BigGameHoundsmen.com

I'm looking to get a pistol yo carry while running lions and didn't know which caliber would be best to have. What do you guys use that is big enough to have some knock down power but still nice to carry?

I carry a 41 magnum. The reason is that I used to hunt bears also. Now that I have carried it for all of these years, I wouldn't trade it for anything, except the possibility of a 22 mag. For a lion the 41 is over kill. I know others who carry 45's, 357's, and even 22 magnum. A lion is really pretty fragile when it comes to dieing. I know guys that have tried to rope and tie them, only to have them choke to death without warning. I have had dogs stretch them on the ground and kill them without any assistance from me. If it were leagal, my choice would be a 22 magnum, without reservations.

.357 mag, 41 mag, 44 mag all good choices. If you like semi-auto's 357 sig and 10mm are very good choices. I caryy a 357 sig or 45 ong colt, but I really like a 41 mag

Lions arn't real tuff to kill but a wounded lion can play hell on a hound pack in a matter of seconds. As we all know not all shots aren't perfect in hunting situations. I know of a couple of dead dogs because the hunter was carrying a 22 mag with less than perfect shot placement.

357 as it is both one of my rifles and pistol calibers so I only have to pack one type of bullet.

i got a 44 mag black hawk lots of nock down cant be to dead for me when they come down. the black hawk is a tool dont think a guy can hurt it. but then agin most hound guys can tear up a anvil with a womans nose powder puff thing even then parts are cheap for a rugger.

Yeah I was looking into a 357 45 or colt 45. I didn't want something too small just in case of s bad shot placem. Thanks for all the info

Kyle, For me, the 357 in a pistol is just too stinking loud! I'm at the age now that I wish I had taken better care of my hearing. What with acid rock, hundreds of thousands of rounds being shot through the years, welding on drilling rigs......... just something to think about.

I have use a multitide of handguns over the years and have taken everything from cottontails to large bull elk with them. I have used many different calibers on lions and seen many more used by other hunters.

How do you want your lion to come out of the tree? Stone dead? Or fatily hit but still have some run and chew in him?

Shoot him in the lungs with a a fairly solid bullet in a 41, 44, 454, 45 long colt 44 special or even the a 40 SW or 45 ACP. Generaly he is going to bail out and run till his lungs fill with blood and if the dogs ever take him there will be a bit of a fight. Probably not too bad and wont last long becasue a fairly good sized hole has been put thru the lungs but none the less he is not going to die on the spot. Shoot him with a 125 Gr. hollowpoint in a 357 Magnum and most likely it is going to explode his lungs and he is going to be pretty much dead meat when he hits the ground. Now use a 158 Gr. or heavier slug like a semi wadcutter and he may run even further than the afore mentioned rounds. The hot loaded 170 Gr. hollow point in the 41 magnum and the 180 HP in the 44 are very devastating as well but they require a bit heavier handgun to be controllable with these smoking loads. I have seen very hot Plus P 115 gr. HP's in a 9MM kill much quicker than the big boomers on lung hits, and that is where you want to shoot them.

I love the 44 Magnum, I dearly love my model 657 41-Magnum but for a light, accurate and very very dependable everyday lion revolver the Smith Model 66 Stainless with a 4" barrel and stoked with 125 Gr. Jacketed hollow points is my favorite.

Yes they are loud, so I carry the little sponge ear plugs several sets one in my extra speedloader case that hangs off my shoulder holster and several poked in my cartridge belt on my belt rig. A treed lion is not going to get you in such a hurry you can't shove these into your ears before you skin that smoke wagon and go to work.
I want them lions to fold up and hit that ground dead and not chew up any of the dogs if possible. Yes you can tie all the dogs back and that is advisable in some situation but not allways possible. We shoot a lot of lions in the bluffs and this little handy gun takes the wind right out of them and they assume daytime temperature quickly.

Of course you can use a rifle many times and like I always say when you can it is the way to go. An average shot with a rifle is usually better than a pretty good pistol shot when you get into some hairy situations or have to deal with a little more range. A 357 Magnum carbine is super on lions as well. That little extra barrel velocity would make you think you just shot them with a 25-06. Bigger hotter rifles at times blow some big holes in the lion hide and your taxidermist will call you a dude. LOL!



