.32 PRB for Mountain Lion

[32 ballard xl]

Lot's of thoughts not thought of yet. See...the thread ain't dead yet. I totally agree on the head-shot thing. Blowing the snout off a deer, elk, bear or cougar is not a humane kill. The size of a cougar's brain is like a crab-apple...it's not a large target. Ain't no poop in your pants.

When I hunted "Lion" in California, I used 4 dogs and a 38-40 Winchester Model 1873. This was 60 years or more ago. I lung shot them. For whatever that's worth.

 

[Rat]

That's worth another vote for heart-lung area shots.

 

[Danny Ross]

So the ones promoting the use of a .32 cal to kill/hunt cougars with. Are you saying they are that much easier to kill than a deer? I know I have read hear on this site many times bigger is better. Some would say a .40 would be the smallest round to use on a deer, many promote .54 to a .62cal for deer, because they want the dead right there results/quick clean kills. What's the term we use, Whompability. Why is shooting a cougar any different than shooting a deer? We are talking animals of similar body weight, and we want a quick clean kill. I guess we should have a discussion in another thread: What is the smallest muzzleloading caliber can/could we get away with hunting any large game animal? Yeah I know State Game Laws decide for us. Because this is the discussion this is going on here: What is the smallest muzzleloading caliber to hunt cougars with? We don't get much smaller than a .32cal . There are times I just don't get it and this is one of them. DANNY

 

[SDSmlf]

Believe the reasoning is you are talking about a stationary target, maybe at a distance of 10 yards.

 

[Danny Ross]

Have you ever had a deer that close and said "I wish I would have brought less gun to kill it with?". I have with a 50cal and that thought never even crossed my mind, and it still ran 40yds. DANNY

 

[mahkagari]

Have you ever had a deer that close and said "I wish I would have brought less gun to kill it with?".

Yeah. Particularly after hiking a ways to get to it.

 

[Rat]

I don't promote the use of a .32", but I think it will work "okay". I'd choose a .40" over a .32" for sure, and would prefer a .45". If a deer was run until it was exhausted, and then climbed up in a tree, it would be easier to kill. The circumstances of the hunt do have a lot to do with it, as does the condition the animal is in when shot.

 

[SDSmlf]

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....

So, has OP made a mistake with the guide he has chosen? If a 22 mag / 32 round ball are inadequate and/or unethical then shouldn’t the OP consider both a larger caliber and a different guide? I admit that if asked straight up before reading this thread and thinking about it, I would not have considered a 32 round ball for a mountain lion hunt. Right now, I concur with the OP’s guide suggestion of a 22 mag and would feel comfortable carrying a 32 muzzleloader loaded with a round ball on such a hunt.

 

[Stantheman86]

Sure my neighbors have killed deer with .22 LR because they were dirt poor but its not like I'm recommending .22 LR as a deer round...

Of all the muzzleloaders I own the only one I'd feel confident with for dangerous game would be my .451 Parker Hale , because it's more or less a muzzleloading 45-70.

 

[renegadehunter]

"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.

The ones I know got out of it before they lost any hounds to wolves. There were several stories (and gruesome pics) from Idaho and Montana hound hunters going around, about when wolves really started getting some numbers, of them losing every single one of their dogs before they even had a chance to show up and possibly stop it. Wolves make very short work of hounds.