SmallCaliberCentral

I've been waiting on this one. Saw on another forum, the question, is the .204 good enough for mountain lion?

If you gotta ask, it probably isn't. Sure it will kill one, same as a .22 rimfire will knock off a deer. I wouldn't use it. I'll say it again, the .204 has no equal on 'chucks, pdogs, bobcat, and fox, but now a mountain lion caliber? Give me a break, it performs about 65% of the time on a 35 lb. 'yote, and now they want to use it on a 130 lb. cat.

The fellow asking, wasn't even wanting to shoot treed cats. Dogs are illegal in his state, so he planned on cutting fresh tracks, tracking, then shooting at the range cat was spotted.

What the heck happened to ethics? I love all my .20 calibers, and no one praises the .204 like I do, but I don't agree at all with the way some folks are trying to use it. How do the rest of you feel?

Mike

If it only works 65% of the time on your yotes then the issue is shot placement....

I agree that it will not reliably take down a lion but very few will ever get a chance at one.....so in all honesty it is a non-issue for me....

I don't judge what other people use to take their game.....I just do what I need to do and move on....

Edited to add that I may sound a tad harsh but it was not intended....Folks who cannot reliably take down coyote sized game with a .20 caliber rifle just needs to pick a new bullet or place their shot better...

70% of successful hunting excursions is shot placement and the other 30% is picking a bullet that will be able to "penetrate" to a vital area...PERIOD...That is simply it....

Would I purposely use a .204 for a lion? Heck no!
Will it kill a lion? Heck yes!




GW


GW

I am thinking at least semi auto and a 30 round clip...in an AR platform.

If anybody has not FULLY seen what a mountain lion can do....people would not go into the woods. I says this with utmost sincerity.

My house cat...16 pounds of tiger striped hair....can EASILY jump 5 feet up, flatfooted.

I agree with you. I use a 22-250 for coyotes but would not want to go looking for a lion with it. Thats why I like States that have a min of 243-6mm cal on big game like here in CO. It can kill them with no problem if everything go right, but hurt cat might get not work out to good!

Missouri is having a rash of cougar sightings, including one caught on a trail cam last weekend. It's got the fine folks on http://www.missouriwhitetails.com all knackered up, half are going to take a .44 magnum bowhunting, etc, and half are scared to go back in the woods, period. All manner of silliness is going on, and I heartily enjoyed the fussin' and feudin' over it. Quite entertaining reading!

I wouldn't go looking for big cats with a 204 but if it was in my hands at the time & I would fire as many rds as possible if needed.

glenn asher wrote:Missouri is having a rash of cougar sightings, including one caught on a trail cam last weekend. It's got the fine folks on http://www.missouriwhitetails.com all knackered up, half are going to take a .44 magnum bowhunting, etc, and half are scared to go back in the woods, period. All manner of silliness is going on, and I heartily enjoyed the fussin' and feudin' over it. Quite entertaining reading!

That cracks me up....
There are cougars all over...
Besides coyotes and WTD, they are probably the most adaptable to a variety of different habitats and climates....
Just because folks do not see them or any sign of them it would be ignorance to therefore consider them not living in the area....

The cats want it this may as they are secretive in nature...
They will not "stalk" you unless they are starving or their territory is under attack.....the latter is usually why you hear the horror stories....

For the most part they are perfectly content to not be seen and for "us" to decide where they may or may not be found...they could care less..

GW

Idaho is filthy with mountain lions. I have been stalked when elk hunting. Very unsettling. Try setting up for coyotes by yourself and not turning your head quick when you hear something behind you. My 16 round .40 is always in my lap. . No silliness. I have spent a lot of time in the woods and am not scared. I also do not want to be a chump.

I've got a 7mm Magnum that should do the trick rather nicely. Strap my H&K .40 Compact USP on my side for close quarters work and I would feel much better. I wouldn't go looking for mountain lions undergunned.

I don’t remember if I posted this before, but last year my son and I were out squirrel shooting when two BLM officers pulled up to us. They asked if we had seen anyone else in the area or had noticed any trash. Evidently one of the latest drug related behaviors is going to remote areas of the desert and cooking meth. The people leave the resulting chemical waste, usually in glass or plastic containers. The officers told us in no uncertain terms not to approach and to leave the area immediately if we saw any vehicle that did not appear to be recreation related or seemed out of character in any way. They asked if we had a GPS and asked if we would call in any suspicious behavior or trash piles of any kind and to GPS the location. They assume all these people to be armed and their protocol is to call a chopper.

That is a little scary. I have never seen anything myself and hope I don’t but it is always in the back of my mind now. I suppose it is the human predators that are really dangerous.

If you read my "hunt I'll never forget" you'll see I was face to face with one yesterday. Let me stay right now the very last thing on my mind was should I shoot this cat with my 204!!!!

While we were looking at each other I could have shot him right in the neck with the 40gr berger I had but like Scootertrash said were are your ethics? That was one Beautiful cat the last thing I would have wanted was to make it suffer.

There is a lot of good guys on this site with a lot of good info but with that being said I sure get tired of the "the 204 is not a good cal. for coyotes" talk. I'm just not sure where that talk comes from.
If I was only killing animals or birds I shot 65% of the time I would hang it up. Do you guys really have expereince with the 204 on coyotes? I have shot 9 dogs this year with it. All one shot kills. The only way I would have it!! 3 of them were 250 to 300yrds. The others were around a hundred or closer.

Lyn wrote:There is a lot of good guys on this site with a lot of good info but with that being said I sure get tired of the "the 204 is not a good cal. for coyotes" talk. I'm just not sure where that talk comes from.

Lyn,

Unfortunately, the talk comes from people who have not found this site, and have no clue that there are differences in construction of various bullets.

The issue is now mountain lions and whitetail. Just doesn't make sense, and taking head shots no less.

Mike

The 204 is not a mountain lion or a deer gun. Not to say it won't kill one. As for coyotes...absolutely!
















ab

glenn asher wrote: half are going to take a .44 magnum bowhunting, All manner of silliness is going on!

Glenn, are you callin' me silly?














J/K