've watched one actual BIG cat attack at close range. Honolulu zoo. I had a camera in hand, and, I wanted a picture of the lioness. A seagull landed about
12-15 feet in front of her. STUPID seagull, and gene pool cleansing material.
I KNEW what was going to happen. Lioness was in attack crouch, ready to go.
I tried to bring the camera up, and take the picture, because I KNEW she was going to attack. It happened SOOOO fast the camera never even moved.
She jumped, chomped, and, FEATHERS.... My now ex-wife went over to the bushes and threwup.
LOVED that lioness...;):D
S
PS Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year
 
Sounds like a good excuse for a 7.5" Blackhawk in 45LC.... Load it up with 250gr bullets over a stiff dose of Win231 (should get you near 1000fps). That should turn a cougar inside out.
 
Are you hunting cougars or shooting them in self defence? If you shoot one that is just strolling through your yard if the Division of Wildlife finds out you shot one like that most likely you will lose your hunting license for life, unless the cat has part of your dog in his mouth!

In all likelyhood, any cat that you are going to shoot will be on top of you and a rifle or shotgun will be no good unless you try to use it as a club. You need something you can pull out of your belt holster and shoot at point blank range. You may even have to shoot under your armpit because the cat will most likely be on top of you from the rear. They almost never will charge you from the front, usually only from the rear.

The bullet gel comparison is interesting, however most of the time the biggest complaint about calibers is in the military where they can only use non expanding ball ammo.
 
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cougars are not known for being hard to bag...

Cougars are not known for being hard to kill. It is legal to hunt them with 22 centerfire rifles in WA State. (.22 hornet, .222, .223rem, 22-250 220 swift ect). Your .45 with a nice hollow point will do just fine. You may have to shoot twice. But that would be the case with anything short of a shotgun. If I saw him and no one was around I think I would shoot and them make up a story...
 
The 9mm will only do maximum damage fired from a 4" barrel minimum. I would use the .45 auto. I myself would use my .357 Magnum.
 
Cougars are not known for being hard to kill.
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That depends on if you are hunting them or they are hunting you. If they hunt you it is often hard to tell until the last moment.

The original post was regarding a casual encounter.

Since the majority of attacks come from behind, anyone got stats on how easy we are for a cougar to kill humans when undetected?
 
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