# Would You Feel Safe.........



## nobody (Feb 13, 2012)

Would you feel safe hiking in mountain lion country with a slingshot? Not just a cheapie store bought with stones but a sling shot like an A+ style slingshot with 2 or 3 tapered theraband or latex bands with .50 or larger lead ammo? The places were I hike and fish are known for mountain lion attacks and you cant carry a pistol or rifle. I would rather carry a slingshot than some pepper spray and I think a slingshot would be better than a knife. I think a hit to the head at 5 yards would be leathal,Im not ''for'' the non-leathal scare away tactics. But do you think it would be better to carry a slingshot than nothing? Most of the time lions supprise attack so you may never even hear them coming.


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## August West (Jan 21, 2012)

Bear spray IMO would be much better. Chris


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## Abe_Stranger (Jan 13, 2012)

It's better than nothing. I have to worry about coyotes--even in the middle of the Springs--and they don't seem to like the 3/8 nuts I fire at them when I see them.


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

I'd rather have a fat friend with me. That way the mountain lion would be too busy to attack me.
"I don't have to be the fastest, I just have to be faster than you!"


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

NO ! i think a hit from a slingshot would only maybe tickle it a lil bit and make it angrier .


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

It's probably pretty hard to get a good shot off, even from 5yds, when you're crapping your pants.
Just a theory.


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

Bring a really nice slingshot, that way you have something pleasant to gaze apon while the mountain lion is eating you.


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

The smell of Theraband will probably just attract them anyway.
Mmmmmm.... Theraband smell!


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

Maybe you could take along a spray bottle full of elephant pee and spray it everywhere you go.
I bet mountain lions are scared of elephants, they're huge!


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## Abe_Stranger (Jan 13, 2012)

M_J said:


> The smell of Theraband will probably just attract them anyway.
> Mmmmmm.... Theraband smell!


 An idea for a new scented candle, perhaps? I'd buy one.


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## nobody (Feb 13, 2012)




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## KennyCannon (Aug 24, 2011)

If you're fishing in a place where mountain lions attack I wouldn't worry about sprays or slingshots. I'd either find a new place to fish or stand in your legislators office until they change the law. You could also get one of those 45 caliber air rifles but they are expensive and they might not even be legal where you are going. A bat might work too.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

M_J said:


> Bring a really nice slingshot, that way you have something pleasant to gaze apon while the mountain lion is eating you.


true that


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

no wait it could help! turn it on yourself with a .50 cal lead ball once unconcience you wont feel the teeth


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

newconvert said:


> no wait it could help! turn it on yourself with a .50 cal lead ball once unconcience you wont feel the teeth


Your draw is alot shorter pulling that way.
Be sure to put on short bands before you leave!


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## nobody (Feb 13, 2012)

That would be hard to kill yourself with a slingshot lol. Mabe jump in a tree and hang myself with the bands?


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

M_J said:


> no wait it could help! turn it on yourself with a .50 cal lead ball once unconcience you wont feel the teeth


Your draw is alot shorter pulling that way.
Be sure to put on short bands before you leave!
[/quote]will do sir!


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

TLR said:


> That would be hard to kill yourself with a slingshot lol. Mabe jump in a tree and hang myself with the bands?


not kill, just knock yourself out, its better that way dont you think?


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Abe_Stranger said:


> The smell of Theraband will probably just attract them anyway.
> Mmmmmm.... Theraband smell!


An idea for a new scented candle, perhaps? I'd buy one.
[/quote]mmmmmmm elephant urine musky buy i love it


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## Incomudro (Jan 12, 2012)

It's the Mountain Lion that you _don't _see that gets you.


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## Sharkman (Jan 15, 2012)

I think that Mountain Lions stalk their prey and attack by ambush. The bear spray would seem your best option. You don't have to be percise with it. With something as quick as a Mountain Lion I'm not even sure that I'd rely on a pistol's single projectile.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Sharkman said:


> I think that Mountain Lions stalk their prey and attack by ambush. The bear spray would seem your best option. You don't have to be percise with it. With something as quick as a Mountain Lion I'm not even sure that I'd rely on a pistol's single projectile.


