Mountain Lion/Big Cat Shot with Thermal in East Texas...

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Mountain Lion/Big Cat Shot with Thermal in East Texas...

Posted: 9/18/2017 7:44:01 PM EDT

I wanted to share this video with my friends here in this forum. I post alot of hog hunting videos and a few days ago I had either a Mountain Lion, Cougar, or some type of Panther show up during one of my late night hog hunts. This has been a little secret of mine that I haven't shared with many people, mostly because I didn't want people around here in East Texas to think I was crazy, but I've had a Mountain Lion/Big Cat either living or hunting 100 yards from my front door for the past 8 months. In the past he's always eluded the opportunity for me to take a clean shot...until he showed up for the last time during the middle of hog hunt. From the video you'll see him amazingly jump 7 or 8 feet in the air after taking a shot to the front right shoulder. Be careful out in those fields chasing hogs guys, you never know what you might run into..

Mountain Lion/Big Cat Shot with Thermal in East Texas...

Posted: 9/18/2017 8:01:13 PM EDT

[#1]

What area is this in?

Posted: 9/18/2017 8:11:01 PM EDT

[#2]

What caliber rifle?

Posted: 9/18/2017 8:35:26 PM EDT

[#3]

The grass that he was laying behind, I measured is two feet tall. Laying down with his head up he was several inches taller than that very tall grass. He was big, definitely wasn't a feral house cat, haha!. On thermal, it's really hard to see his size because he is directly facing me. It isn't until he jumps that you get to see how long he really is. But, before I flipped the camera on, I saw him walk over before laying down and I knew it was that Big Cat. Now it might be a panther or cougar, not really sure. I was just sad that I didn't get to recover him...

This is in East Texas, Van Zandt county. I'm using a .223 Ar-15..

Posted: 9/18/2017 8:56:16 PM EDT

[#4]

I haven't gotten a good night's sleep since. My biggest fear is my neighbor Paul finding it dead somewhere on his property and taking credit for shooting it, haha!

Posted: 9/18/2017 9:22:33 PM EDT

[#5]

I'm in Upshur County and a neighbor reported seeing a big cat in my pasture a number of years ago, there have also been calves taken, and one that escaped but was cut from about halfway between the shoulder and hind quarter to the back of the hind quarter.

There has also been at least one mountain lion photographed on a game cam in Panola County several years ago.

The hog population provides a ready source of game for apex predators, and it does not surprise me that they are found in the same habitat.

Posted: 9/18/2017 9:58:02 PM EDT

[#6]

you're exactly right... i know that it was feeding on all the hogs out here on my place.

Posted: 9/19/2017 9:28:46 AM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:
The grass that he was laying behind, I measured is two feet tall. Laying down with his head up he was several inches taller than that very tall grass. He was big, definitely wasn't a feral house cat, haha!. On thermal, it's really hard to see his size because he is directly facing me. It isn't until he jumps that you get to see how long he really is. But, before I flipped the camera on, I saw him walk over before laying down and I knew it was that Big Cat. Now it might be a panther or cougar, not really sure. I was just sad that I didn't get to recover him...

This is in East Texas, Van Zandt county. I'm using a .223 Ar-15..

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Don't get me wrong a AR-15 .223 is a great rifle but if you wanted to drop a big cat like that I think a bigger caliber would have been the ticket. It's a shame it was never recovered and more gun might have allowed you to find it. That is why I asked. I'm no expert and have never hunted cats so take it with a grain of salt but for dangerous game like that it is go big or go home as a general rule. Nice video regardless...

Posted: 9/19/2017 10:19:09 AM EDT

[#8]

No, you're right.. I would have rather had a bigger caliber. I have bigger caliber rifles but only one thermal scope and I like keeping it on my .223 for coyote hunting

Posted: 9/19/2017 10:21:57 AM EDT

[#9]

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Quoted:
No, you're right.. I would have rather had a bigger caliber. I have bigger caliber rifles but only one thermal scope and I like keeping it on my .223 for coyote hunting

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OK, that makes sense...thanks for the clarification.

Posted: 9/19/2017 10:50:11 AM EDT

[#10]

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Quoted:
No, you're right.. I would have rather had a bigger caliber. I have bigger caliber rifles but only one thermal scope and I like keeping it on my .223 for coyote hunting

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I know what you see there and I do too, but there may have not been a good hit on that cat, we all know it doesn't take much to deflect a light projectile like that.

A dead animal that large is going to stink, and buzzards will be on it in no more than a day or two in this weather.

I think it was hit, I'm just not certain it was a fatal hit, which is sad regardless the creature.

Posted: 9/19/2017 10:52:10 AM EDT

[#11]

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Quoted:

OK, that makes sense...thanks for the clarification.

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You know really, all I care about shooting are hogs and coyotes on my land. I wish this big cat would have just never came back but I've seen it around a few times and I have small daughters that play outside nearby. There was a little boy recently bitten in the face by a mountain lion here in Texas.

Posted: 9/20/2017 2:03:35 PM EDT

[#12]

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You know really, all I care about shooting are hogs and coyotes on my land. I wish this big cat would have just never came back but I've seen it around a few times and I have small daughters that play outside nearby. There was a little boy recently bitten in the face by a mountain lion here in Texas.

