What caliber would you suggest to hunt cougar with, or is a cougar hunt with a handgun not a good idea? Barrel Length? Scope Selection?

I haven't killed one, so my advice may not be worth anything.
I hunted all season with my Ruger SuperBlackHawk Hunter, 7 1/2", in 45 Colt.
I used my UltraDot on top of it and was very happy with the setup...except I didn't get a shot at a cat.
I found their tracks in the snow where they were coming to my calls, just didn't get a look at them.
We can't use dogs in South Dakota so it's all about the calls and the setup.
I found their tracks inside of MY tracks where I had walked in from the morning.
Damn cat hunting made me crazy...now I gotta cry about it till next year!

Oh, WELCOME to the site.

I have two friends who have shot them with a .357 and a .44mag both one shot kills.

I've only shot 2, but used a S&W 629 .44 Mag. with an Ultra Dot. It was perfect:

I guided for mountain lions for 10 years in northwestern Colorado, and saw quite a few killed with bow, rifle, and handgun. They are generally not hard to kill, but I saw a few botched shots and lions that ran a long ways. One also cost us a great dog.

Anything you can shoot well out to about 25 yards should be fine. Shots are usually short but you can get one in the top of a tall ponderosa occassionally. With a handgun, I recommend a low-powered scope because you may have to shoot between branches. Shots can also be tricky if the cat is on a big limb or in the crotch of a tree where the vitals are covered.

You also need something that will penetrate well but not blow a big hole in the hide. I once saw a hunter shoot lenghtwise into an 82 pound female with a Rem. 150 gr. factory load from a .30-06. The bullet went inside the shoulder headed to the tail, and never came out. I think the tissue in a carnovore is more dense than something like a deer. (We normally did not shoot females, but we had a handicapped hunter who could not get around very well, and it was a legal cat.) A good cast bullet is good. I saw a very quick kill with a 7-30 Waters and the 140 gr. partition that did not exit on a lengthwise shot. A bullet that will expand well and not exit is also good.

If you can keep the cat in the tree, get into position for a good shot, and put the bullet in the vitals, you should have no trouble regardless of what you shoot him with.

Kenoneill, Would you consider coming out of retirement to guide me on a cat hunt?

Very nice, Ken!

Incredible photos, Ken. This hunt's making my bucket list.

Took my cat with an 8 3/8"s S&W 357 maggie & a 170 gr Keith cast slug at 5 feet, 11 hours on snow shoes makes for a pretty tough hunt. We jumped him off of a muley buck he had killed that morning.



Dick

That's a great photo, Dick!

Ozultra,
My mind and heart are willing, but my body is way past being able to do it any more.
Aahhh... but the memories ...

I am going to defer to what I have read by Bob Hagle, who killed a bunch of Cougars.

He prefered a hard fairly heavy SWC cast bullet.
I think a 41 Mag, heavy loaded 44 Special, 45 Colt, or 44 Mag would work great.

While I might do it with a heavy loaded 1911 in 45 ACP, the one time I did hunt Cougar I used a 6" Freedom Arms in 475L with Buffalo Bore 420gr loads.
I carred a 1911 as a backup.

Sadly I did not get a shot at a Cougar.
It was late in the season, and the area was COVERED UP in Wolf tracks.

If you are a pretty good Pistolario, then hunting Cougar with a handgun is the way to go, giving you both hands free.

I would recommend that you have shot a few deer or pigs before your Cougar hunt.

If not a short light carbine in say 45 Colt, 44 Mag, 45/70 or 308 would be a good choice.
Iron sights or depending on your eyes a red dot or a very lower power scope, in QD mounts would be my pick.

The late Bob Hagel wrote a great deal on handgun hunting for couger. I doubt if anyone alive today will ever have the chance to hunt them that he did over a grat number of years.

The name of the book is "Guns, Loads, and Hunting Tips." It was published by Wolf. I don't think it is anylonger available from them. I'd check Amazon

Bob Hagel took many lions with handguns over the years & was fortunate enough to live right next door to some of the finest lion hunting in North America. If you have the stamina that Salmon River country is hard to beat.
Also Bob was probably one of the top 5 outdoor/gun writers of all time.

Dick

Nice trophies!
There is a bar not too far from here where the cougars agree known to hang out and are sport for the younger guys.
Sorry too hard to resist. It's known at cougar town.