Calling Cougars?

[TheStovePipeKid]

I'm running .300blk with 110 grain Barnes off the shelf rounds. Just waiting for snow this week to get out and see if my scope fogs up.

[headshot5]

With a 223, I'd be shooting 60 grain partitions or 64 grain Nolser bonded solid base.  You don't have to worry about splashes.  Plenty of penetration, bullets mushroom perfectly, and you can push them at 2900-3000 in a .223/556.

On a side note they also work great in a 22-250. 

[MADMAX]

.223 to the head drops them right now

Be a shame to bust up the skull though.

dont recall the size probably 55 gr, not too bad on the skull in above the eye and out the back
I cleaned it myself in a maggot bucket and a 2 minute boil , pick and weak bleach solution to finish
then 2 weeks on roof, then glued the teeth back in
I'll get it down some day from a high inside window sill and snap a picture

[Bango skank]

Took the 300WSM last weekend. Wanted something stainless for a wet day and in the event of a marginal hit, I like what 30 cals do to deer sized game.

I wouldnt even call cougars deer sized game.  An adult female youre looking at the 100lb range.  150lb is a good mature tom.  Id bet most cats people kill here in wa, where no hound hunting doesnt allow selective harvest, are under 120lb.

Ive seen 3 cats hit with a .243, all females, and its been plenty.  One was at 200 yards. 

The one i shot last month left a bigger exit than i expected, 95 grain federal fusion.  Dont know maybe shooting through brush caused the bullet to tumble?  But theres a reason i didnt post an atl pic.  The liver was hanging outside its body attached to a string of visceral fat.  Not pretty.  The extremely close range could have had something to do with that though, i dont know.  Ill be trying out the .556 with heavy bullets next time.  Rifle finally arrived, just waiting on this stupid new background check b.s.  hopefully ill get to test it out on some yotes or a bob before 2020 cougar time.

[KFhunter]

My cougar calling gun has been a .44 mag carbine,  I think it would be good medicine and not leave its liver hanging out?

[Bango skank]

My cougar calling gun has been a .44 mag carbine,  I think it would be good medicine and not leave its liver hanging out?

Id think its a good choice.  I had my .357 marlin in the truck that morning and almost grabbed it.  Wish i would have.  Would have been better in thst situation not to have a scope, and it would have been damn cool to take the cat with an iron sight lever gun.

[Jonathan_S]

Like @Karl Blanchard told me with an impending .338 build, "overkill is underrated"

I'd take anything I had and have. Anything I shoot well will do for a cougar hunt.

[Bango skank]

Well a .300wsm surely wont leave you undergunned

[rainshadow1]

I like the idea of a deer cartridge. Possibly with varmint bullets, but I like a little thump to it... just in case! I shot one with a 223, I wouldn’t do it on purpose again. I’d do it, but id prefer the 243 any day of the week.

Whst size / type bullet did you use from the .223, and at what range?

55 gr Vmax, 50 yards, in the face, but off center so it skipped off and into the shoulder. Bullet did really well, ended up in the opposite hip, but still required a follow up shot 2 hours and 500 yards later.

[JimmyHoffa]

I wondering what guns you guys use for cougar hunting?

22-250, .223, 250-3000

[Okanagan]

Cougars are usually not hard to kill (exceptions noted, as with any animal) but without tracking snow, they can be very hard to find once shot.  Soft feet on moss or duff leave no sign for most of us to follow unless there is a good blood trail.  Use enough gun... and bullet.

IE.  Had a hard time finding a cougar hit on snow with a 30-06 180 gr. CorLokt, side to side through about the last rib.  It left the open snow and ran into forest with only moss and no snow on the ground.  Exit wound plugged by fat.  Ditto on another well hit lion using 7mm mag and Swift Sirocco, hit well and recovered but surprisingly hard to find.

I have gone to .243 with 95 grain Nosler Partitions for my cougar calling.  We can't control the angle of hit on a called cougar but take what shot it gives us.  I want an exit at virtually any body angle but hopefully not too big of an exit.  Others choose an entry hole only with fast expansion inside the body and hopefully a quick kill with no trailing.  YMMV but for me, a ton of overkill beats an ounce of underkill.

[hunter399]

Myself in the off season of deer and elk I always grab my 25\45 for coyotes +cougar but have never shot any coug so by all means no expert.With that said I would use any legal caliber that you shoot the best.That may be your deer rifle or any legal caliber.as long as your sighted in,and ready to drop the hammer it will work.

[kukusya]

That’s what I thought. 7mm rem mag is too big, 7-08 doesn't have scope and I’m selling it, ar not ready yet. Look like weekends I will go out to 454/460 with my ak, will see what I can call in.

[bearpaw]

In my experience cats are actually pretty easy to kill, I usually recommend a 223, 243, 30/30, 44 mag, etc, to my hunters, but I'm hunting with hounds and we usually have good shot placement opportunities and worse case scenario we can turn the dogs loose again to find a wounded cougar if we have to, I don't like doing that, we usually track wounded cats ourselves without turning dogs loose again (wounded cats are very hard on hounds).

If you are calling cats, and especially with little or no snow on the ground, tracking a wounded cat that isn't bleeding can be very hard. So I think good advice for callers is "overkill is better than underkill"! I would suggest when calling cats, especially if there is not much snow, use a gun/bullet combination that is going to cause lots of damage and bleeding and hopefully you won't have to track very far. 

FYI: A gun that is often overlooked is the 12 gauge with #00 buckshot. There probably won't be much bleeding but at close range that is going to kill anything pretty darn quick and it's quick to point and shoot!

[Wsucoug]

I shot mine with a 160 grain accubond out of a  7mm this year. Hit it in the neck and had no exit. This was at 30 yards. Dead on the spot.

I would lean towards bullets that shed its energy in the animal. This would be the nosler ballistic tips or accubonds or large caliber v maxes.  I would stay away from the all copper bullets unless I was shooting to break the front shoulders. Chasing an injured cougar in the thick forest, on foot, just sounds miserable.