a pistol would drop a big cat in a heart beat


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I live on Vancouver Island. In the last 100 years, over 50% of the documented cougar attacks on humans in North America have occurred on Vancouver Island. Until last fall, I owned 10 acres on the ocean on the north end of the island that was water access only. In the last several years in that area, cougars have attacked pedestrians walking down the road and bicyclists. I built a house there, as the old homestead burned down ... I owned the place for 17 years. There were no neighbors closer than 10 miles or so. The old lady that owned the property before me had a reputation as a cougar hunter ... she killed over 30 cougars on the place ... she once used an ax to kill one in her woodshed. I never worried much about it. I carried a standard hunting knife on my belt; I carried a machete in the bush; and I always had a compressed air boat horn. The horn was so loud that it would damage your ears if it was pointed at you and you were close. If you see a cougar, and it is close enough to worry you, I would be willing to bet a lot that the horn would scare it off; I never used it on a cougar, but I have used it on bears. At close quarters, a machete would be my weapon of choice. If jumped with no warning (happens reasonably often, usually from behind ... they go for the neck and head), I would rely on the hunting knife.

As for bear spray ... I would not have it. The animal has to be wayyy to close for it to be effective ... and the wind has to be just right. If you use it, you are just as likely to get it all over yourself. As for a slingshot .... well, if a cougar jumps you from behind, it will be useless; and if you see one and it is threatening you, you are going to be vibrating so badly you will not be able to load it, even if you have time.

Just my opinion ... of course others my differ.

Cheers ... Charles


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## Sharkman (Jan 15, 2012)

You make a lot of sense Charles.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

You might find this interesting:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/nat-geo-wild/wild-all-videos/ngc-cougar-island/

Cheers ....... Charles


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

they go after household pets around here to south of denver and west in the mountains. a knife against a cat, you da man Charles, if the cat gets on you your pretty well at least mamed but by that time i think a cat wont let go once it gets its claws and jaws buried in you they are very effective hunters


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Charles said:


> You might find this interesting:
> 
> http://video.nationa...-cougar-island/
> 
> Cheers ....... Charles


seen this, i think these videos although violent and in some cases are facinating, i have watched them for hours on you tube, animals are both beautiful and deadly


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## Rockape66 (Dec 18, 2011)

I have thought about this subject, and I keep coming back to a staff or boar spear. A good poke in the snoot with a staff could encourage the animal to seek a less hazardous meal. The spear would be a more serious deterent. In any case; anything that gives separation would be a bonus.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

About 5 years ago or so, not too far from my property, a fellow was walking along the road when he was jumped from behind by a cougar. It got him by the head and ripped his scalp down over his face. He had a folding knife in his pocket, which he managed to get out and open. He reached up over his head and managed to cut the cougar's throat and killed it. He then had to walk a mile or so until he found someone to help. He has had a lot of surgery, but he survived. He was lucky.

I am not going to use a knife to go after a cougar. But I figure if a cougar is already on me and I have a decent hunting knife (not something that I have to unfold), I am going to be doing a lot of cutting ... I do not have to get its throat ... if I open up its belly, it is going to let me go. Cougars generally do not hunt dangerous game ... any cougar that gets seriously injured in the wild is almost certainly going to wind up a dead cougar. They do not expect their prey to be able to inflict serious damage. If you inflict serious damage, a cougar is not going to keep at you.

Of course you should never run from a cougar ... running will trigger their prey drive, and they will attack you ... they can easily outrun you anyway. Make yourself as big as you can ... stand tall. Stand your ground. Yell at it. Point your hand and arm straight at it ... if you have a stick, point the stick at the beast. They do not like long things pointed at them ... too hard for them to get hold of it, I suppose. Be determined ... let it know that you are more than willing to fight. Of course, all this supposes you see the damn thing.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## pgandy (Aug 15, 2011)

I don’t have much confidence in sprays. I suspect that a cat would be extremely fast and you wouldn’t have much reaction time regardless what you carried. With no firearm I’d strongly favour a spear that would double as a hiking stick. Do not throw it. It doesn’t have to have a metal point although that would be more durable, but a sharpened end. If you can keep that point between the cat and you I doubt if he will attack. I discouraged a dog with an umbrella in this manner. He couldn’t figure out how to get around the tip and finally gave up. An option with the spear is to copy the Chinese and tie by one end a colourful rag behind the point if your undergrowth is such that it won’t snag. I have two Chinese spears with red horse hair tassels, not recommended for the brush, and they are distracting.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Charles said:


