Ugh, not another backwoods predator defense thread!

[pashiner]

Point for discussion: My girlfriend and I had a mountain lion encounter recently in a place that we frequently hike, fish, and forage for mushrooms. Nobody was hurt or attacked, but we were nearly bowled over by the 3 deer the big cat was chasing. She carries a .38spl revolver, and I had left my single stack 9mm pistol at home that day. We each own a .22 pistol, but that's the extent of our handguns.
She barely got her revolver out of it's holster before it was all over and the cat was long gone.
We came to a few realizations.
#1, we're likely not gonna see it coming if we're attacked.
#2, best case scenario, you've got time for 1 or 2 shots before you're lunch...and neither of us are Jerry Miculek
#3, although a bullet from either pistol would eventually kill a cougar, somebody is likely still getting mauled pretty good while the predator slowly bleeds out, or you manage to shove the muzzle up it's nose and empty it's brains while it's chewing on you.
#4 a full grown mountain lion is big, and although thin skinned, many times faster, stronger and tougher than the human predators that our pistols are designed for shooting at.

And here we were scared of bumping into a meth lab...hahaha. I'll take on 3 junkies armed with a shovel before I go up against a big cat with a handgun any day.

So once we changed our shorts, went home and had a good stiff drink, conversation turned to our presumably inadequate pistols.
Having never plugged a puma before, it sure seemes like we're under-gunned.

So we started weighing our options.
-Start carrying my mossberg shockwave, which I'm nearly as fast with as my pistol.
-buy a more formidable pistol (we both like 1911s a lot)
-we're dumb, and you can totally whack a cougar with a .38 or 9mm before it eats you.
-ain't nothing you can do but stay out of the woods or take your chances, because shooting your way out of a cougar attack is a pipe dream.

We're not exactly flush with cash, so scoring a sweet 1911 and training up with it is a little ways off, but a mutual goal.

I like the shockwave idea for a few reasons.
-buckshot
-it makes a damn effective club, which could buy a few precious seconds compared to pistol-whipping a mountain lion with an empty revolver, should things go wrong.
-I have it set up, and regularly train to deploy from a 2 point sling on my strongside shoulder, which allows me an unobstructed defensive draw with no holster, and my clothes don't interfere with the draw no matter what I'm wearing.
-it's a strong visual deterrent for 2-legged predators.
-I already reload slugs and buckshot, so I could develop an ideal "stopping" load that would ensure that my one theoretical shot is the most effective it can be.

What do you all think?

Save up for a .45 or 10mm?
Rock the shockwave and deal with the weight?
A compact carry pistol is fine?
Some other wild suggestion?

[pashiner]

Oops, Posted in wrong forum. Admin feel free to move to outdoors>hiking or wherever appropriate.

[Winger Ed.]

If ya can't draw a handgun before it moves out of sight.
That tells ya it is so quick, you wouldn't have time draw a handgun if it jumped on you either.

Since I'm not directly related to Tarzan or Chuck Norris-----
I'd carry the shotgun, and really, really keep a sharp eye on my surroundings.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Shotgun sounds good to me. Get her one also. Practice.

DG

[NSB]

If you’re in Pennsylvania, you’re in my territory. Your chances of seeing a mountain lion again is about zero. Your chances of seeing a bear is very high. In the grand scheme of things your chances of being attacked by either is very, very slim. Read the number of attacks reported over the last fifty years in Pennsylvania. Zero for mountain lions and almost nothing for bear. If a mountain lion wants to get you, you’re not going to see it coming. Almost every single incident reported in the last twenty years was a surprise to the victim. When it’s not, it’s a sick/rabid animal. Carry your sidearm, enjoy your time outside and don’t dwell on it. I’ve had dozens of encounters with bears over the last thirty years in Penn’s Woods, and other than one of them beating my backpack trying to get my lunch I’ve been unharmed. It’s a little unnerving having a large omnivore scant feet away looking at you and wondering what it’s thinking, but so far it’s just been a close encounter. Even a very large bear can sneak up on you without making a sound. Man isn’t at the top of the food chain, the misquito is.

[Hogtamer]

You’ve thought about it all you need to. Buy the shotgun and 4 or 5 boxes of the cheapest shells you can find….they’re fine to practice with at 20 yds in. Guessing you don’t reload so I’d buy 2 3/4” #1 buckshot. All the power at close range, good pattern fill and lots less recoil than 3”.

[bayjoe]

Nothing argues with a 45

[almar]

it depends, the pistol is really just a backup. But its easier to carry around than a bigger firearm. I have a large selection but when I walk on my property I seem to always gravitate to the small 1911 officer 45 with an aluminum frame I keep tucked into my back behind the belt. Its easy to carry, and almost forget it, its a quick draw too with practice. The bigger pistols always seem to get in the way when I work so I put them down next to wherever I am doing whatever I'm doing.

[Jedman]

To me it sounds like a rare occurrence where you just happened to be in the right place when a cougar was chasing the deer. I don’t think the cougar wanted anything to do with either of you.
Most large and potentially dangerous animals don’t want anything to do with humans, especially bears and lions.

I could be full of sheep dip but I wouldn’t go armed for bear just in case. If your legal carrying handguns or a shotgun where you do these things and want to ,I say fine and please do if you feel better prepared.

Jedman

[Edward]

I like my GL 20/10mm with my cast bullet and got a extended Lone Wolf barrel/and a 40 barrel for play /Ed

[Edward]

Nothing argues with a 45

Except a stack full of 10mm out of a GL20

[BigAlofPa.]

A lot of folks here in Pa . Mistake bobcats for cougars.

