BigGameHoundsmen.com

I have used a remington 700 .243. I shot behind the shoulder and in the head either way they didnt go very far once the hit the ground. Going to try the 22 mag next time to see what it does.

a raking lung shot is best......35 remington 200 grain soft point.

rather be prepared for the worst than hope for the best....

I just bought a 25-35 lever action winchester. I know it's a great round just looking forward to taking some lion with it this year.

i carry a ruger redhawk 44 mag 71/2 in barrel,the redhawk also comes with a 51/2 inch barrel ,better for carrying hunting behind hounds,most shots are 25 yards or closer240 grain jacketed soft points for bear,240 grain hollow points for lion,lion are easy to kill,if you hit em in lungs or heart ,they usually wont even wiggle when they hit the ground,the 44 mag is a very deadly weapon, I have killed bull elk with one,but a 357 mag is suficient for lion,and a lot of guys are more accurate with a smaller caliber handgun,the kick of the larger calibers may cause some people to flinch

Let me tell you a little story about how i got soured on the Thompson Contender for rough country lion hunting.

This happened some 15-18 years ago when an old buddy of mine and I were in a remote winter camp lion hunting. We were living in one of those big green Army tents and had a good barrel stove and all the comforts of home and the hunting had been going well. We had about 20 dogs in camp and were splitting packs daily as we covered the country cutting for sign. The man was a good deal older than I and had a lot of hunting experience under his belt and had been a State Lion Hunter in California before the Moritorium and had caught lots of cats. His gun of choice was and old style Thompson contender with the Oct. barrel in 218 Bee. He had spent a good deal of time with Steve Matthes famous California lion and jaguar hunter and Steve's gun of choice was a customer 6 shooter built on a colt frame in 218 Bee. Well I saw this guy make some fine shots with his contender so I bought a Super 14 in 223 and had a ball that summer shooting prairie dogs, and other vermin. I felt the 14" barrel was a little long and awkward to carry lion hunting so I ordered a 7x30 waters shorter barrel. As you know the 7x30 is a cartridge gun writer Ken Waters developed by necking the 30-30 down to 7MM. this was a fine shooting gun and I rolled a few coyotes with it at ranges approaching 200 yards. I contacted El Paso Saddlery and had them build me a custom full flap holster for my Contender that was nicely basket stamped and bore my brand on the outside, and I was set. I felt the full flap would protect my weapon and keep snow and debris from getting into it while battling the elements following a pack of hounds thru the wilds of New Mexico. The gun had never failed and I kept it clean and very lightly oiled.