> About 5 years ago or so, not too far from my property, a fellow was walking along the road when he was jumped from behind by a cougar. It got him by the head and ripped his scalp down over his face. He had a folding knife in his pocket, which he managed to get out and open. He reached up over his head and managed to cut the cougar's throat and killed it. He then had to walk a mile or so until he found someone to help. He has had a lot of surgery, but he survived. He was lucky.
> 
> I am not going to use a knife to go after a cougar. But I figure if a cougar is already on me and I have a decent hunting knife (not something that I have to unfold), I am going to be doing a lot of cutting ... I do not have to get its throat ... if I open up its belly, it is going to let me go. Cougars generally do not hunt dangerous game ... any cougar that gets seriously injured in the wild is almost certainly going to wind up a dead cougar. They do not expect their prey to be able to inflict serious damage. If you inflict serious damage, a cougar is not going to keep at you.
> 
> ...


C harles.......... this belongs in the tutorial section, this one is one of the better i have seen, good stuff


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

newconvert said:


> You might find this interesting:
> 
> http://video.nationa...-cougar-island/
> 
> Cheers ....... Charles


seen this, i think these videos although violent and in some cases are facinating, i have watched them for hours on you tube, animals are both beautiful and deadly
[/quote]

I mentioned this video in particular because it is about Vancouver Island. "Cougar Island" is just their rather picturesque way of referring to Vancouver Island. Because Vancouver Island is geographically isolated and there is a limited territory available, there has been a selection over thousands of years for the most aggresive cougars ... only the nastiest ones are able to establish a territory and defend it. The less aggresive ones starve to death.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

I can't believe this has turned into a serious discussion.
Cougar talk.
Here's a cougar for ya:








Mmmmmm... Dana Delaney.
Wouldn't shoot her with a slingshot if she jumped me in the woods!


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## marcus sr (Jun 5, 2011)

im surprised no one has recommended saunders or trumark in this thread,the white tracers inpart a hefty sting......


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## nobody (Feb 13, 2012)

I knew someone would use the word cougar lol.


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

What if I were to come across a sabertooth tiger that was trapped in a glacier in cryogenic suspended animation but has emerged, hungry and disoriented, at my local ice cream stand?
What ammo should I use for that?


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## marcus sr (Jun 5, 2011)

M_J said:


> What if I were to come across a sabertooth tiger that was trapped in a glacier in cryogenic suspended animation but has emerged, hungry and disoriented, at my local ice cream stand?
> What ammo should I use for that?


hmmmm id at least .38 for that mj,what says you mate?


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## The Gopher (Aug 25, 2010)

Yes, i would feel much better, but only because i always feel better when i'm carrying a slingshot







...but i wouldn't feel safer.


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## melvin (Jan 11, 2011)

Isn't there an old saying about taking a knife to a gun fight?
Melvin


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

marcus sr said:


> What if I were to come across a sabertooth tiger that was trapped in a glacier in cryogenic suspended animation but has emerged, hungry and disoriented, at my local ice cream stand?
> What ammo should I use for that?


hmmmm id at least .38 for that mj,what says you mate?
[/quote]
Yeah, a .38 lead should get it under control.


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## marcus sr (Jun 5, 2011)

M_J said:


> What if I were to come across a sabertooth tiger that was trapped in a glacier in cryogenic suspended animation but has emerged, hungry and disoriented, at my local ice cream stand?
> What ammo should I use for that?


hmmmm id at least .38 for that mj,what says you mate?
[/quote]
Yeah, a .38 lead should get it under control.








[/quote]


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

M_J said:


> What if I were to come across a sabertooth tiger that was trapped in a glacier in cryogenic suspended animation but has emerged, hungry and disoriented, at my local ice cream stand?
> What ammo should I use for that?


Hey! It's a stone-age animal, ain't it?


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## Knoll (Nov 10, 2011)

M_J said:


> What if I were to come across a sabertooth tiger that was trapped in a glacier in cryogenic suspended animation but has emerged, hungry and disoriented, at my local ice cream stand?
> What ammo should I use for that?


