Posted on 09/13/2018 8:28:20 PM PDT by george76
A Steamboat Springs couple recently had a scary encounter with a mountain lion at Mad Creek.
Mark Stanford and his wife, Kristen Joaquim, were having a picnic Monday for Joaquim's birthday at the Mad Creek barn, and they started hiking back to the parking area at about 7:45 p.m.
"I looked up and saw a set of eyes staring back at me," Stanford said.
He said he saw a yellow-green reflection off the eyes, and he tried to size up the animal.
"I could see that it was a big cat," Stanford said. "I knew that they had sighting ups there."
He was carrying a firearm, and he shot off a round to try and scare the animal. It ran off and the couple started hiking again before discovering the animal again on the trail.
They felt like they were being hunted.
"It was just a pretty scary encounter," Stanford said.
Stanford was grateful his wife did something to alert him to the presence of the mountain lion.
"If she hadn't done that, and I didn't have my gun on me, there is a good chance one of us wouldn't be here," Stanford said.
(Excerpt) Read more at steamboatpilot.com ...
Intuitive counselor?
Could that possibly mean anything other than “bullshit artist?”
Yeah, well - I love nature, and am very intuitive.
And I've got Diana by most of a foot, and 100 pounds.
And I still go "heeled" when I'm in the woods...
Mark Twain said there was nothing so uncommon as common sense.
There’s a Facebook Group named “santa cruz mountains lion & bobcat” where mountain residents post their trail cam videos. It is really incredible how many big cats are on the prowl every night in the Santa Cruz Mountains (southern San Fran Bay Area between the Bay and Santa Cruz). My wife spotted one hiking solo a year ago in the SC Mountains and really didn’t think much of it. I’ll have to ask her if she’s changed her mind. One was spotted on Tubbs Hill in downtown Coeur d’Alene about a month ago and people really got freaked out. The population here seems to be nothing compared to the California central coast.
Honestly, cannot deny what Alison said about life and her sister. It has to be very difficult for her to say that in this time of sorrow and grief.
There are classes here in North Idaho on “forest carry.” And they don’t mean carrying enough food and water.
You imply that the Coeur d’Alene folks are the worse for “freaking out” about only one mountain lion near town. (Compared to the “calm” attiude of people near the far greater number of big cats down around SFO.)
I think it's actually the opposite: The people in ID and AZ and NM and PA and TX know and respect the wilderness and its predators! They properly fear the cougar BECAUSE they recognize its danger to them, their pets, their animals and children. the idiots in SFO and San Diego and LA “think” the mountain is just a friendly cat in the pristine wilderness and that they can go hiking to seek “inner peace counseling” and tranquility. It is the people in CA and beatniks in CO who fire warning shots so as not to hurt the poor thing.
I suppose there’s some truth to that. But the number of big cat warning signs around the SF Bay and in CdA is about the same.
You are over generalizing about people in SF Bay Area. There are a lot of rugged people there escaping to the mountains on weekends or living in the mountains. Lots of serious outdoors people who can take care of themselves.
It’s like the extreme over-generalization of New York State. The NYC boroughs are a tiny fraction of the land area of NYS. Yet everybody thinks the entire state looks like Manhattan.
coulda been worse- coulda been nancy pelosi’s eyes staring back at ya
For a long gun, probably something like a 30.06 rifle (or larger) or 12 gage shotgun. If a handgun, probably something like a 10mm or 44 caliber. When talking big game animals, you're also talking about bigger calibers as well when you pose the question as what is ideal. The only reason I didn't list 45 and 357 calibers is that I would prefer the large capacity magazine of a 10mm or the hand cannon quality of a 44 if settling for a lower number of rounds capacity.
Some decades ago and 19 years old, I was day hiking a trail in a remote corner of the Guadalupe Mountains in New Mexico. A mile up the trail, I heard a big cat snarl. Never saw the mountain lion but froze, walked backwards a ways with my hunting knife in hand then retreated at a walk back down the way I had come up. Dumb dumb, dumb and I survived to learn a lesson.
Since then, I have a rifle or shotgun very handy for in and around camp and sometimes on me if further out. Also, I have a 9MM with modern self defense loads usually in an outside the waistband holster as opposed to a less accessible inside waistband carry.
Carry whatever you can shoot accurately. A hit with a 9mm or .38 special is better than a miss with a 10mm or .44. I carry a Ruger GP100 .357 with a 3” barrel loaded with 185gr flat point cast lead bullets that I load myself to less than maximum so it is comfortable to shoot and I shoot it well. It resides in a comfortable pancake holster on my right hip. To my way of thinking it is the ultimate compromise of size, weight, and power. Ideally I’d use a 12 bore shotgun loaded with #1 or #4 buckshot but I’ll have the .357 on me rather than trying to remember which tree I leaned the shotgun against.
Mountain lions have impressive offensive weapons but they are thin-skinned animals and are not particularly bulletproof. Think large dog that climbs trees with bigger teeth and wicked claws.
Mark Sanford goes hiking with the hope and anticipation of being attacked by a cougar.
Its tough to beat a short-barreled 12 gauge loaded with 00 buckshot and a 9mm w/ 15 rounds. The short barrel is important for the shot spread. The 9mm is useful for close work when the 150 lb cat has you in a death embrace. If everything goes bad - what better way to die than fighting a mountain lion?
yea common sense around predators goes a long way
Guns save lives.
Lol
“It’s a mountain lion! RUN!”
“You can’t outrun a mountain lion!”
“I don’t have to outrun him, I just have to outrun YOU!”
True, that. But it still makes sense to avoid or prepare to handle predictable dangers.
Exactly. Hey! See those two glowing spots in the dark? If you aim right between them, you’ll be safe...
Being Mauled by a Grizzly?
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