Here in the North West Cougars are growing by numbers, and wiping out our Deer and Elk population. I've seen 2 in the last month!
I'm on a mission to collect a few Couger cape's for my walls.
Since I'm some what of a gun guy, (gun nut) this got me thinking about what would be the ultimate Cougar caliber.
Since they have banned the use of dogs to tree a Cougar, shot's can be from 5 yards to 500 yards.
I'll be switching back and forth from a super light weight Kimber 7mm-08, and a heavier Sako .300 WM.
Wondering what you would prefer to use. . . . .

I'd go with a "Wiffle Bat" and a pointy stick.

you don't need a big caliber, but you do know how to shoot. a cougars heart and lung area are quite small, so you had better pick something accurate enough to hit a dove at the ranges you speak of

Have been around lions for years in CO &NM IMHO your 7mm-08 is just about perfect.

SSR

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
you don't need a big caliber, but you do know how to shoot. a cougars heart and lung area are quite small, so you had better pick something accurate enough to hit a dove at the ranges you speak of

I don't think that would be a problem. I've shot his Kimber 7-08, and have seen him shoot it. As long as he has time to get a solid rest, everything else is done.

RS

A friend of mine was chuckar hunting just out of Baker, He had to shoot a cougar with his shotgun before it killed his dog. KILLED it dead!! So I would say use whatever you have or whatever you have to.

quote:

Originally posted by Cross L:
Have been around lions for years in CO &NM IMHO your 7mm-08 is just about perfect.

SSR

Times 2.

I don't see it as a 500 yard round however but then I can't envision shooting a mountain lion at 500 yards anyway.

Hmmm, not sure why. . . . the last one I shot at was a little more then 600, and my hunting partner watched the bullet from my .300 WM thru his bino's fly about 2" over the cat's back.
4" lower, and I would have spined him. Shot's at that range out here would not be uncommon.

For calling or spotting and shooting, the .308 or 7mm-08 would be near perfect. Murray Burnham killed several calling at night in Texas, which is legal, using a scoped .308. I've shot or seen them shot with everything using hounds, but for your purposes, the above two calibers are appropriate. A mountain lion is very easy to kill generally.

quote:

Originally posted by Kelly Gill:
For calling or spotting and shooting, the .308 or 7mm-08 would be near perfect. Murray Burnham killed several calling at night in Texas, which is legal, using a scoped .308. I've shot or seen them shot with everything using hounds, but for your purposes, the above two calibers are appropriate. A mountain lion is very easy to kill generally.

Some of the hound runners around here will shoot a treed cat with a .22 Mag, but then again they are shooting at close ranges. I would think that any medium caliber with the accuracy requirement filled would work out.

Although I have never shot one the people that I knew in Idaho noted the importance of using a light bullet that would open up fast on the light boned and thin framed cougar. Something virtually approaching a varmint-type bullet, but maybe one weight increment heavier.

DB, I think you are correct. Gunna try the wiffle bat!

I was going to ask if the cougers had two feet or four. Then I wanted to know what sort huntin tag you needed.

Jim

Talk about digging up an old thread!

Anything you'd use for deer and can shoot well. My two favorites are .40 and .257 Roberts.

quote:

Originally posted by TEANCUM:
Some of the hound runners around here will shoot a treed cat with a .22 Mag, but then again they are shooting at close ranges. I would think that any medium caliber with the accuracy requirement filled would work out.

The rationale that I heard for the .22 Mag was that it would destroy the cat's lungs without knocking the animal out of the tree, thus avoiding dropping a (mortally) wounded cat into the chase dogs. When the cat died, it would just fall out of the tree.

6mm Remington with VLD bullets.