cat gun

larry · Post by **larry** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 5:27 am

hey guy's, lookin for a super tiny .223 to pack to the tree. Thompson center makes those 12 inch barreled pistols, anyone know of anything else that's not really a pistol and not a single shot?

Spanky · Post by **Spanky** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:17 am

I have a .223 remington model 7 rifle. Its a bolt action that holds 4 shots plus one in the tube. Its lite and small but not a pistol.

dawger · Post by **dawger** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 1:43 pm

Tarus makes The Raging bull model pistol in a 221 fireball I think. It's a six shot wheel gun.

DesertDweller · Post by **DesertDweller** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:52 pm

Yeah I would look at taurus line of pistols, they make the raging hornet, 22 hornet, the raging bee 218 bee, also one in 30 carbine, they would work well for cat, lion I am assuming your talking bout.

larry · Post by **larry** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 2:18 am

thanks for all the input, looked at the ruger m77 with a 16 in barrel, learned anything shorter than 16in is a pistol or illegal. still searchin

Mike Leonard · Post by **Mike Leonard** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:36 pm

Actually if you want to pack a small rifle those little New England Arms hand rifles in 223 are fine for that and don't cost near as much as the TC contenders and such.
Personally I am not a big fan of the TC Contendar for lion hunting and here is why. Don't get me wrong they are a wonderfully well made weapon , accurate and dependable under most conditions. Here was my problem with them. Hunting out of a remote camp some years ago an old hunting friend and i spent a good part of the winter lion hunting in bad ice and snow conditions.He carried as a rule and old octoganal barrelled Thompson Contender in 218 Bee, and I was carrying a newer model in the potent 7x30 Water caliber. Even with shoulder holters and usually under a jacket some moisture would collect on these gun's actions. We would dress them down at night in the camp and try to keep them dry and oiled for positive functioning.As luck will have it they say if anything can go wrong it will go wrong at the worst possible minute.

Scenario one. We had finally treed a huge tom lion that had eluded us several times before and he was a real whizzard in the bluffs. The dog had him solid and I worked my way into the tree. I was not packing a gun that day, but my partner was, and he wanted to harvest this big tom because he was a real trophy cat. Well he made it down to the tree and we snapped a few photos, and then tied the dogs back. He takes aim with his Bee,Click! damnation! click, click! firinfg pin must be froze up. Blow on it, and put it under your coat maybe it will thaw enough to fire. A few minutes try again Click, Click. Try another cartridge, same thing. Too far to go get another gun. and sure enough the old tom catches his breath, looks for his moment of opportunity and bails out into the bluffs. The dogs are cut loose and desperatly try to corral him again. No such luck just too rough and he knows the game too well. He was nevere treed again to my knowledge.

Scenario two. A few days later we cut the tracks of another good lion, boom! the dog are on this one in a flash and he trees but jumps ouit as I approach, but they quickly tree him again. I am floundering thru snow drifts to get in under the tree. He is up a slanting log of a ponderosa that has fallen and snagged in the crotch of another big tree. He glares down at the dogs trying to scrample up the slanting log to get to him. Suddenly he bails out right into the pack of dogs. He trys to run but the snow is fairly deep and they pull him down and the fight is on. Dogs are screaming lioning is roaring and it is a royal mess. I run in and find the lion crunching down on the head of a fine redtick hound. The other dogs are pulling on him but he is locked on. Twister is screaming but he can't escape. I jerk my Contender out of the full flap holster and ram it into the lion's chest and pulled the trigger. Click! again Click! nothing. I then use it as a bludgeon and began beating the lion on the head with the gun. He finally let go and stood up and swatted at me, I fell back and thought he was going to jump on me, but the dogs pulled him down again. I felt so helpless there with that clunk of a froze up single shot that was good for nothing but a hammer. To shorten the story the dogs finally stgretched him out enough and cut of his wind and he died. We had dogs tore all up and tracking collars bit plumb thru. None died but the vet bills were expensive.I vowed to never again trust a single shot where you might get in a bind. This might not have happened again in 20 years, but two times in a week and two different guns made my mind up.

If I would have had my little model 92 carbine 357-magnum or my Smith model 66 four inch 357 magnum ..things would have been a lot better.