Just after Christmas in camp a big snow storm blew in and dumped about 10" of fluffy snow and then the sky cleared and the temperature dropped like a rock. My buddy and I awoke that morning with a heavy blanket of snow on the old green tent, and pulling the flap back and stepping out the air slapped you in the face like an icecicle. We loaded up and decided to go together this day incase we had to shovel and chain up to get thru with all the snow. This man's new wife had driven in from Tucson to be in camp for Christmas so she decided to join us on the hunt that day never having seen a lion in the tree before. Well sure enough we made a few miles and hit a low cut where the wind had drifted and we buried the old blue chevy and the work began. I was out digging with a scop shovel, clearing out around the tires laying on my side digging out the snow where we were high centered, and then putting on the tire chains. Well we finally got loose and back on the road again and inside the cab we warmed up and began to dry off. We went a few more miles and crossed the tracks of a tom lion made during the snow storm. His tracks were just dimples in the deeper snow but out under the shelter of a dense pinion tree they were clear and we knew he was a good one. We unloaded the hounds and soon they were leaving bellowing and throwing snow in our face, the track was good. We fell in behind them slogging thru the deep snow but soon the canyon and the snoow covered trees muffled the sound of the hounds. We kept on their trail and after a mile or so we found where they had jumped the tom from an undercut sandstone shelf and they left in a hurry. Well over the next ridge we stopped to catch our breat and as our heavy breathing subsided we could hear the welcome roar of hounds tree just off over the rim. We made our way down to them and found them with a big tom up a leaning pondersa pine which had fallen into the crotch of another tree. Well he was breathing heavy and we felt he would stay so he called his wife who had waited in the warmth of the pickup on a hand held radio and told her to follow our tracks and come on and see the lion in the tree. She was a good deal younger than he and a runner in good shape and it didn't take her long and she was at the tree marveling at the beautiful sight of that lion in that snow covered tree. Well he elected to shoot the lion and make a nice mount for their den back home in Arizona. So he pulles out his TC 218 Bee and levels off at the cat who was about 30 feet away. I still don't know what happened but his shot hit low breaking the cat's ankle just above the foot, and down he came and away with a broken leg. Well the deep snow hindered him as well as that bum foot, and the dogs were on him in just a second and the battle was on. I beleive we had 6 hounds with use and they were really going at it. I got in there and pulled my TC from the holster. He had one redtick down by the top of the head and was trying to kill him as the other dogs ripped at him. I jumped in there as I had done on previous occasions jammed that TC into his ribs right behind the shoulder and pulled the trigger. Click! nothing. I jumped back broke it open and the primer was not dented. I cocked it again and moved in and pulled it again. Click! Nothing! Damn I yelled at my buddy my gun won't shoot give me yours. He did and I jumped in there with his and click! It was hung up too. Holy crap! Now things were serious I grabbed a big stick and started beating that lion on the head and somehow got him loose from Twister whose head was pouring blood. the lion turned and lunged and me and let me tell you up close a personal in a situation like that they can be dangerous! The dogs sensed my danger and mobbed him down and I floundered away. I knew this gun was froze up so I yelled at his wife standing there with her hands over her mouth and terror on her face. Put this under your ski jacket and see if you can warm it up. She did and I went back to the task at hand. My old friend was not real fast on his feet and I told him to stay back and I would try to get the dogs tied. Well no good they were just too wound up and they had the lion down and then he would be up and have another hound down biting on him. this was not a spit and snarly bay up this was a fight. Well he broke loose and made a little run and unfortunatly he ran right into the guy's wife and she went down in the mass of lion and hounds. I rushed in there and grabbed her and drug her away before she got bit by a lion or a hound, and she went into shock. I grabbed the gun away from her and dumped a fresh cartridge in it and slapped it shut cocked it again and bailed back in there. thank goodness when I pulled the trigger this time it went boom, and the lion was finsihed.

We had seriously hurt hounds. this lady was down vomiting and coughing, and she vowed she would never go hunting again and never did. It was an ugly ordeal, and yes it could have happened with other handguns, but when you have a single shot and it doesn't go bang you are in deep doo doo at times.

The deal is especially for a newcomer you need to plan for the worst and be ready. so many people watch these TV shows with Jim Shockey and others and things never go bad. Well they edit and cut and remember if you have a whole TV crew along filming you from all different angles it just ain't as tough as it looks.

Have fun shoot straight, and be safe!!!

THAT is exactly what I don't want to happen...thanks to all you guys for sharing your wisdom. Appreciate your experience and advice.

wow very good story i felt like i was right there with u hope all the hounds were ok!! I use a 357 it works good and if u make a bad shot u have a couple more to make a kill.

That is the same story that steered me clear of a Contender. I went to an old octagon barreled 1894 Winchester Takedown in 30-30. It rides the scabbard like it is not there and takes down in seconds to fit in a small pack for the rough stuff. For a pistol, a S&W double action in .357 is just right, but any .44 or .45 will do. I would not recommend a .45 auto, or any other auto handgun, to anyone but the most experienced. Last thing you want, is some adrenalized shooter, dumping a clip in a ground fight, into a swarming mass of dogs and cat. The dogs will 99% get the short end of it.

A .22 in the head will kill them as dead as any of the other guns mentioned. It's like anything else. What are YOU comfortable with. I think anything bigger than a .223 is a waste of perfectly good lion meat.

