What caliber kills a cougar?
I hike in some very remote places. Last time I saw big cat tracks. It might have fooled me and just been bobcat tracks, I don't know but if I ever did have to shoot a mountain lion or cougar would a 9mm stop it?
How about a .38 special? I know my .357 magnum would but it is heavy to carry when I hike. Actually, I hope I never meet a cougar on a hike nor have to shoot one.
Bruce
How about a .38 special? I know my .357 magnum would but it is heavy to carry when I hike. Actually, I hope I never meet a cougar on a hike nor have to shoot one.
Bruce
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SHOT PLACEMENT!!!!! If charged, it most likely doesn't matter what gun you have. If you have the presence(sp.?) of mind to place the shot well in the second or two you have, it just don't matter. BUT, bigger is always more better[8D]
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.0 -
Tap water is right shot placement. A lot of people shoot them with 22's when they hunt them. A couger will rarely attack a person. They will avoid human contact as much as possible, that is why you have to use dogs to hunt them.
Guncontrol-The ability to hit what your aiming at.0 -
I believe a 9mm and 38spl are pretty much the same power level but either should suffice. I would venture to guess that if you have a run-in with a large cat you are going to want plenty of rounds so I'd probably go with the 9mm. I have doubts about anybody getting good shot placement on a swift moving animal so in my mind volume would be the key. 
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we had many cougars in montana mountains...they only came down to the house when they were sick and hungry... I wouldnt wanna came across a sick cougar with a 38.... 0 -
They weigh in at around 100 lbs.
.22 lr will do the trick with correct placement. The sound of the shot is quite likely to send them running unless you have em backed in a corner.
But there is no such thing as overkill! Me'thinks you should get a .500 S&W for this job!!0 -
Having re-thought, yep I guess I would go for volume also. That is not usually the answer in a self defense situation, but then, being attacked by a couger is not "usual" either. I bow to superior logic.[^]
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.0 -
Had a lion attack a 10 year old girl at Bartlett Lake, just north of Phoenix a couple of years ago. Dad and older brother rescued her and called 911. A state trooper and a Game & Fish man responded. When the lion came back later, the G&F man didn't figure his 9mm Glock was up to the job and borrowed the trooper's .40 S&W to do the lion in.
I shot the one and only lion I've ever taken with a Ruger .41 Mag and didn't feel overgunned.
Keep off the Ridgeline0 -
For 9mm volume consider the Keltec. Light weight, small, inexpensive, good reliability record, ten round mag. 0 -
I'd feel like one of the 7 or 8 shot, six inch .357 Magnum revolvers. If you are truly threatened, I wouldn't trade the extra couple of rounds for the sure reliability of a revolver. No stove-pipes or funny safeties to worry about.
Also, the .357 is statistically the best "one-shot-stop" caliber for people, so it should do the job on a big cat.
God Bless America and...
NEVER Forget WACO
NEVER, EVER Forget 9110 -
Nobody is argueing which caliber will do the job Doug, any of the above mentioned will work, however, the real problem of actually placing a well placed shot on a swiftly moving large cat on the attack is what the true problem is. Can you draw and fire and hit that large running cat and take it down with 6 or 7 rounds of any caliber? Or are you going to miss a few, hit a few, and miss some more? 0 -
In all reality, most of us are going to react like the vulnerable bipeds we are. Turn tail to run and get our throats ripped out within seconds. [xx(]
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.0
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