Know what gun will make you stand a chance against a cougar attack and prevent yourself from becoming its meal!
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Cougar Attack | Defend Yourself with an Able Firearm
Air Rifle Against a Mountain Lion?
Sometimes you can’t help but laugh at stories about stupid people with guns. Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying.
Below, our gun expert Joshua Gillem shares such a story he came across recently. It talks about what this person should have done instead.
Okay so, every so often I read something so incredibly stupid. Interesting enough, I have to share it with our awesome GC audience (that’s you!).
This topic wasn’t even on my list of things to write about for this week, but can’t help myself. First, let me start by saying that I’m the resident gun nut over at liveoutdoors.com.
I write gun reviews and anything else gun-related for them. This week, I’m writing about hunting with pellet guns.
While this is usually acceptable for hunting small game, most people who have any sense about them understand that bigger animals should be off-limits for this type of gun. Anyway, I always like to give my readers the most up-to-date info I can find, so I usually do some research about pricing.
I always find myself on Amazon when it’s time to research prices, because, after all, nobody else has as much stuff as they do. I found one comment on an Amazon listing that just baffled me.
Actually, by the time I was done reading it, I felt like I needed to bang my head onto something hard to help the buffoonery sink in.
This guy says he brings his .177 caliber air rifle whenever he goes hiking, just in case he runs into a mountain lion…
And, I think he was serious.
Using an air rifle to defend yourself against a mountain lion attack…what could go wrong?
Did I miss something here? Did this person even think of the mountain lion size?
I mean, I didn’t realize that pellet guns were rated for shooting mountain lion. Could it work in a jam?
Yeah, I guess it could if you had the time to shoulder the rifle. Point at the animal’s vital-most organ (assuming his furry little butt wasn’t on the move) and get your shot off before he eats you for dinner.
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But, on the other hand, um…NO!
You have a better chance of making Mr. Mountain Lion angry, thus giving him no choice but to rip your face off after you tried shooting him with something equivalent to poking him with a twig.
In other words, you don’t bring a twig to a lion fight.
The best bet when facing a stalking predator, like a big cuddly kitty cat, is to ensure you can get a shot off as quick and accurate as possible because they usually attack silently, and without notice. In other words, if your local laws allow you to do so, carry a handgun with you in a caliber size you are comfortable shooting.
A handgun is your best bet when defending against a large animal like a mountain lion.
That way, you won’t have to worry about getting a rifle up into your shoulder to take out an animal that can sprint upwards of 50 miles per hour. This also helps you stand a better chance at surviving once the animal has mistaken your identity for a filet mignon, and is actively trying to eat you.
Any long gun in this instance, pellet or otherwise, is likely just going to be a waste of time and piss the animal off.
And, if you live in a communist state that doesn’t allow you to carry a pistol, stay home.
Lord knows you don’t want to become dinner.
Speaking of cougars, check out this video from Barcroft TV. They truly are amazing creatures:
When you’re out strolling in the woods, there’s no way for you to defend yourself from a mountain lion using an air rifle. Not only does it take time to shoot, but it’s also not enough to stop a cougar from coming at you.
Use a handgun. It’s smaller yet you can move quicker and a stronger caliber to defend yourself against a mountain lion.
Do you have a preferred firearm for defense in the wild? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on August 6, 2015, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
Actually, there are air rifles that will blow through a cougar from one end and out the other and turn them inside out but … they are not .177. lol
Joshua, this is exactly how some people get to be President. The America education system is simply failing or they grow up on too many Twinkies. I heard a similar comment yesterday on the Animal Planet show, “North Woods Law” when talking to an old man. He had been telling people that he had killed a Moose using an Air Rifle. Needless to say, he had not.
Perhaps the moose died laughing?
The only real “good” purpose for that kind of an air gun is silent target practice indoors, in an urban environment. That, and putting dents in beer cans, I suppose.
When i read the word pellet gun i started laughing so hard. Im willing to bet his liberal parents told him that a pellet gun can kill just as effectively as a real gun. Im equally sure they also told him he would put his eye out too.
Imo everyone has missed the value of a pellet gun against a mountain lion. I’d say you have a chance at one good SWING, hoping you connect enough to cause him to run away. Right? Lol.
Actually, while reading this article and checking out the picture of an air rifle, a thought did occur to me… That air rifle may just work in a pinch… Flip it around, holding it by the barrel, resist the temptation to “choke up” (as with a baseball bat) and step into that cat’s leap for your throat (cause that’s what cats do) And Swing! (batter, batter, batter!) Aim for its head, (eyes, always the eyes!) Hopefully, your aggressive stance, anyway, will scare him off… ! Mosta the time, however, you’ll never see that cat coming! So, back to that pistol…
I have a .25 cal Beeman Kodiak Magnum spring piston pellet rifle which is extremely powerful. I would probably use it as a bat to fight off a Cougar before I would attempt to shoot it. I lived for 20 years in a fairly remote area with lots of Mountain Lions,and was fortunate enough to see them up close at least 7 or 8 times. Sometimes they walked through our yard.
BTW, the picture in this article with the semi auto in the waistband being drawn, is exactly backwards of how that gun should be carried in the waistband. I see that all too often.
To those here who believe air rifles are for targets only. There are plenty of people using them to hunt wild hogs. Yes, hogs.
My .25 cal will shoot through 1.5 inches of hardened plywood easily at 50′ with a hollow point pellet. It destroys steel targets intended for .177,.20 and .22 cal airguns.
In the 1800’s, they had a .44 cal pellet rifle that could kill a man at 150 YARDS.
And in that same era, wild boar hunting was often done with air rifles in Europe.
Do some reading/research. You would be amazed.
Hi Jon,
I like your comments.
I would like to purchase a small lightweight pistol to use when I’m hiking and fishing… Just in case I have an encounter with a mountain lion. I read your notes above, in your opinion what is the smallest lightest pistol I could probably get by with?
Bear spray folk. Let live!
Wow… the people claiming to be experts in this article, and the low IQ comments underneath, have to be the most naive and ignorant I’ve seen. These were written in 2015 no less.
Did you dingleberries know there were air rifles in 2015 that could shoot 9 mm 45 mm and 50 mm slugs with 200+ foot pounds of energy? And that you can tune those rifles to put out even more foot pounds? The the genius that said air rifles were for silent shooting indoors in an urban environment. You’re a moron. Perhaps all of you should learn how to do a little simple research before you comment and look stupid. Sorry for being so harsh but the smug attitudes from some of you who know nothing on the subject just really got me irritated.
Now go watch the youtube videos of people taking down big game (in Africa, not an urban environment) with air rifles… lmfao.
Try a full size .40 cal or larger. You have to put that cat down. You may also want to keep shooting until he actually stops, including that thing called momentum. So you want a decent sized magazine, and maybe a second.
SOME PCP air rifles are good for hunting larger animals, but that cat is going to attack from behind in all likelihood, and a rifle then becomes an object on the ground. Any rifle. Carry a large caliber handgun, watch both your trail AND the trees above you. I learned long ago that most folks fail to consider what is above them. Yes, I am talking to you infantry “experts.” Whenever possible on a static position for ambush, I chose high ground or tree whenever I could. I don’t consider myself an expert, but I taught patrol tactics and other stuff for a few years.
Pure genius. The only cougar I’m taking down with an air rifle is the kids mom who told him it was a gun.