Cougar/handgun/woman...

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Look: there's no such thing as absolute security. IMO, it's a helluva lot safer to wander in cougar country in Condition White than it is to drive around most major cities. I-10 through Houston, e.g.

I've yet to read of an cougar attack on a person who was paying attention. From the stories, victims didn't have a clue that there was any reason to pay attention to the world around them. Just being alert is the biggest part of the deal...

Art
 
dragongoddess, of course it's a safety issue, just like anything else. You have to balance risk and rewards. They lose 25 people per year on I-25 between Cheyenne to Denver, but people do it every day for the stupidist reasons. My wife and my son are the most important people in the world to me. But, there are certain things that make us happy that require some risk and that do have some rewards other than sheer psychic satisfaction, like the fact that my wife's pursuits will probably extend her life expectancy by years as well as the quality of life, if the unprobable likelihood of a predator attack by a mountain lion does not occur. As for me, I hunt alone whenever I can't find someone to accompany me. It's riskier than going with a friend, but I do it with the lack of backup in mind, and guide my actions accordingly.
 
A cougar doesn't just "wander" onto the path in front of someone unless it is either deaf, dumb, or sick. They (cats) have some of the most amazing senses in the world. The cat knew you were on the path a long time before you saw it. You could spend years in cat country and never see one, even if you were looking. If you see one at close distance, something is wrong with the situation.

So, what does this tell us? I'm all for someone carrying mace/pepper spray, etc. But only if there are several of us. The first thing I'm going to reach for is my gun. Sure, the pepper spray might work, but then again, it might not. I might be able to throw rocks and chase it off, or then again, I might not. How much time are you going to have to play tiddly winks before Mr. Kitty decides to pounce?

I'm not taking any chances. He got onto that path for a reason. If he is healthy and looking for food, or to chase me off, bang. If the animal is sick or senseless, that could be even worse bang. I would say that if he is close, he has about the time it takes me to cock the hammer to skidaddle.

If I were to be confronted by a cougar, and it was in an aggressive stance, more than likely one of us ain't going home. I hope both of us live to fight another day, but I value my life much more.
 
The general rule, I understand, is that for every time you see the local cougar he's seen you about 20:what:. They generally avoid people.

Having said that, I carry an SP101 loaded with 145 grain Silvertips in the woods. Good all round choice and easy to carry.
 
I spent a couple of days with my friend. She understands that the cougar is probably long gone, and even if it is 'hanging around', the frequent barking of dogs (and urinating everywhere) probably puts her property lower on the cat's priority list (than, for instance, her neighbor with chickens and goats). She understands that choosing and becoming competent with a gun is a process, and she's going to take her time and do it right.

In the end, I think the whole thing became one big reality check, and it was good for her to assess her personal safety from four (and two) legged critters, and to increase her awareness when she's in the woods in general. From my POV, I'm glad to see her take responsibility, and one more educated gun owner on the planet is fine with me. She really got a charge out of shooting my 686, and I think she likes "shiny" revolvers.

Thanks again for everyone's input. It can be difficult to find rational balanced sources for dealing with predators in their habitat.
 
She should read some books to increase her understanding

For a better understanding of cougar behavior, she may wish to read Cat Attacks: True Stories and Hard Lessons from Cougar Country by Jo Deurbrouck & Dean Miller and The Beast in the Garden by David Baron. The second book listed deals exclusively with Boulder, Colorado, the ignorant attitude of its hippy, tree-hugging residents, and the refusal of the community to accurately interpret dangerous cougar behavior and take appropriate action.

Cat Attacks contains a story wherein two female trail runners were stalked for 20 minutes by a cougar in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. They were armed with pepper spray which, according to them, seemed useless throughout the ordeal, as the cougar remained just outside its range of fire. Actually, as the cat rushed in they managed to hit the cougar's face with the last of the can's contents, causing the cougar to run off. Interesting story. One year later they were stalked again on the same trail. That time they were armed with a .380. They did not shoot for fear of hitting a car on the nearby highway (which was visible to them).
 
Unless she is willing to practice shooting with a handgun, there's little point in getting one. She'd be better off carrying a hunting knife or a pointy stick. Cougars will hang around an area if it has promise for food. If a female has cubs, she may hang around longer. I find it amazing that cougars repeatedly show up near an elementary school on the Indian Reservation near here, even after they've been hunted and shot at. There's alot of stray cats and dogs in the area.
 
