Everything is illegal in CA, my sister is a cop in San Jose and supports gun registration and one time when she was up visiting I got lectured on how the 6" hunting knife on my dashboard would be illegal. She's a borderlin pinko-commie.
As far as cougar attacks I have a couple of stories. As most OR hunters can tell you, ever since they stopped the use of dogs and bait for cats and bears, things have got out of hand. The ODFW is killing nuisance bears at an alarming rate and the dept of Ag is shooting alot of cats. I've personally talked to three other people who've had run ins with cats. All three were bowhunters and both had to kill the cat at a matter of feet with their bows and the one I saw the X Rays from the federal wildlife forensic lab in Ashland which is the foremost in the country. The arrow penetrated the skull and went directly down the spinal canal through the middle of the vertebrae killing the cat instantly. The other was a 13yr old boy, I gave him and his father a ride off the mountain to get help with their truck that wouldn't start. They were spring turkey hunting and I ran into them while bear hunting. The kid had been laying on the ground with his bow watching a meadow when a cat appeared directly in front of him. He was camo'd very well and the cat watched for a few moments and then dissapeared. I think the cat couldn't make him out and probably left because of the human scent. I give alot of credit to the little guy for staying calm and not running although he told me he was scared to death and shaking like a leaf. Had he run it probably would have triggered the cats instincts to kill.
I've had two close calls with cats myself. The first time was in the spring and I was on top of Mt Ashland on the OR/CA border glassing for cats and bears when a thunder storm came in. I was above tree line and decided to get out of there. I was half way off the mtn when a cat walked out in front of me and out of the two dozen cats I've seen in the wild this was the biggest, a big tom that easily went 200+. I was so rattled when I got out of the rig I forgot to put it in park and the rig took off down the road and rather than shoot I watched my rig come to a stop unhurt in a bar ditch. When I looked back up the cat was still there sitting on a rock on the side of the road. When I raised my gun he jumped but not panicked. I followed him up the hill which was all scrub oak and was still covered with leaves from the previous fall which made it like walking in corn flakes. I stopped to listen and I could hear the cat working his way back around behind me. I decided the smartest option was to retreat as I could hear him but the brush was thick and I couldn't see him.
The closest encounter I had was in a farmers field bordering a river. I spotted the cat from the road a couple hundred yards out bedded in the middle of a hay field. I went and got permission to hunt the cat from the owner and when he found out all I had was a revolver (6" custom Ruger in 475 Linebaugh) he offered me the use of his rifle. I knew I was in trouble when I saw it. The gun was a semi auto Rem in 06, the ammo was green and mag so rusted I had to pound it in and the scope was an antique. Never the less I took a rest on a fence pole and shot. The cat ran but I'd seen dust fly from behind the cat but I wasn't sure if I'd hit it or shot just over him. I gave the farmer back his rifle and went in search of sign with my revolver. I couldn't find blood where he'd been laying so I walked toward the river where it had gone which was lined with 6' tall blackberry bushes. I was parralelling the berry's and checking all the game trails for blood. As I passed on of these trails the hair went up on my neck at the same time I heard the obvious growl of a cat. It seemed like it took forever to draw my gun and turn and fire but I know it was a fraction of a second. I was half turned and threw the gun around my side and touched it off the cat was just starting to jump at me when the gun went off. The shot missed it's head by inches but the muzzle blast of the big bore turned the cat. That cat had deliberately hid in the bushes and was waiting for me and in true cat fashion was going to hit me from behind. Had I not had the revolver I'd been hurting unit. The initial shot was 180yds and must have been high because I never found any blood. The first cat that watched me and my rig going into the ditch was only 20yds when I checked the distance although I'd swore it was three times that. That cat had lost it's fear of humans. There are alot more close calls than most people realize and all the cats I've mentioned seeing have been in since 98 and I know it's because of the loss of fear from the stoppage of hound hunting and our pursuit season. From what I've seen and talking to wildlife biologist if your in state where hunting pressure is light or non existant on the cats and especially if dogs are not allowed your chance of a run in are much higher.
Topic: hand gun carry (Read 1580 times)