[MT Gianni]

Cougars are very powerful animals. Many of the houndsmen I know shoot them with 22's, so power doesn't always relate to hard to kill.

[Plate plinker]

Cougars are very powerful animals. Many of the houndsmen I know shoot them with 22's, so power doesn't always relate to hard to kill.

Except the hunters are ready for the task when using a 22. The scatter gun is a better option. If money is a issue buy a cheap glock police trade in or even new gun for half the price of a good 1911. Don't waste money on cheaper 1911's.

[john.k]

if you dont want to get surprised by an animal 10 times quicker than you......take a dog with you....Weighted down with guns and ammo ...when alls needed is an average dog...not some savage monster that the illegal hunters use ,just an average dog.

[Scrounge]

Point for discussion: My girlfriend and I had a mountain lion encounter recently in a place that we frequently hike, fish, and forage for mushrooms. Nobody was hurt or attacked, but we were nearly bowled over by the 3 deer the big cat was chasing. She carries a .38spl revolver, and I had left my single stack 9mm pistol at home that day. We each own a .22 pistol, but that's the extent of our handguns.
She barely got her revolver out of it's holster before it was all over and the cat was long gone.
We came to a few realizations.
#1, we're likely not gonna see it coming if we're attacked.
#2, best case scenario, you've got time for 1 or 2 shots before you're lunch...and neither of us are Jerry Miculek
#3, although a bullet from either pistol would eventually kill a cougar, somebody is likely still getting mauled pretty good while the predator slowly bleeds out, or you manage to shove the muzzle up it's nose and empty it's brains while it's chewing on you.
#4 a full grown mountain lion is big, and although thin skinned, many times faster, stronger and tougher than the human predators that our pistols are designed for shooting at.

And here we were scared of bumping into a meth lab...hahaha. I'll take on 3 junkies armed with a shovel before I go up against a big cat with a handgun any day.

So once we changed our shorts, went home and had a good stiff drink, conversation turned to our presumably inadequate pistols.
Having never plugged a puma before, it sure seemes like we're under-gunned.

So we started weighing our options.
-Start carrying my mossberg shockwave, which I'm nearly as fast with as my pistol.
-buy a more formidable pistol (we both like 1911s a lot)
-we're dumb, and you can totally whack a cougar with a .38 or 9mm before it eats you.
-ain't nothing you can do but stay out of the woods or take your chances, because shooting your way out of a cougar attack is a pipe dream.

We're not exactly flush with cash, so scoring a sweet 1911 and training up with it is a little ways off, but a mutual goal.

I like the shockwave idea for a few reasons.
-buckshot
-it makes a damn effective club, which could buy a few precious seconds compared to pistol-whipping a mountain lion with an empty revolver, should things go wrong.
-I have it set up, and regularly train to deploy from a 2 point sling on my strongside shoulder, which allows me an unobstructed defensive draw with no holster, and my clothes don't interfere with the draw no matter what I'm wearing.
-it's a strong visual deterrent for 2-legged predators.
-I already reload slugs and buckshot, so I could develop an ideal "stopping" load that would ensure that my one theoretical shot is the most effective it can be.

What do you all think?

Save up for a .45 or 10mm?
Rock the shockwave and deal with the weight?
A compact carry pistol is fine?
Some other wild suggestion?

For starters, embrace the power of AND. IMO, you should save up for the 1911s. AND do what you need to use the Shockwave, too!

Also doesn't mean you shouldn't keep the compact carry pistol around, too. If you have a second or so to make the decision, you can choose which you want to suit the situation. I have argued with a fairly large normal type housecat. I certainly don't ever want to tackle a mountain lion with a .38, though I love shooting them, and have several. OK, technically, they're .357mags, but I shoot a lot of .38 spl out of them, and might not have them loaded with warshot. You fight the war (or mountain lion) with the weapons you have, not the weapons you want.

Just FYI, Tisas makes a very nice copy of the 1911. I have the Tisas Zig M1911. Its an 8-shot basic GI-type 1911. It doesn't rattle as badly as the old GI guns my dad started me on, and I've fired a couple of hundred round of factory ammo through it, and another hundred or so handloads, and not had a failure to feed or extract or fire that wasn't related to a cheap magazine I picked up for next to nothing. The Mec-Gar mag that came with it feeds flawlessly. It's a great gun out of the box. Only "modification" I've made to it was putting a slightly used and modified 2nd hand Pachmayr wrap-around grip on it. I've always loved them, and they fit me just right. Especially on a 1911.

HTH!

Bill

[brass410]

12 gauge is probably you best choice, if something goes sideways and you end up on the down side, any bystander will probably know how to use that thunder stick, if for nothing else a club. But a dog is a wonderful thing in the bush, they see and notice everything longggg before you will, and the'll tell everybody within earshot about it.

[762 shooter]

Much ado about nothing.

1. Each carry a pistol. Preferably 9mm or larger with the best bullet tech you can afford.

2. Assume you will be on the ground when you draw your pistol.

3. Fire wildly near head.

4. Or just follow #1 and enjoy your outdoor time.

762

[Butzbach]

You’ve thought about it all you need to. Buy the shotgun and 4 or 5 boxes of the cheapest shells you can find….they’re fine to practice with at 20 yds in. Guessing you don’t reload so I’d buy 2 3/4” #1 buckshot. All the power at close range, good pattern fill and lots less recoil than 3”.

Luuuuuuucie you got some esplainin’ to do. Somebody didn’t read the OP!

[Half Dog]

Take someone, who you don’t like too much, with you as a sacrifice.