Iposted a similar topic in african forum and a big mess ,in days the discussion has hundreds of strong proponents some very experienced ,now the idea is what you would use for hunting cats here ,and of course what you would use if you have to follow an injured cat in the bush.

This is a recent photo ,a puma was injured by a farmer after stolen a goose,we release the dogs found the geese in very heavy corner im using my medicine mossberg 590with buckshot first and two then slugs ,Marcos is using his cz 375hyh.

In this case i used my trusty remington 870 ,with buckshot.The pumas was injured by client with a 308 and run into heavy grass .

This case remington over under 12 gauge remington magnums pellets number 1.2 shots contact distance.

Another photo of a cat with shotgun

cat killed with a Sako 375hyh by the PH Peter Rudinek ,a danish living in SA.

I dont have a great experience but my boss in a big safari company,considered one of the best guides in the world and the best in south america uses a cheap Rossi lupara external hammers 12 gauge.
I participated in many of the callout with Juan and i prefer my cz375hyh open sigths ,he carries pum shotguns in the bush but he is an expert with them.
Prof, Ing., Marcos Fischer ,infantry lieutenant.

In the bush you shoot at not more than 6 mts besides i dont want to injure my dogs ,i trust you with the rifle because ,you have snake blood and shoots great .Juan

The recces dont have problems with cats.....

I am not an expert, but I am sure that with a shotgun with decent loads no one could feel undergunned for cougar (obviously minimun shooting abilities are required ) IMHO cougars are rather soft ...

And being this an hipothetical situation, we can also consider jaguars as players, and thus move a step forward in these considerations... with them I emphasize the proper needed loads - and with such loads, for jaguars my confidence in shotguns is still high

I have seen Marcos hunting ostriches with his .375 H&H with open sights, shooting them at 150 yards (and some more), hence I have learnt to respect his opinion & performance in the field ...


Juan's awesome abilities with shotguns are out of questions ....


So , I will go with any (or, better still, with both ) of you after any puma... and for such occasion I would carry my marlin 1895 ss (with QD mounting system) ...


And with these partners and armed like that (shotgun, bolt & lever, with trusted & well proven loads), I fear not whatever beast mother nature might challenge us with !!!

Juan, for puma in a tree or at a waterhole, the shotgun would be fine, IMO, or for follow-up without dogs. If the puma was bayed on the ground by dogs, I would prefer a slug or an adequate rifle or pistol round--or a knife if your dogos had the cat!! I have seen a single stray/deflected #6 shotgun pellet kill a good sized dog several feet from where the rest of the pellets hit, so would be hesitant to use them in this situation. Jaguars are perhaps even more heavily muscled than leopards, and I do not know if their reputation for extracting revenge on hunters who wound them is similiar to leopards or not? If ever given the opportunity to hunt Jaguar, I would likely prefer to use .30 to .45 cal rifle. Are there not a few countries where problem jaguars are still hunted by ranchers?

We noticed several times the lack of penetration of buckshot,at more than 6 mts ,but in the bush you never shot at more distance ,besides that,i dont want that overpenetration kill my dogs ,a lot of times i gave 7 pellets to the clients while hunting with dogs and they shot the boar from one side kill it esily without injuring my dogs ,Don Heath recommends a slug and the buckshot for leopards ,Hallamore buckshot,Cerdegren buckshot,Capstick buckshot,Boddington a good express ,,-Don Heath too but he knows very few guides has express .I know the luck of penetration of buckshot but thats ideal in some instances,i even gave each of my friends an interesting article by CHUCK TAYLOR on the matter.Juan

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
Juan, ............... If the puma was bayed on the ground by dogs, I would prefer a slug or an adequate rifle or pistol round--or a knife if your dogos had the cat!!

Steve. Now you have peeked my interest. A knife!!!! Carajo, what a challenge that would be.....

Bill;
A old woman (95) a few years ago killed a big cat (Puma) in the Sierras de Cordoba (Cordoba Provice Hills) with two small dogs and her Machete , She open his head in two pieces, What a sweet granie, eh, eh, She say that the cat was eating her goats and she has not a shotgun .

quote:

Originally posted by Guillermo Amestoy:
Bill;
A old woman (95) a few years ago killed a big cat (Puma) in the Sierras de Cordoba (Cordoba Provice Hills) with two small dogs and her Machete , She open his head in two pieces, What a sweet granie, eh, eh, She say that the cat was eating her goats and she has not a shotgun .

Tell her I am coming. All my life I dream of a rich widow who is a killer at heart. And at 95 it is perfect for me. Soon I would be a goat farmer....expanding the place to carpinchos.

Bill, it would really take a hell of a cat to keep two dogos at bay, eh?

Yes ,this is true,but its true too that two guys called by the natives LEONEROS because they kill problem pumas were killed in the last years ,one lost most of his dog and was partially eaten ,another guy was eaten in a local zoo or game park by a jaguar ,so cats can be very fun to hunt ,Steven you would like to hunt a puma in the bush because you klike to stalk a buffalo and kill it on charge at 20mts THATS HOW A BUFFALO MUST BE KILLED not at 100 mts or more like most hunters prefer .Juan

Juan, I wish to hunt puma with you again, BUT you must ride in the back of the truck with me, and let SOMEONE else drive!!

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
Bill, it would really take a hell of a cat to keep two dogos at bay, eh?

Agreed. Maybe this next trip will test that. And, the back of the truck? I think these crazy gaucho amigos of Juan all drive the same. Inside with a seat belt is best. I remember one hunt for hares with the marines, how they remained standing, shooting, and hitting still amazes me.