• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

.32 PRB for Mountain Lion

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
o man, i would use something heavier!!!! curious, why the need to shoot 1 with a .32????

That begs the question: "Why would guides who really know their cats and treasure their dogs hand a 22 mag handgun to their clients?" Sumpin tells me they know something about the issue without counting angels on the head of a pin.
 
I've always heard that they are "easy" to kill and it doesn't take much to do so. All of the hound hunters I know around here just carry .357 and use .38's in them...or use to, not many running hounds anymore since wolves were introduced. (that's a whole different topic)
All of them were perfectly fine with bringing along someone that wanted to use a bow as well. They just loved running them with their hounds and got tired of treeing cats and not being able to reward their dogs with taking one once in a while, so they would take along most anyone that they thought could keep up if they had a tag and wanted to go.
 
Drew a tag for a cat hunt on Native reservation land. My guide says he's taken plenty with .22 magnum and I see in other threads the .32 should be ballistically similar. Crony data is giving me slightly more muzzle energy than charts I'm seeing for .22 magnum. Shots are pretty much guaranteed to be at a treed cat rather than level and open.

Any input on PRB vs minnies or maxis? E.g. where to get the latter?

Most of the old timers I know here in Oregon used a 22 mag revolver for treed cats. Back when you could run dogs in Oregon. Cats have very thin skin and the 22 mag did the job ever time. If you have dogs barking at the bass of the tree it’s highly unlikely that the cat is going anywhere, even after a missed shot. I say go for the 32. It’s a prime round for a treed cat, but I would carry a modern sidearm and have a buddy backing my shot up. Shot placement is much more important than having a big bore (but still single shot) rifle.
 
Just my take on the subject, but a .22mag will also cleanly take a grizzly if the shot is taken and the bullet hits a vulnerable area of the head. This has indeed happened and it was with a .22LR, IIRC. But I have yet to here of a hunter tackling a gb with a .32 prb. But then, you pays your $$ and takes your chances.
 
"or use to, not many running hounds anymore since wolves were introduced. (that's a whole different topic)"

That is really interesting and not something I would have thought of, but that really makes sense.

Watching the show on the History channel (Mountain Men), it does seems that the guy who was running dogs on mountain lions was concerned at one point because his dogs had gotten away from him and he could not hear them. Seems he did mention wolves.

Hear we have to worry about alligators getting to Labs during the warm part of duck season.
 

Attachments

  • 1644_54175203241_8313_n.jpg
    1644_54175203241_8313_n.jpg
    54.6 KB · Views: 132
That could of ended bad.

Yeah, the facility has signs all over the place that say, "These are wild animals". "No, seriously, y'all. WILD ANIMALS." and "HEY! YOU! Yeah, YOU! Did you not hear me!? WILD ANIMALS!!!"

I still can't get over the fact that while I and my father-in-law were wrestling the cub, my wife was taking pictures. Though, it's the same woman who, when I was cutting trees and one fell toward me instead of with my cross cut, was standing there laughing as I jumped out of the way. I really need to recheck those life insurance policies.

When my daughter was clear, I was holding the cat down by the neck and she looked at me like, "What?" She had been trying to play. As my daughter moved, her dress fluttered and the cat grabbed at it like a toy. Nipped her leg a little. No scar.

It's the same place this happened. Woman had her window down (bad idea) then tried to close it when the cat put her paw in, but then the safety engaged and autorolled it down.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/american-woman-killed-in-lion-attack-at-south-africa-animal-park
 

Attachments

  • tis-but-a-scratch-6295974.png
    tis-but-a-scratch-6295974.png
    105.6 KB · Views: 92
Last edited:
In Feb., 2019, a Colorado runner was attacked by a yearling cougar and he was able to survive by suffocating it.
It was all over the national news.
Brief article and 2 minute interview with the survivor.--->>> https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/05/us/colorado-runner-chokes-mountain-lion/index.html
Also, https://www.thisisinsider.com/colorado-jogger-may-killed-baby-mountain-lion-2019-2

A close friend was attacked by a mountain lion and her cub a few years back. He was hunting the Grizzly Creek area for elk. Cow calling when the attack happened. She got a mouthful of the hood of his hunting coat and shredded it and his backpack. The youngster jumped him too and they were really working him over until he started yelling. At that point he thinks they realized he wasn’t a cow elk and they broke off the attack. Mike’s a big stout lad, or was when this occurred, he was in his 20’s 6’ and about 200#. He said he felt as helpless as a wet kitten. Everyone says these cats are not tenacious but remember too 150# cats regularly attack and kill 400# cow elk...
 
My 15 pound male kitty cat is downright scary with his speed and strength, just playing with a fake mouse on a string. I'd hate to think what a 150 pound mountain cat with REAL teeth and REAL claws could do to a human, let alone a 450 pound male lion in Africa!
 
I'd shoot him with your .32 cal muzzleloader. If you have doubts use the maxi ball. Just shoot him through the lungs, He will not go far.
 
I remember an article in Muzzle Blasts back in the 70's where Don Davis wrote that he thought the 32 was as affective as a 30-30 on game.
With that said tho you may want to check the regulations here in Wy, a muzzle loader has to be 40 caliber firing a minimum charge of 50 grains of powder.
I do know a fella that got into a situation with a mountain lion, and all he had was a Ruger 22 bearcat revolver. He came out on top but it took 2 cylinders full..
Get in really good shape, running lions will push your lungs and muscles to the limit.
Have fun and post some pictures of your cat.
 
once i caught a deer killing dog on a game refuge in northern n.dak. he looked like a great dane but was at least 1/3 bigger. i had a high standard supermatic trophy and to put him on the ground i had all ten rounds in him very fast. then i had to reload to finish him. he killed a lot of deer before i finished him. not far from their was a white german shepard who destroyed hundereds of duck nest and young ones. i got one round into him. saw him later in town alive but all bandaged up. think he stayed in town after that.dogs are worse than wild animals, they just keep killing. by the way saw a huge coyote to day. thought it was a wolf at first.he was after ducks also.
 
Back
Top