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

M_J said:


> I can't believe this has turned into a serious discussion.
> Cougar talk.
> Here's a cougar for ya:
> 
> ...


i would kill her with kindness yummy


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## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

I was once about 45 feet from a mountain Lion in the dark. It happened to me at the children's home one morning while deer hunting on my day off. I had gotten up before daylight after an evening rain had passed, walked around the back side of the mountain and climbed up in a small tree where I had put a bench. I had set there about 5 minutes when there was a blood curdling scream and the sound of something running past me that I could not see. I was very shaken up. At daylight I got down and looked where the sound came from and found the cougar tracks. He had been setting in a tree about 60 feet in front of me and had run by me on my right side about 40 feet away. I gave up on the deer hunt as I knew that there would not be any around then. I went back to the house and called a hunter's guide friend of mine and told him what had happened. He came right up and we drove back to the spot and he said that the cat was probably on the move and would most likely go right down the ridge line. He said "I am going to try to get in front of him and wait". That afternoon he came back with the big cat in the back of the truck. He had got in the right position and had killed it. He said that the cat had killed several goats in the days preceding the event. Thank god that the Lion was as scared of me as I was of it that morning. -- Tex
.


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## Hisownself (Feb 11, 2012)

I think I'd take a .45cal 1911 model strapped to my waist plus a nice big knife. The pistol is for the one that I see, the knife is for the one that jumps me from behind.


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## cheese (Nov 16, 2011)

August West said:


> Bear spray IMO would be much better. Chris


i think bear spray is pretty effective.


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## nobody (Feb 13, 2012)

But would you feel the slightest bit safer if you had a slingshot?


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

TLR said:


> But would you feel the slightest bit safer if you had a slingshot?


NO


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

Imperial said:


> But would you feel the slightest bit safer if you had a slingshot?


NO
[/quote]
I guess everyone was being too subtle before


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## Bill Hays (Aug 9, 2010)

TLR said:


> Would you feel safe hiking in mountain lion country with a slingshot? Not just a cheapie store bought with stones but a sling shot like an A+ style slingshot with 2 or 3 tapered theraband or latex bands with .50 or larger lead ammo? The places were I hike and fish are known for mountain lion attacks and you cant carry a pistol or rifle. I would rather carry a slingshot than some pepper spray and I think a slingshot would be better than a knife. I think a hit to the head at 5 yards would be leathal,Im not ''for'' the non-leathal scare away tactics. But do you think it would be better to carry a slingshot than nothing? Most of the time lions supprise attack so you may never even hear them coming.


Let me just put it this way... My Aunt's pit bulldog was eaten by a mountain lion. So we KNOW they're tougher than them... and there's no way in the world I'd trust a slingshot against a pit bulldog.
A decent walking staff with some nice heft to it, and a good hunting knife would be much more effective.


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Grenades or find a new place to fish!


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## Jaxter (Jan 23, 2012)

Flatband said:


> Grenades or find a new place to fish!


funny


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/environment/article/Big-Bend-mountain-lion-attacks-boy-6-3105934.php

This guy managed it with a pocket knife. I wish somebody would mention what kind, but in any case, scrawny, ratty looking cougar or not, I wouldn't want to tackle one with a pocket knife, but would like to think I would if it was munching on one of my offspring. ****, I'd stick my thumb in it's eye if nothing else was handy.


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## Incomudro (Jan 12, 2012)

I recall a story where a guy was pounced on by a Mountain Lion - jumped in his back I believe and sunk it's teeth in the mans head, neck, or shoulder - someplace that turned out to be not immediately lethal.
The guy was able to get his knife (a small one if memory serves) unsheathed, and stuck the Mouintain Lion wherever he was able to reach basically.
They both held there positions, and the guys was lucky enough that his knife severed something.
As he held his knife in position, the lion died while it clung to him.


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## August West (Jan 21, 2012)

There is a well documented case of a large, healthy grizzly bear that was killed with one shot from a 410 shotgun and # 7.5 shot. That does not mean that a 410 bore shotgun with bird shot is a good bear gun. Chris


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## slingshot_sniper (Feb 20, 2011)

Sure I'd feel safe, as safe as living in a paper house during a tornado


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## Alex Jacob (Jan 24, 2010)

Even if you had the best ever slingshot & ammo loaded and ready to go I think you'd still not have time to deploy it effectively. In a pocket, forget it.

I'd definitely go with the hiking staff/spear(permitting) option. Check out the Cold Steel Bushman - it's basically a one piece knife with socket handle. You could start your walk with a staff and a knife on your belt and when in cougar country assemble your spear. I do Viking battle re-enactment semi-professionally and a 2m spear beats a sword and shield, Dane axe or sword and hand axe. A boar spear would be nice but only when hunting, not hunted. It's not quick enough.

Anyway, it's not the lions we've got to worry about here in London. It's the zombies.