MyRoad, after I posted on this subject, I opened my latest edition of Wyoming Wildlife and found two feature articles on mountain lions. I'll be glad to send it to you if you shoot me a PM. Among more notable quotes are "the chances of dying from a wasp sting or mosquito bite are much greater than being killed by a cougar." One article also indicates that Wyoming just recorded its first-ever human injury from a lion attach in the spring of this year, in my playground. The person attacked was unarmed and fought, and sustained only minor injuries.
 
WYO - that's very nice of you, just sent you a PM. Then it occurred to me, is there an online version of this publication? I went to the Wyoming Fish and Game site (http://gf.state.wy.us/), and there are articles on your states approach to 'mountain lion' management, which is interesting because Oregon is trying to settle on its own approach.

If there is an online version of the publication that you are aware of, that would certainly save the postage.

Thanks again for your generous offer.
 
I did find the following in the W F&G management plan:
Mountain Lion - Human Interactions

Interactions between humans and mountain lions have increased during the last 2 decades throughout most of the western United States and Canada (Beier 1991). Although mountain lion attacks are extremely rare, there were 9 fatal and at least 44 non-fatal attacks reported in North America between 1890 and 1990 (Beier 1991). The majority (66%) of the humans attacked were either unsupervised children or lone adults. Approximately 30% of the attacks occurred within sight of some type of developed area. Fitzhugh et. al. (2003) updated this information through 29 2003, and determined an additional 7 fatal and 38 non-fatal attacks had occurred since Beier(1991) published his data. The first recorded physical injury resulting from a human-mountain lion encounter in Wyoming occurred in 2006 near Laramie; fortunately, the injuries were minor. It appears younger-aged males, primarily yearlings, accounted for 42% of the attacks on humans(Beier 1991). Increased mountain lion numbers along with increased recreational use and urbanization of mountain lion habitat has created greater opportunity for mountain lion-human encounters. For example, new homes have been built on traditional mule deer winter range in Boulder County, Colorado, resulting in increased mountain lion sightings along with a dramatic increase in mountain lion predation on domestic pets (Sanders and Halfpenny 1991). Typically, when a mountain lion interacts with another animal, including a human, it determines whether the other animal is either prey or non-prey. If the animal is determined to be non-prey, it might become the target of aggressive behavior as the mountain lion may think the animal is a threat. Humans should attempt to maintain eye contact with an aggressive mountain lion and attempt to increase one’s potential size by standing erect. It appears that attacks can be reduced if the mountain lion is aware that you are not a typical prey species. If an attack does occur, humans should fight back as aggressively as possible. Several attacks have been broken off due to this type of response (Fitzhugh et al. 2003). If humans have the ability to observe a mountain lion prior to an attack, they can interpret specific mountain lion behavior to assess the level of threat from the mountain lion (Appendix IV).
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S&W 686 - 1 in .357 magnum

I have a S&W 686-1 w/ a 4 inch barrel in .357 magnum. Great combat pistol. It even has a nice light combat trigger and hammer. I don't allow anyone shoot this one. :eek: The trigger is so light that I don't trust other folks to handle this one. :what: :D
 
Remember these animals don't know its wrong to eat people.
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It's not 'wrong' for these animals to eat people.

From what I've read the lions are more likely to attack smaller humans than larger. The lady is 5'2."

Carrying the weapon is good if she practices and if she maintains awareness. Learning to recognize cat sign might be useful, also. As the information from the Wyoming Fish & Game department mentioned, predation of pets has risen dramatically due to penetration of the cats' habitats by humans. What we have here is penetration of the cats' habitats by a human with lots of tasty dogs.

She's rescuing pit bulls and she loves these animals. I'm sure her interests in this matter include defending her pits as well as herself. She might want to research what breeds of dog both have a good chance of survival with a cat encounter-surviving long enough for her to shoot the cat-and that has the heart to go one on one with a cat in defense of her and the pits. And then always take one or two of those dogs with her...and the gun.

A layered defense strategy will usually work better than a defense that depends on a single tactic. No matter what the threat.
 
The new CDNN catalog has the S&W Model 65 3" round butt (.357, 6 shot, stainless steel) listed in excellent to like new condition for $299.99. Heck, _I_ want one of those myself. That's enough gun if she learns how to use it, if she panics, a 105mm howitzer wouldn't help her. IMO it's pretty silly to go out unarmed and volunteer to be on the menu for any predator, no matter how many legs it has.

lpl/nc
 
We have an abundance of mountain lions in this area and I see an occasional bear as well so I always carry a sidearm.
For large wild critters, I think that good hard cast SWC would do better than HP ammo on a large animal because I would want all the penetration I could get rather than rapid expansion. So I carry the SWC ammo.
 
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