Old Hobo
Member
Many of you have read or heard about the mountain lion attack on two brothers who were hunting for shed deer antlers in the foothills of northern California (El Dorado County). One of the two brothers was killed. Seems neither was armed with a firearm.
A couple of questions:
In California, is there any legal mechanism by which one can carry a loaded firearm within state or federal forests for the purpose of protection against dangerous animals?
Secondly, were you allowed to do so, what firearm would you carry to defend yourself against a BIG kitty, a.k.a. mountain lion?
Me, I'd be carrying a pump or auto 12 ga. loaded with buckshot, possibly a slug or two in the tube just in case. One thing to consider, however, is that Kitty could be on top of you before you could bring a long-gun into use. If you have a friend as your six-o'clock and it is you who gets attacked, what what firearm would you want your backup to have on them to shoot the monster off of you? Buckshot may just not be the ticket in the latter scenario.
A person shouldn't be out there alone -- most folk would agree. These two brothers had split up and had gone separate directions to look for antlers. Me, I'm thinking that this was one enormous boo-boo. Without a firearm, what could they have done in an attack scenario? I think bear spray would simply aggravate a big cat.
I'm interested in your opinions.
Thanx much for any and all replies!
Here's one of many news articles about this week's fatal cougar attack:
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A couple of questions:
In California, is there any legal mechanism by which one can carry a loaded firearm within state or federal forests for the purpose of protection against dangerous animals?
Secondly, were you allowed to do so, what firearm would you carry to defend yourself against a BIG kitty, a.k.a. mountain lion?
Me, I'd be carrying a pump or auto 12 ga. loaded with buckshot, possibly a slug or two in the tube just in case. One thing to consider, however, is that Kitty could be on top of you before you could bring a long-gun into use. If you have a friend as your six-o'clock and it is you who gets attacked, what what firearm would you want your backup to have on them to shoot the monster off of you? Buckshot may just not be the ticket in the latter scenario.
A person shouldn't be out there alone -- most folk would agree. These two brothers had split up and had gone separate directions to look for antlers. Me, I'm thinking that this was one enormous boo-boo. Without a firearm, what could they have done in an attack scenario? I think bear spray would simply aggravate a big cat.
I'm interested in your opinions.
Thanx much for any and all replies!
Here's one of many news articles about this week's fatal cougar attack:
Man killed, brother injured in mountain lion attack in Northern California foothills
A 21-year-old man was killed and his brother was injured in a mountain lion attack in a remote area of Northern California's El Dorado County Saturday, authorities said.
www.cbsnews.com
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