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## jburdine1956 (Dec 26, 2011)

Rockape66 said:


> I have thought about this subject, and I keep coming back to a staff or boar spear. A good poke in the snoot with a staff could encourage the animal to seek a less hazardous meal. The spear would be a more serious deterent. In any case; anything that gives separation would be a bonus.


Yeah, that Cold Steel Boar spear with the crossbar to keep the angry critter from walking up the spear at you. When I was a kid there was a book about a guy that used spears to hunt for el tigre the Jaguar over dogs. Most of his technique was to get the cat to charge him and he would pull the spear up to catch the cat in the chest, the crossbar would keep the cat from getting him. But again,cougars are ambush predators and spears are ungainly objects to be managing when something has you by the head.


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## jburdine1956 (Dec 26, 2011)

Charles said:


> I live on Vancouver Island. In the last 100 years, over 50% of the documented cougar attacks on humans in North America have occurred on Vancouver Island. Until last fall, I owned 10 acres on the ocean on the north end of the island that was water access only. In the last several years in that area, cougars have attacked pedestrians walking down the road and bicyclists. I built a house there, as the old homestead burned down ... I owned the place for 17 years. There were no neighbors closer than 10 miles or so. The old lady that owned the property before me had a reputation as a cougar hunter ... she killed over 30 cougars on the place ... she once used an ax to kill one in her woodshed. I never worried much about it. I carried a standard hunting knife on my belt; I carried a machete in the bush; and I always had a compressed air boat horn. The horn was so loud that it would damage your ears if it was pointed at you and you were close. If you see a cougar, and it is close enough to worry you, I would be willing to bet a lot that the horn would scare it off; I never used it on a cougar, but I have used it on bears. At close quarters, a machete would be my weapon of choice. If jumped with no warning (happens reasonably often, usually from behind ... they go for the neck and head), I would rely on the hunting knife.
> 
> As for bear spray ... I would not have it. The animal has to be wayyy to close for it to be effective ... and the wind has to be just right. If you use it, you are just as likely to get it all over yourself. As for a slingshot .... well, if a cougar jumps you from behind, it will be useless; and if you see one and it is threatening you, you are going to be vibrating so badly you will not be able to load it, even if you have time.
> 
> ...


I've heard older proponents of the ax as a backwoods tool talk about guys they knew that fought off and kill grizzly bear with a woods ax. I would consider that desperation measures and a very determined(lucky) human being. This months issue of The Backwoodsman has an article about a uniquely slavic walking stick called the Valaska/Ciupaga that apears to be a ax head on the top of a walking stick. We get the cats here in the Las Vegas/Henderson area now and again when mostly starving juveniles come down from the hills to take the odd cat or dog. After all we have the biggest concentration of live food and water in the Mojave right here. Some pretty healthy coyotes, cotton tailed rabbits, and big horned desert sheep(especially close to Lake Mead) as well. I've walked alone late at night and trust to a walking stick and a snub nosed .38 or pocket 9mm in my pocket. Truthfully more worried about the 2 legged skunks than the 4 leggeds, and still consider it good medicine when I see Coyote on his rounds.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Few will dispute the efficacy of a decent firearm. The problem is that in most places in the world, carrying a pistol is highly illegal.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## jburdine1956 (Dec 26, 2011)

Charles said:


> Few will dispute the efficacy of a decent firearm. The problem is that in most places in the world, carrying a pistol is highly illegal.
> 
> Cheers ...... Charles


True, not where I am, but true. Not meaning to be chauvinistic to those that cannot.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

jburdine1956 said:


> I have thought about this subject, and I keep coming back to a staff or boar spear. A good poke in the snoot with a staff could encourage the animal to seek a less hazardous meal. The spear would be a more serious deterent. In any case; anything that gives separation would be a bonus.


Yeah, that Cold Steel Boar spear with the crossbar to keep the angry critter from walking up the spear at you. When I was a kid there was a book about a guy that used spears to hunt for el tigre the Jaguar over dogs. Most of his technique was to get the cat to charge him and he would pull the spear up to catch the cat in the chest, the crossbar would keep the cat from getting him. But again,cougars are ambush predators and spears are ungainly objects to be managing when something has you by the head.
[/quote]

I read that book as a youngster. The title is "Tigero", and it was written by Sasha Siemel. You can still buy it used:

http://www.amazon.com/Tigrero-Sasha-Siemel/dp/B0006ATIQQ/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330466727&sr=1-7

Or get your local library to get it on inter-library loan.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## Tomislav (Jan 24, 2012)

In my country we dont have mountain lion or any other dangerous animal (the worst you cant find is rabid foxe),
But i dont think that you can be safe with carrying slingshot, the best option would be gun if animal is in a longer distance and you can see one coming to attack you so you have time to aim - and if its not illegal. If its illegal and you own one, hide it, and you are going in woods why not to use it? I think that personal safety is important.

