Cougars and Wolves

Discuss self defense and carry / EDC / tactics ...
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greatbob6
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Cougars and Wolves

Post by greatbob6 » Sun Mar 05, 2017 10:09 pm

We got some property a little southwest of Newport late in the fall, and we were out there this weekend (a bit tough, still a lot of snow out there) and another property owner was out and mentioned that there were cougars and wolves in the general area. I generally carry a 9mm when we are out there (or a Ka-Bar Kukri for clearing brush) but I was wondering if there was a better option for this sort of situation. What would you carry if there was a chance you might encounter cougars or wolves?

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Re: Cougars and Wolves

Post by Roland the Headless » Sun Mar 05, 2017 10:40 pm

anything that goes boom will scare most critters away, at lest what you will see around here. As long a badger or wolverine doesn't find ya, you'll be fine ;)
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Re: Cougars and Wolves

Post by Call Turner » Mon Mar 06, 2017 7:11 am

A peanut butter sammach. :lol: Watch your kids and your pets, they make good tasties for the carnivores. Generally not a problem unless their on the way to grandmas house on foot. There's bears in them woods up there too! :mrgreen:
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Re: Cougars and Wolves

Post by hatchdog » Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:48 am

An encounter with a Cougar or Bear would most likely be a single animal but not so much with Wolves. I used to carry a .357 or .44 mag revolver until Wolves became more prevalent in this area. Now I carry a 10mm with two spare magazines, 180 gr. Hardcast lead @1200 fps. I have never seen a wolf but have seen many bears and two cougars in my time but have never had an aggressive encounter. If you choose to continue carrying you 9mm I would suggest the stoutest ammo your particular gun will handle, i.e. Buffalo Bore etc.

greatbob6
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Re: Cougars and Wolves

Post by greatbob6 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:35 pm

Do you think that 9mm would be sufficient for wolves and cougars? It seems like those would not be over man-sized in terms of weight and dimensions so I would think it would have enough penetration, but I'm really just guessing. I'd love to get a .357 revolver so this could be a great excuse to get one if it would be a better option than a 9mm. ;)

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Re: Cougars and Wolves

Post by hatchdog » Tue Mar 07, 2017 6:21 am

greatbob6 wrote:Do you think that 9mm would be sufficient for wolves and cougars? It seems like those would not be over man-sized in terms of weight and dimensions so I would think it would have enough penetration, but I'm really just guessing. I'd love to get a .357 revolver so this could be a great excuse to get one if it would be a better option than a 9mm. ;)
It's my understanding that cougars are rather thin skinned and easily killed but I have no personal experience to confirm that. Can't say about wolves but remember an encounter with wolves could involve several animals and they are a very efficient pack killing machine. This is why I replaced my woods carry revolver with a semi-auto, more ammo! That being said, a 357 revolver is one of the most enjoyable guns to shoot. There are now 7 and 8 shot 357's out there which helps a little with ammo capacity.

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Re: Cougars and Wolves

Post by Flawlessfoose » Tue Mar 07, 2017 7:20 am

In my opinion, I think 9mm would work really well on these animols. In fact I would use self defense loads like critical duty or some bonded bullets from speer , federal hst, winchester ranger t series ect. Underwood makes a awsome penatratore load, as does buffalo bore if you need 4 feet of penatration though.
In particular, I think 9mm is a good choice because of its capacity, and 9mm does have good penetration, and recoil is not harsh. I would choose 135 to 147 grain.
For bear on up, I would pick something like 10mm on up.
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Re: Cougars and Wolves

Post by 40pirate » Fri Mar 10, 2017 7:08 pm

I carry my Glock 19 with 147 gr HST, I believe it'll do just fine against critters around here.

Now if the wife wanted to spring for a 10mm I wouldn't complain much :D
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Re: Cougars and Wolves

Post by Abruzzi » Fri Mar 10, 2017 9:12 pm

You could google 'guide kills grizzly bear with 9mm.'

Or, get the 357 you want.

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