Couple encounters mountain lion at Mad Creek ( Colorado )

Steamboat Pilot ^ | September 13, 2018 | Matt Stensland,

[43north]

Standard 2.75” OO buckshot is eight or nine .33 caliber pellets and will thoroughly ventilate a mountain lion.

#1 buckshot is fifteen .30 caliber pellets and will thoroughly ventilate a mountain lion. Hmm, that’s over twice as many pellets.

#4 buckshot is twenty-four .24 caliber pellets and will thoroughly ventilate a mountain lion. Hmm, that’s three times as many pellets. Hornady makes a “Varmint Load” of #4 loaded to 1350 FPS with a special “Versatite” wad to keep the shot in a tighter pattern. I have killed a 70# feral dog on a full run at a distance of about 100 ft. with this load and it was decisive.

Hi cap 9mm is fine for lion defense. So is .357 if you’re good with it. FWIW there are lions, bobcats, and coyotes around my house. My 12 bores are loaded first with the Hornady #4 buckshot “Varmint” load and the last two rounds are Brenneke slugs. If you can’t kill something with a Brenneke slug your number is up.

And if everything goes bad fighting a mountain lion would be a dramatic way to go - BUT - I’d want to go out like a true mountain man and take it with my knife...(LOL). Not really. Let’s be practical. Blow it out of a tree with buckshot!