If you dont have one, and cougar is close to you, second weapon would be big sharp machete or ax like Charles said, motions of hand with machete would be instinctive to defend yourself.
I watched few documentarys about cougars and they seem very focused on prey and they dont feel little pain, in one documentary one friend of attacked victim use big branch and and beating the cougar everywhere but couagar didnt run away.

And then you have "shock or panic" of seeing one if you are not in nature every day and i dont think that you would aim correctly with slingshot and with a gun too, beucase when we are in high stress - animal attacking you by suprise or closing on you with fast speed, your adrenaline would pump fast in body and i dont think that you would have time to react so fast and aim correctly.


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## Alex Jacob (Jan 24, 2010)

Mankind first attached a pointy stone to the end of a stick tens of thousands of years ago and has been using the resultant weapon format continuously ever since to hunt and fend off toothy horror. That's a heritage I could go with.

Plus a decent knife as back up. If you don't already know, check out Ka-bar's website and see why the company goes under that name.


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## XxDollarBillxX (Apr 28, 2011)

sounds like way too much danger either way


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## jburdine1956 (Dec 26, 2011)

XxDollarBillxX said:


> sounds like way too much danger either way


Not so bad, even where we get cougars they are largely rare. You are more likely to have a fatal auto accident than meet up with a cougar.


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## Incomudro (Jan 12, 2012)

A potential problem with a firearm and a Cougar is that a firearm is of little use on the Cougar that's been stalking you, (without you seeing or hearing it)just ambushed you - and just leaped on your back and is now attempting to get a kill bite on your skull or neck.


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## pgandy (Aug 15, 2011)

This thread started as a question concerning hiking, as opposed to hunting. A CS Boar Spear is a formable weapon. It is also massive and better suited for hunting. I opted for a CS Assegai Spear because it is lighter and faster. It does lack quillons and I have mixed emotions about that, but for the most part don't miss them. The quillon would prevent over penetration and can be used as a hook. The Assegai is very sharp and is capable of cutting plastic bottles in half with one swing. I have no complaints with that spear. The CS Bushman would also be a good choice. I would recommend getting the sheath with the Assegai. I can't remember if the Bushman comes with a sheath. If not, ditto. You could save some money by buying only the spear head and then the haft locally, possibly from a hardware store as shipping of long objects is expensive.

Another option touched on but not fully discussed is a hiking staff. The staff has been, but I am referring to the tip. There is a tip called combi or combination that can be attached. It is essentially a pointed metal tip designed to penetrate ice. There is a cover for the metal tip to be used on normal hard or semi hard surfaces such as rock and dirt.

Below is the address to Kult of Athens, a knife/sword dealer well known in that field. Do a search for spear and spear head, just food for thought for other options.

http://www.kultofathena.com/

If you should choose a pole in whatever form you would be miles ahead in the game if you could attend a martial arts class and at least learn the fundamentals of a bo.


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## jburdine1956 (Dec 26, 2011)

Well if we are going to get into spears especially designed for defense against big cats the Chinese designed a trident for tiger hunting. The Three prongs would penetrate to the vitals without allowing the cat to move up the shaft. Of course whether that would pass muster in a national park or not...


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## Alex Jacob (Jan 24, 2010)

From what I've read it seems that boars are particularly likely to keep running when impaled, hence the wings on boar spears. Haven't come across the same characteristic with other dangerous animals. However, while there are no lions here we do have boar in the New Forest, so if I were bimbling around there I'd take my CS boar spear, which is a nice piece of kit. If I were concerned about mountain lions I'd want to chop the shaft down for an overall length of 6ft (currently 6ft 11in) which would also shave a chunk off the 4lb weight and speed the thing up considerably. A trident might be fine for hunting but I suspect the mass at the end would slow it down too much for a quick defence. The CS spear has a stamped head which is strong but very light for something with 13 inch edges.


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