Just my $.02

catcher · Post by **catcher** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:58 pm

hi mike just had a thought on your post. i know people who have hunted all over the world and they tell me that when hunting in below zero temps as you stated freezing is a big problem. they say that when they go to the colder regions they have their gun smiths clean and dry all of their mechanical parts of their weapon even the gun oil as in the temps they hunt in the gun oil freezes and makes the weapons fail.

Mike Leonard · Post by **Mike Leonard** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:14 pm

Excellent advice Catcher, and it should help in most matters. As I said we were living in camp and between freezing cold, thaweing days and hot sweaty work outs foillowing the hounds a lot of condensation can occur. So it is only natural that things with a veryu close tolerance can sieze up. My uncle who was a very expereinced wilderness guide and outdoor writer once told me a little thing he had learned. He was a great lover of fine custom guns and his cabinets were adorned with many fine Pre-64 Custom jobs, and Wally Springer wildcats as well as those of P.O. Ackley. He said you know I have walked the back trails of the Pacific Northwest Wilderness as well as the Rockies, and on into Canada, and down to the barren desert mountains. I have dropped, beat up and abused many fine firearms in the quest of a trophy. I must say I have been luck and have had very few failures. I onced asked a Canadian guide why he chose the weak little Model 94 Winchester in 30-30 as his regular gun of use. He said the indian said. Easy my gun has expereince and is flexible(you know lots of wiggle room). It just keeps on shootin in the rain and snow and I don't have to baby it. Hmm? Maybe old John Browning was on to somthing when he carved out that first 94 action and put in a little wiggle room?

BMC97756 · Post by **BMC97756** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:55 am

Great post lots of info here thanks guys.

larry · Post by **larry** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 12:08 am

thanks for that Mike, not to thrilled about a single shot as mentioned earlier. will check out the New England and see what the deal is.

Mike Leonard · Post by **Mike Leonard** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 3:20 pm

Here is somthing to think about when it comes to choosing a rifle for lion hunting. I use a rifle a bunch but I have a horse carrying me a lot of the time so a handy little saddle carbine is not much of a hindrance. When I walk and have to handle everything myself on foot, I carry a model 66 stainless 4 " 357 in a shoulder rig. It has never let me down.Tpp much for bobs but I carry some semi wadcutters and they don't mess up the hide.

Too much rifle by that I mean too long range and such has the potenbtial to make a person opt to shoot a lion out from a longer distance. Many greenhorns do this when they get excited and think he is going to get away. So they drop him with a scoped rifle into a pack of hounds. Usually it works out but I have heard of times when he was wounded and really tore up some nice hounds. Other times he fell off a bluff and the loose hounds just bailed after him to their death.

So really think twice before taking that long shot.

larry · Post by **larry** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:59 pm

Yeah, I hear ya on that one Mike, just not enough of a pistol shot to keep that from becoming an all gay rodeo! Not a big fan of wounded cats running off. Just thinkin of putting a synthetic on the old .223 to lighten it up since I can't seem to find anything with rifle accuracy and pistol size with more than one in the pipe.

nmplott · Post by **nmplott** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:44 am

another great gun is the blr 22-.250. Small and reliable since browning made it.

BMC97756 · Post by **BMC97756** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:18 am

check out this pistol in 22-250.. here is a link
http://www.gunsamerica.com/976912579/Gu ... 22_250.htm

or this one in .223
http://www.gunsamerica.com/976945254/Gu ... GE_516.htm

Looks real nice but not cheep. holds 2+1

bearcat · Post by **bearcat** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:46 pm

I know your looking for a rifle but I would check out Taurus's Tracker in 218 Bee. It is lighter than their raging Bee model and a lot easier to pack in the brush all day than a rifle. I'm not a great pistol shot either. But I put a 2 power Leupold on my Ruger single six and it is all I ever pack. It turns it into a real gun I can actually hit what I am aiming at with. I carry 2 cylinders the 22 mag in case I get after a lion and the 22 LR for bobcats. But if I was buying a gun for mostly lion hunting I would go with the 218 Bee in stainless. And if you catch a bobcat it won't blow a hole in it you can drive a truck through. Also S&W used to make the 22 Jet, it was a great combo cougar and bobcat gun, but it was blued and you had to keep it clean or it could have problems with the cylinder. I use an old blued gun that was my fathers, and have had it reblued a couple times, but if I was buying a new gun I wouldn't get one that wasn't stainless.