What Smith for my Mtn. Lion Hunt

[i.hunt]

I am going back and forth on what gun to use I have a Smith 460 Mag with 4 power Leoupld and a Smith 686 .357 Mag 6" with Iron sites, will be hunting over hounds and treeing them.... I know it doesn't take much to kill a cat they are very thin skinned and average less than 150 pounds, my buddy has the hounds and is very experienced says 460 is way too much gun for the job and lugging it all over the Montana mountains is gonna wear me out... I am gonna take both but need some recommendations on the ammo for the .357...

 

[M3Stuart]

Welcome to the forum!!!

What is the range that you would normally be shooting?

Also, what lighting conditions do you anticpate - day or night?

I don't hunt with pistols myself.

Again, welcome to the forum. You've come to the right place!

I'm sure someone will be along shortly who has probably done this befofe.

Regards,

 

[Anton Chigurh]

Unscope the 460 and use that, maybe with some 225 grain Buffalo Bore .45 LC ammo.
I'm sure the .357 is usually adequate, but you bought the 460 for hunting.................

 

[Jack Flash]

You might also consider what other four legged creatures you may encounter and select something that would be appropriate for a worst-case scenario.

I have heard that the .22 Magnum is adequate for mountain lions, but I would sure hate to face an angry grizzly if that's all I had.

 

[team sidewinder]

I agree on the .22 mag for taking a mt lion and that is all that is needed with a well placed head shot. The 357 140 gr. Barnes XPB HP is plenty or what ever your 357 is most accurate with will work. You won't need the .460 cannon for mt lions in Montana and if you wanted it mounted you don't want to blow it's freaking head off. It is better to be accurate therefore the reason so many guides use an .22 mag. What ever you use you better be good at placing a well placed head shot kill as no guide wants a wounded lion on the ground chewing the h--l out of his prize lion dogs.

 

[BoDog]

First thing is how far can you shoot and maintain enough accuracy to do the job, ie my Ruger Super Black Hawlk , Bain and Davis worked over I can hold to 6 in. at 100 yards off any kind of rest. I consider that minute of buck.
In your case you need to consider the most likely range and conservatively determine range.
Remember you are dealing with a 150 lb pussy that can eat you.

 

[brucev]

A treed mountain lion will be maybe 25 yds. away... maybe. They are not heavy animals. A .357 Magnum w/ 158 gr. JHP's will do a fine job of dispatching a treed mountain lion. If you want more punch, go to a 180 gr. JHP from Buffalo Bore or... handload yourself some 180 gr. LSWC or JHP's.

 

[Larry from Bend]

The 357 will work fine --- I'd choose a 140 to 158 JSP ---- whatever shoots the best in your 686.

Your confidence in and ability with the sidearm are what's important.

A Lion that's high in a Fir and half (or more) hidden by foliage isn't the easiest target. It's often tough to find a shooting rest as there may be only a place or two from which you can see to get a suitable shot. A compact binocular can be useful to help separate Lions from surroundings.

This is all speculation, of course, your Lion may be 15 feet up and completely exposed and there might be a perfectly-placed horizontal branch on which to rest your wrist.

If you're going in bad weather it's nice to have a holster with a closed bottom and a generous flap. Of course, some use chest rigs and they work fine, too.

 

[ken158]

Interesting post here as I am planning the same hunt. Thinking of a 610 or 25-7 for my lion should I get lucky enough to get one in a tree.

 

[Groo01]

Groo here
As big cats are easy to take down I might suggest other factors..
Any load that would go through your cat may get one of the dogs
{ cats can come down you know},also you are shooting up and
a heaver load can " Sail away".
I would use the 357 with no heaver than a 158gr hp, if the barrel is a short one I might consider a 125gr[ short barrel+lower speed meaning
less expansion and deeper wound].
Why carry a 460 that is as heavy as some rifles when a nice 686 can be had.

 

[WPWarhawk]

My buddy has taken 3 Utah lions over hounds. He used a 4 inch Colt Trooper .357 for the first two. On the third, he fell in a snowbank and the Trooper was packed full of snow and ice and inop. So he borrowed the guides 22 Mag rifle and killed it with a heart shot.

 

[STCM(SW)]

Agree that .357 158 gr is more then enough, we can't hunt with hounds here anymore, but a treed cat is a lot easer then some might think.

 

[i.hunt]

I'm a big handgun nut and have shot alot of competitions over the years lol if I only saved that money from them for hunts I could probably go anywhere I wanted lol lol so shooting ability is not the problem, I'm leaning towards either the 158 JHP or the 158 JSP, I figure quick expansion is the ticket and the shots will more than likely be 25 to 30 yards at most..... guess I will have to spend some range time and see what my 686 likes for accuracy... doubt either will shoot bad, I may even try some 125 JHP's I got a whole box of them Remmys sitting on my shelf..... keep the info coming though I appreciate it, very interesting....

 

[A10]

I had a bunch of friends and co-workers that used to hound hunt cats in the North Cascades. They carried a variety of weapons, from .30-30 Winchesters to .45 Winchester Magnums to .22 Magnums. The .357 will work just fine, be plenty accurate, and will be a lot easier to aim after chasing the dogs through the woods, up hills, over logs, etc. Any load you choose should suffice, but personally I don't care for hollow points for hunting. I've seen the 125 grainers expand too quickly on an animal, causing a lot of surface/muscle damage but not penetrating deeply enough to hit vital organs. Maybe not a problem on a cat, but I wouldn't be taking the chance myself. Your hunt, your call!

What's a Remmy?

 

[Magster]

I personally would use 158gr HP but would be OK with 158gr SJSP's out of my 686. Big cats may not be that tough physically, but no animal is faster or meaner.

 

[KSCowboy]

45 Colt with 250 grain Keith SWC seemed to work fine for me. But I'm sure the 357 will work just fine.

 

[Frank237]

.22 magnum is popular with Mtn lion killers here in Central MT. You need to be accurate more than anything else. They are not tough to kill. I killed a road injured Tom once with a 9mm.

Not much of a hunt. The dogs do the work, you simply shoot the cat in a tree.

Unsure where your going but the lion populations are UP it seems all over. Was in Westeern MT two days ago at my Cousins in St Regis. Saw a cat on my way in, and another (maybe the same one) that evening from his balcony coming for water at his stream.

FN in MT

 

[WPWarhawk]

I once read a great book on lion hunting, THE LONG WALKERS by Jerry Lewis. If I remember correctly, he mainly used a S&W .22 Magnum.

 

[Rivers2k]

You said your friend is very experienced and has the dogs, I would do what he tells you if it were me.

 

[Road Rat]

You said your friend is very experienced and has the dogs, I would do what he tells you if it were me.

+1

Okay, this forum will not allow a short message so I'll fill in space here for the real input just above!!!!