George, I fail to see how a lion that ran a half a mile with a .223 bullet in its heart would have died sooner or later than a lion with a .30 caliber bullet in it. Do you think the lion knew it was only a .223 and decided to run farther?

Why use a gun that you have to be right on the mark to kill game????? I have my opinions and most of it facts on calibers and killing game. There are two ways you kill game, 1-trauma to major organs or 2-shock the body and stop all organs and brain. Why would you use a 22 to do either? Further more, the 223 was never intended or designed to kill, it was designed to wound. There is no such thing as to much shock or trauma. Pick a caliber with enough energy to break bones and ribs and still comes out the other side. These expansion bullets are junk for clean ethical kills. I use a 450 marlin for every bear and lion. The bullet has massive mass and constructed to hold that mass. When used there is a 1/2" hole in and a 1/2" hole out, with everything in the middle scrambled. I don't understand why people feel it is important to kill game with the smallest caliber made, maybe it is a ego thing. I think I'm going to use a blow dart gun on the next kill. That should turn heads and make people think I have balls of steel to kill dangerous game with as little as possible!

So you don't think that people that use to much gun have ego problems? Like whitetail hunters that use a .30-.378. My opinion is use a heavy slow moving bullet that will go clean through. AND NO THOMPSON ENCORES EITHER.

So Joe your saying my 338 ultra is overkill on coues deer??!!! Ok maybe a little.

25-35, 30-30, 32 specail, 357's mag 41 mag, 44 mag all excellent choices for lions.

Catch wrote:Why use a gun that you have to be right on the mark to kill game????? I have my opinions and most of it facts on calibers and killing game. There are two ways you kill game, 1-trauma to major organs or 2-shock the body and stop all organs and brain. Why would you use a 22 to do either? Further more, the 223 was never intended or designed to kill, it was designed to wound. There is no such thing as to much shock or trauma. Pick a caliber with enough energy to break bones and ribs and still comes out the other side. These expansion bullets are junk for clean ethical kills. I use a 450 marlin for every bear and lion. The bullet has massive mass and constructed to hold that mass. When used there is a 1/2" hole in and a 1/2" hole out, with everything in the middle scrambled. I don't understand why people feel it is important to kill game with the smallest caliber made, maybe it is a ego thing. I think I'm going to use a blow dart gun on the next kill. That should turn heads and make people think I have balls of steel to kill dangerous game with as little as possible!

You are right about the 223, it was designed to wound, when using military ball ammo, in millitary situations, but beleive me with a soft point bullet i have seen numerous animals killed with a 223. the eskimos have been killing polar bears with 223s for years. i would think they are a bit tougher to kill than a cat! JMO.

Catch wrote:Why use a gun that you have to be right on the mark to kill game????? I have my opinions and most of it facts on calibers and killing game. There are two ways you kill game, 1-trauma to major organs or 2-shock the body and stop all organs and brain. Why would you use a 22 to do either? Further more, the 223 was never intended or designed to kill, it was designed to wound. There is no such thing as to much shock or trauma. Pick a caliber with enough energy to break bones and ribs and still comes out the other side. These expansion bullets are junk for clean ethical kills. I use a 450 marlin for every bear and lion. The bullet has massive mass and constructed to hold that mass. When used there is a 1/2" hole in and a 1/2" hole out, with everything in the middle scrambled. I don't understand why people feel it is important to kill game with the smallest caliber made, maybe it is a ego thing. I think I'm going to use a blow dart gun on the next kill. That should turn heads and make people think I have balls of steel to kill dangerous game with as little as possible!

+1 I like an extra margin of error to allow for the human element of things. I've never understood the point of using a single shot for modern rifle hunting either. We make mistakes and therefore limiting ourselves to one shot does not make any sense to me. Just my opinion.

If you cant put the bullet were you want it at 20-30 yards at the most, you probably have no business shooting anything anyway!