Lions are not that hard to kill I figure they are about like the average human of the same weight.

Check on the web. and see which pistol round and bullet has the best first shot knockdown and kill record. You will find the 357 Magnum 125 gr. HP at the top of the list.

Mike Leonard wrote:skin that smoke wagon and go to work.

I liked that scene in Tombstone, good info. Later Kiel

Ha! Ha! I was walking the streets of Tombstone this week and when I went by the site of the old Oriental I thought of it as well. Walked by Wyatt's old house and thought of the depiction as the Cowboy's shot fireworks off bought from the Chinese opium dealers at the wake of their friends. Only saw one ghost though and that moustache looked a bit familiar in the mirror. LOL!


When I am lion hunting horseback many times I carry my 357 in my shoulder rig, and my carbine in the saddle boot. Ready for any occasion.


I have two guns--One for each of you..........AKA Doc

I love my 460 S&W, 220gr. yah i know its kind of big but its sweet

I love that 460 as well what a shooting iron! Man I was dinging those gongs out there at 300 meters with it after a few shots. No real recoil because of the compensators and weight of the gun.

To me however carrying it lion hunting would be a bit like packing a 12 pound English Double Rfle in 500 Nitro Express to hunt mountain sheep.

hows that 44-40 work? thats shooting slow enough to expand

Pegleg,

Shooting slow enough to expand does not equate. It is velocity that opens a bullet up if it is designed to expand. Yes it also has to meet required resisitance but the reason the little 125's out of a short barrelled 357 mag work well is they still expand and cause hydrostatic and hydralic shock that turns the lungs to soup.

Now then the 44-40 is a wonderful pistol and carbine round, and also very historic. Loaded at safe pressures for most colt and colt replica single actions jacketed bullets are not required because you are seldom if ever going to exceed the 1100 ft. per second speed. therefore cowboy action type rounds are a great choice and by far the most economical. they will kill a lion graveyard dead but don't look for them to smoke him and turn his lights out immediatly. Death will come from internal hemmorage unless you hit the spine or central nervous system. A head shot that finds the brain even with a 22 LR will turn his light out right now. However when usuing a centerfire pistol or rifle you may very well ruin the skull and the scoring of the lion. Also I have seen some dumbies who thought they were Matt Dillon with a hogleg shoot the jaws off lion only to have them jump out and slice and dice hounds all over the place. It is a small target and after you look at a few lion skills and the location of the brain you will see why so many hit too far forward. Anway back to the 44-40 with a jacketed bullet in a carbine or beefed up Vaquero or such you might be able to get sufficient speed to cause the bullet to expand on a lion but I would still be a bit worried about over penetration and so i would be sure to tie the hounds back before i whacked the first one to make sure of what is going to happen.


Ever see in them old B westerns how they would shoot some of those guys and they would wobble this way and stagger around and then fall and crawl and get their gun and try to fire back one more time?

In reality that is a lot more accurate than today's super shooter up movies. One shot and they fly backwards ten feet thru a wall deader than a mackeral.

I have seen people shot and killed in the flesh and you never can predict just what is going to happen. but you can eliminate a lot of guesswork by knowing your weapon, the right bullet and put it right where it does the most good. I might also add that even tho Hollywood has desensitized us to shooting people with guns, the first time you see a real live person take bullets right in front of you all that Hollyweird $hit goes right out the door. you will feel like somebody just hit you in the stomach with a sledge hammer!

mike i've seen more then my share. and at longs shots, which gives you time to watch and after a while it gets pretty clinical. shoting people and their reactions depend on quite a few things like if they know its coming or not. a person taking a piss will usaully just melt into the ground or stagger a step or two. those expecting you are a real good time to double, triple,tap or just plain unload into. but i'd put people as slightly harder to kill then cats. I haven't seen a cat really cling to life with tenacity for very long. I'm sure it's all nervous system. however I still like my 44 and my 10 mm they are personal favorites and that brings a whole new aspect to the table. I've a nice 22 mag thats been in the family for years but would never really purposely carry it lion hunting. hound hunting doesn't always provide those unsuspected pinhole shots that seem so dramatic for small bores. but it does provide those close shots that make bone breaking shock effective.