Large cat calibers

I have no idea what gun would be suitable. But can you please tell me where exactly this is, so I can never go there. To me, Tigers are about the most terrifying predators in the world.

Being an old wing shooter, a shorter 12ga auto would be my first best choice for any real, significant threat.
Big bore
Quick follow-ups
Three slugs followed by one or two 00buck?

I must admit that a Bengal Tiger would be significant...... To say the least.

Depending on what you were hunting, I don't see why any deer caliber would work on a tiger.

Anything you'd use on elk or bear. Typical weight is 400ish lbs and that is a lot smaller than most elk. And I'd not trust buckshot. Anything from 26 caliber on up. Choosing a bullet known for deep penetration is more important than the cartridge it is fired from

Bengal tigers weigh up to 325 kg (717 lb), and reach a head and body length of 320 cm (130 in).[26] Several scientists indicated that adult male Bengal tigers from the Terai in Nepal and Bhutan, and Assam, Uttarakhand and West Bengal in north India consistently attain more than 227 kg (500 lb) of body weight. Seven adult males captured in Chitwan National Park in the early 1970s had an average weight of 235 kg (518 lb) ranging from 200 to 261 kg (441 to 575 lb), and that of the females was 140 kg (310 lb) ranging from 116 to 164 kg (256 to 362 lb).[27] Thus, the Bengal tiger rivals the Amur tiger in average weight.[28] In addition, the record for the greatest length of a tiger skull was an "over the bone" length of 16.25 in (413 mm); this tiger was shot in the vicinity of Nagina in northern India.[29]

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That's from Wiki

I second the need for penetration; a 375 H&H should do nicely.

700 lbs cat? ya, i would not go less then a 30-06.

Robbins290 said:

700 lbs cat? ya, i would not go less then a 30-06.

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700 lbs, but twice as mean and pissy as any elk that ever lived. Only hits count.

I would wish for a short 12ga auto with slugs, and friends with the same.

First, they grab you by the head, then they drag you off and eat you alive.

Hog huntin Harry said:

Don't you hate when all got is a pump 12 gauge and a bolt 243 and you got a big cat prowling your hunting spot and it's probably a tiger

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Life is hard.

45/70 If it will kill lions and bear, it should work on tiger, oh my!

I would hunt somewhere else. If he wants you you won't see him. Whatever you use make sure you can shoot it well.

Just wear a mask on the back of your head...

Hog huntin Harry said:

..., would some of those shoulder breaking 3in magnum slugs be enough to stop an attack ?

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Of course.
Tigers in India were often hunted by men from platforms mounted on elephants. The platform was called "howdah".
The hunter normally had as a backup weapon, a single or double barreled pistol, sometimes .58 caliber, or sometimes 20 gauge. IF the tiger was wounded, and it understood where the man was that shot it, it would leap up onto the elephant's head, and then try to get the hunter in the howdah, who would stop the tiger with the caplock, black powder pistol..., basically a 20 gauge sawed off shotgun with single ball in each barrel. This is why the pistol replicas of those guns are also called "Howdahs".
So a 3" magnum 1 ounce slug from a 12 gauge will work fine.

You're going to need a face-mask too.
In India, field hands can't be walking around with shotguns or howdah pistols. The country isn't very gun friendly and the field hands are poor. They would lose several people a year to tigers snatching up the hands that got too near the edge of the forest, until....
…, a very smart zoologist figured out tigers attack prey from behind. They don't like to strike when a human is facing them, if they have the choice. SO the field workers wear face-like masks on the back of their heads when working in the fields. Sounds stupid, but the tigers don't understand the mask is on the back of the human's head, and normally don't attack. Quite frankly if a tiger goes for you from behind, it will be close to you when it starts, and whatever you have it won't matter as the kitty will be on you before you and turn and fire.
You could always paint the mask blaze-orange...apparently all it takes is a cheap mask that may be found at a craft store, to ward off the tigers....


LD

Hog huntin Harry said:

Don't you hate when all got is a pump 12 gauge and a bolt 243 and you got a big cat prowling your hunting spot and it's probably a tiger

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Many professional hunters in Africa choose a 12 ga. with buckshot to follow up wounded leopards. I know, a leopard is not a tiger but a buckshot/slug combination is what I would choose for a potential tiger attack. The large .69 caliber slug will penetrate any soft-skinned animal. A hole that size is hard to argue against.

Also, I have killed over 15 deer and 12 hogs with 00 buckshot and it is a good choice for close encounters of the bad kind.

"Never get off the boat!"



Obviously, you will require a Howdah pistol.

I would think a .280-.308 cal or equivalent with proper bullet construction and placement will kill a tiger, but the issue is that it’s “dangerous game” and the time between the shot and the death is the issue, similar to brown bears.

You put a .308 in the “boiler room and that cat won’t live long...but probably long enough to do damage.

And I would certainly believe any good 12-20 gauge slug would do the same. If it were me, I’d shoot it Mozambique at a minimum....even if it looks dead! Two in the chest, and a third in the brain. Im not playing “cat and mouse” with Tigger!

Be careful...

Bengal Tigers in Texas.....now that would be an effective deterrent for those crossing the border illegally.

Hog huntin Harry said:

I have reason to believe that there's a Bengal tiger on the 65 acres I hunt on, it's common knowledge that theres tigers around where I hunt. There's nobody to call and get rid of them

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Hog huntin Harry said:

Runge Texas, in 2017 4 tigers got loose from a game reserve and started breeding

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That sounds to me like a non native/nuisance species of critter introduced into an area if there ever was one. Besides the obvious risk to humans in the area, I would think that the impact these things would have on both native species and livestock is significant, not to mention the fact that I believe all tigers have some type of protected status on an international basis. It seems to me that 1, there is some type of intervention that should be done to deal with this, and 2, whoever is responsible for introducing a breeding population of tigers into the area is at fault.

i'd have to see some proof of such things as tigers in texas. a jaguar sure, mountain lion of course, Bengal tigers? na.… but even if they were loose they wouldn't have the environment to get or stay very large so whatever you would use on native big cats, deer, and wild bore should suffice.

First of all, Google Jim Corbett (and thank me later). You'll find that in his time in India he killed something like 30 tigers and leopards, many of them man eaters. His primary rifle, as far as I can tell, was a .275 Rigby. AKA, 7x57 Mauser. He also used a 400/450 Nitro Express at certain times. Both rifles got the job done, and done well.

So, having said that...

My recommendation to you is to go out and find yourself a bigger rifle. Not a 500 Nitro Express, by any means. But a Remington 700 or Winchester Model 70 in 30-06 or larger would fit the bill. They're cheap enough, especially in '06. If that doesn't suit you, how about a 45-70 guide gun as jeepnik suggested? Plenty of stopping power there, and quick follow up shots as well. I don't think I'd want a shotgun in this situation, though I have used 3.5" mag 10 gauge slugs to good effect on larger critters.

But with all that comes a question: are you absolutely, 100% certain you are dealing with a tiger? I've seen some good sized cats up here in our hills, to be sure. But they're mountain lions, not tigers. And, the geography of your location isn't really big cat country, to me at least. As populated as Runge, Texas looks via Google earth, I'd say we (and the rest of the nation) would likely know about a "breeding population" of Bengal Tigers living there. Not trying to call you out, by any means. Things just aren't adding up in my mind.

Mac