I live in Southern CA, in the foothills below mountains that are about 5,500 feet high. My elevation is about 1,400 feet. We have been having a lot of coyotes, and a few mountain lions in our area. I have not personally seen any mountain lions, but the closest sighting was during daylight and was only about 1/4 mile away at a slightly lower elevation (1,300 feet). The mountain lion that was seen got within a dozen feet of a small child (it was in a tree in the kid’s backyard), and was really looking the kid over before being scared off by the child’s father. Coyotes are much more common, and I have seen a half dozen or so within distances as close as maybe 15 feet while on my own property just in the past 4-6 months. My question is this… what would be a good choice for protection when outdoors should things go wrong? Is ‘Low-Recoil’ 9-pellet 00 Buck enough to stop a mountain lion? I am guessing it would definitely be enough for a coyote. I have several 12 gauge slug loads, including Brenneke Tactical Home Defense and WinLite "Low-Recoil’ Foster slugs (both are 1 oz.), but I am not sure I would want to go that route with a mountain lion unless it is clearly a better option. Buckshot ‘feels’ like a better choice to me if it is ‘enough’ for both critters. Comments, please…
Mountain lions are not that hard to stop–all the common service calibers work fine, as do the assault rifle calibers, as well as 00 buckshot.
I know a fellow on the west slope of Colorado that hunt mountain lions with dogs. He uses a Glock 21 with ball ammo to do the shooting. It’s usually very close after a climb up a rock face and holding the dogs back etc. He needs a one hand weapon to do the type of hunting he does.
Like Doc says, you should be fine. I might go with standard velocity buckshot vs. reduced recoil, just know how your gun patterns.
I know a guy who’s taken several treed mountain lions with a 6" .357 magnum with 158 gr. JHP’s.
Hope it doesn’t come down to having to dispatch one, but if it does, you should be OK gear wise.
I’ve heard of mountain lion hunters in West Texas who used Ruger Single Six .22 Magnums on the cats with decent results. They are not very tenacious of life, so a properly loaded service pistol or shotgun should be more than enough.
Just make sure you shoot to kill and finish the job, you do not want any wild animal roaming wounded.
Advice in the thread is GTG. I know of several yotes and lions taken with medium weight .223 rounds, and .40SW duty rounds. Coyotes go down easier than mountain lions.
Get a good hit, follow through for a second one if needed.
Remember that both will leave you alone unless they don’t have their normal food source, are cornered/wounded, or are juveniles. They will see you far more often than you will ever see them.
I figured I was OK with the coyotes with my shotgun and Ranger RA1200 (Low-Recoil 12 gauge 9-pellet 00 Buck), or my Glock 19 and Ranger RA9T (9mm 147 grain JHP). As mentioned above by one of the replies, I also figured a mountain lion would be harder to stop than a coyote, just didn’t have an idea ‘how’ hard to stop. The coyotes here are about the size of a medium-sized German Shepherd (a long-legged one, that is). Would anyone here hazard a guess as to what sort of critter is of similar size to a mountain lion? A large dog? Something else? I will research on that myself in the meantime.
Agree 100%, of course!!!
Coyote are no match for even 55 gr .223 fmj. As previously stated, any service caliber should do. 00 buck would certainly be devastating. Hopefully you don’t get close enough to one to have to administer a round of 00 to a wild cat. Anyhow, for defense from one, the scatter gun would be my first pick. For hunting, I always have fancied the challenge a wheelgun hunt brings and, when successful, the stories it generates.
I would agree when chased down and treed.
Don’t underestimate a big cat when they go from flight to fight…
Found some info on mountain lions here in CA… it appears they are only 100-150 lbs when full grown, and if in very good health. However, they seem to often be very hungry, perhaps almost starving when they get up the ‘nerve’ to hunt a human for food. When this is the case, they can be 60-80 lbs, and in poor health. They apparently hunt alone, and like lone ‘targets’, too. Much of the time the victim is a 5-9 year old kid, not an adult. They apparently are wary if you are alert as to what is going on around you, and more likely to attack you if you ‘zone out’, like a hiker wearing an IPOD. According to info I read, it seems that if you are seeing them, there are many you are NOT seeing, too. They are masters of hiding well, apparently.
for our neck o’ of the intermountain west.
You may want to look at an older design, way older, like 1873 older…
I am a big fan of the Uberti 1873 Winchester saddle ring carbines in .357 magnum caliber… They have been imported by Cimmiron, Navy Arms, Cabellas, EMF, Taylors, and several others, but they are all made in Italy by Uberti, which is owned by Beretta / Benelli and they have very high quality control…
Thanks to the cowboy shooters, parts are everywhere, and very inexpensive…
The toggle link 1873 lever action carbines are very light, fast, and accurate with almost no felt recoil. They will eat any 38 special / .357 magnum ammo that you can feed them, from mild to wild, with ZERO malfunctions… A full house .357 semi jacketed hollow point coming out of a 20 inch carbine barrel is in a whole different class than most pistols , or a mild 38 special, round nose lead round, can ping steel out to say 100 yards with no problems…
It may seem a little different, but I think you will be very happy with a 73 if you go that route…
Just my .02
Buck
You gotta tell me where that is from! That is one big cat!
Do you have the details of when and where it was killed?
Thanks
Buckaroo
Why Screw around… USE A SLUG! I mountain bike ride and we have them in that area… Whiting Ranch!
Buckaroo,
Idaho west central mountains; not that big. A fairly normal cougar for these parts.
while ive followed tracks for nearly 2 miles, im yet to see a mountain lion. i was carrying a Marlin guide gun, so i felt i wasnt underpowered or i wouldnt have done it. the coyotes around here are at their biggest 40 lbs, and ive easily punched out their lights with several different .22 centerfires. this winter i got a new scout rifle so ive been using 150 gr sp ammo and unless it tends to run right through them pretty clean, so head shots are a must. i hunt them with dogs sometimes, so for handgun use my G19 loaded with pretty much any hollow point round has worked. i cant answer for the lions, but the buckshot/slug question is all depending on whats behind the coyotes. ive seen slugs go through them like butter, but theyre very effective.
I would say that a large cat or Yote attack will be sudden and without warning so what ever firearm used must be immediately accessible, fast firing and use a bullet which will penetrate. I have been suddenly attacked by animals in the 150lb range and found my Glock-17 managed to handle the situation. Now I’M not saying this is the best tool for the job but a long gun strapped to a pack or slung on the back is slow in deploying and the last I heard is that those big kitties are quick as greased lighting. I would not feel under gunned with a 100% reliable pistol or revolver 9mm and up which is ready to go on the belt.
My scenario is not hiking, it is in a housing tract. The sightings I am aware of found the mountain lions in trees, and in one case… in a tree house. We have had far more sightings than attacks. I would prefer buckshot over a slug mainly out of concerns for collateral damage. I would not be carrying a firearm, I would just have one ‘handy’. The coyotes are usually seen running down the middle of the street, and only cut into a yard when they see a cat or something. The mountain lion sightings have been during the day. The coyote sighting are all at night (middle of the night, actually)… like 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM. I have personally seen quite a few coyotes on our street, most were in the Fall and early Winter, though back a few months ago.