Cougar Thread!

[OlongJohnson]

My wife just asked if I was sure the ammo could handle a mountain lion.

FWIW, they are soft-bodied creatures in the same weight class as humans. However, you may end up with stem-to-stern penetration opportunities. Something that could penetrate full length and break stuff going out would be optimum. For a semi rifle, I'd want to step it up to 6.8 or 7.62x39 if the option to choose ahead of time was available. A 1301 Tactical or Benelli full of #1FC or well-patterned 00 would be next in line. Lots of chances with 9mm would be last, but I'd put it ahead of fewer chances. The choice between them depending on what's practical/acceptable to have with you where you are, doing what you're doing, as always.

I think the hard thing would be putting rounds in the right place fast enough, as cats' speed, quickness and violence of attack makes the fastest humans seem cartoonishly slow. Number of chances and rate of follow-up shots could matter a lot.

Second what Rob said about ambush predators. They are looking for a meal, not a fight. The only mountain lion fatality I have any familiarity with was a guy who separated from his group to relieve himself. Cat attacked while he was "indisposed," crouching down and distracted... Not standing his ground in a ready position.

[Gadfly]

My tom cat weighs in at about 13 lbs. And if he decides he does not want to get picked up, he is like a Tasmanian devil.

I can't imagine what a 130lb version of him would be like, other than deadly. I see how they stalk, and how silent they can be. The way they can jump 3 times their body length vertically. The way they can twist around and hit you with teeth and claws from 5 different directions at the same time. Any size cat is no joke if it decided you are on the menu.

Same with dogs. I never respected their power until a 110lb German Shepard latched onto my forearm and gave me shake. A determined animal is a dangerous thing.

[Clusterfrack]

I've been in that area out near Great Basin NP, and it can be some nice country. The Deep Creek mountains are a hidden gem out there. I have to ask, what brought you the area?

Road trip from Boulder to Bryce and back to Portland. We like remote hikes and places without too many people.

[RevolverRob]

Second what Rob said about ambush predators. They are looking for a meal, not a fight. The only mountain lion fatality I have any familiarity with was a guy who separated from his group to relieve himself. Cat attacked while he was "indisposed," crouching down and distracted... Not standing his ground in a ready position.

Man, if you gotta drop trou' in the desert, I suggest you do it with your back against a very high wall.

The two highest pucker factors I've ever had in my life were taking shits in the desert. That time I nearly fell off a cliff taking a shit was one of them. The other was the time I slipped into a slot canyon for some privacy, found a spot, got to work and looked up and realized there were fresh lion tracks going into the canyon, but none coming back out. That one caused me to lock up briefly and move ever so slowly to get the J-Frame I had stashed in my backpack out.

FWIW, I learned that trip why people like lanyard loops on their revolvers. It's a whole lot easier to loop the gun around your neck and still have it handy, while you remove yourself from a compromising position, than to try to wipe or hitch up holding a gun in your hand.

[ranger]

I was a TOW Platoon Leader out of FT Ord with 7th ID (L) - we went to FT Hunter Liggett in 1985 for one of our many, many training events - 10 old school jeeps (Pre HMMWV) - 2 command jeeps, 4 TOW jeeps, 4 jeeps for extra TOW missiles. 2 per vehicle so about 20 of us 11H's. Not a live round among us - reminds me of how much of my adult life I drug around some form of M16/M4, 1911, or M9 with no ammo. Night training was all the rage with the Lightfighters so we were tactically deployed to stop a simulated enemy armor attack (Warsaw Pact says). Back then, we had maybe 3 sets of night vision devices among us all - I saw through the NODs 5 mountain lights wandering around the perimeter - looked like one adult (mom?) and 4 young ones. They wandered around us for several hours - often getting fairly close. Only night in my career I never had to walk the perimeter keeping soldiers awake.

[JohnO]

Now the bears scared the crap out of me. I think this is about a 400 lb black bear and I would not want to encounter this thing close.

I was out leading a Boy Scout hike early in the morning when we encountered a hiker who had just spotted a black bear. I told the Scouts not to worry. They didn't have to run faster than the bear, just faster than someone else. That got a good laugh from everyone in the Troop except one who said, "I guess I'm the one getting eaten."

[SeriousStudent]

I live on the very edge of my city. Past our subdivisions, there is quite literally nothing but desert and mountains on out to Lake Pleasant and Wickenburg. Last winter, after a heavy rainstorm that the area was getting pretty regularly, my next door neighbor came over to let my wife know that the night before during the storm, a mountain lion took refuge from the rain on her front porch, which is roughly about 15 yards from my front porch. She was somewhat discombobulated and nervous and making sure we were warned. My wife took it in stride because, while she did not bother to tell the neighbor this, she knows exactly where and how close the firearms are in relation to our porch. The neighbors are not gun people so they are a bit more nervous.

My wife just asked if I was sure the ammo could handle a mountain lion.

Another great opportunity for some great MUC training....

And by MUC, I mean Multiple projectile Unloading on Cat.

[WDR]

Road trip from Boulder to Bryce and back to Portland. We like remote hikes and places without too many people.

Great Basin NP is a hidden gem for sure. If you like remote, that was a good choice!

[luckyman]

My tom cat weighs in at about 13 lbs. And if he decides he does not want to get picked up, he is like a Tasmanian devil.

I can't imagine what a 130lb version of him would be like, other than deadly. I see how they stalk, and how silent they can be. The way they can jump 3 times their body length vertically. The way they can twist around and hit you with teeth and claws from 5 different directions at the same time. Any size cat is no joke if it decided you are on the menu.

Same with dogs. I never respected their power until a 110lb German Shepard latched onto my forearm and gave me shake. A determined animal is a dangerous thing.

One of the most awesome things I’ve ever personally witnessed was a lion stalking a warthog, then the chase. I’ve got to believe a cougar would be more agile than a lion. Scary to think about.

[OlongJohnson]

My tom cat weighs in at about 13 lbs. And if he decides he does not want to get picked up, he is like a Tasmanian devil.

I figure it's a functional requirement for them to be domestic that they not be very big.