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I take it by the comments, that mt lions are not normal in your state or that part anyways?? They are everywhere here in AZ. They are not a thick skinned animal. That 223 more then likely killed him but it depends were it hit of course. A lot of people think bear or big African game when they think cougars but they aren't built like that at all. Id think a 243 or similar would be a great lion gun. Hogs would great feed for them as well as deer of course which your state has no shortage of either. If they are starting to come around people, you may have more cats then you realize.

Posted: 9/20/2017 2:13:36 PM EDT

[#13]

The problem comes in when you hit a bone like a shoulder or leg in front of the chest with such a small bullet. That may be what happened here as it looked like a good shot but it depends on where the cat's leg was at the time. Also lack of blood. Either way if its dead or still alive I think the shot did it's job and the cat will not return to that particular area regardless.

Posted: 9/20/2017 9:12:41 PM EDT

[#14]

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Quoted:

I take it by the comments, that mt lions are not normal in your state or that part anyways?? They are everywhere here in AZ. They are not a thick skinned animal. That 223 more then likely killed him but it depends were it hit of course. A lot of people think bear or big African game when they think cougars but they aren't built like that at all. Id think a 243 or similar would be a great lion gun. Hogs would great feed for them as well as deer of course which your state has no shortage of either. If they are starting to come around people, you may have more cats then you realize.

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I think people are starting to see more of them around here in East Texas. I heard from a few cattlemen that they are finding dead calves that are ripped clean from their belly to their neck. Out in the wild on someone's property I would probably just leave it alone but this one keeps coming around my house.. Just makes me nervous..

Posted: 9/20/2017 9:13:12 PM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:
The problem comes in when you hit a bone like a shoulder or leg in front of the chest with such a small bullet. That may be what happened here as it looked like a good shot but it depends on where the cat's leg was at the time. Also lack of blood. Either way if its dead or still alive I think the shot did it's job and the cat will not return to that particular area regardless.

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I hope that you are right!

Posted: 9/21/2017 8:09:57 PM EDT

[#16]

Hey OP, did you find blood, a blood trail? If not, did you find hair and if so what color hair?
If no blood but belly hair perhaps you grazed it, and if not perhaps you hit right under it thus the giant leap into the air.

Head shot next time with the AR

Posted: 9/21/2017 8:17:01 PM EDT

[#17]

If big cats are as hard to nail down as feral house cats you probably won't find/smell it.

Posted: 9/21/2017 11:15:08 PM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:
Hey OP, did you find blood, a blood trail? If not, did you find hair and if so what color hair?
If no blood but belly hair perhaps you grazed it, and if not perhaps you hit right under it thus the giant leap into the air.

Head shot next time with the AR

View Quote

Yeah, no blood, nothing, I thought I might have hit a little low causing him to leap like you said. That rifle and scope is really dialed in. I'm dropping hogs with headshots all day long from 50-100 yards. Watching the video in slow motion it looks like that bead is square on his front right shoulder but who knows..

Really, I don't know why I didn't take the headshot. 90% of the time, on a hog, I always take the hog shot. I guess I was just thinking that a cat's hide and bones aren't as tough as a huge hog and a body shot would do the trick.

Posted: 9/21/2017 11:16:44 PM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
If big cats are as hard to nail down as feral house cats you probably won't find/smell it.

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your're probably right....if I hit it at all. I have shot a hog that ran and never found blood, only to find it laying dead in the woods about 50 yards away...

Posted: 10/4/2017 6:18:22 AM EDT

[#20]

What kind of bullets were you using? If you were loaded up with varmint bullets for coyotes and hit the shoulder or something you might not have gotten enough penetration to get the vitals.

Posted: 10/22/2017 10:56:32 AM EDT

[#21]

I assumed they would be protected in one way or another, either with tags or permit and not considered nongame.

I suppose cattle ranches play a part in this, but I could be wrong.

Posted: 11/6/2017 11:49:24 AM EDT

[#22]

I had almost the exact same experience as OP. I mean EXACTLY the same situation, save for night vision.

I do a lot of spotlighting off an ATV and have killed hundreds of coyotes and bobcats. But one night I came across something different. I'm driving down a road and see some eyes slinking through the grass maybe 60-70 yards out. I can tell it's coyote sized but it was moving more like a bobcat does. It goes behind a small patch of trees so I swing around to get an angle and start lip squeaking to get it's attention.

I round the brush and there sitting down under the trees is a mountain lion as plain as day. The dark facial features were obvious even with a red light. I aimed the .223, loaded with 55gr. Vmax, at his shoulder and fired. He jumped strait up in the air, exactly like op's did, and disappeared. I spent probably 15 minutes looking for the body but a heavy rain storm rolled through before I could do a more thorough search for blood. I came back the next day but there was no sign left. Never found him.

My gun was shooting about an inch higher than it was supposed to be so chances are it was a high shoulder or high grazing shot.

If I had only taken the .270 that night.

Posted: 11/29/2017 12:43:07 PM EDT

[#23]

OP, if you don't mind me asking, which thermal are you using and what dvr unit. I just picked up a FLIR RS32 60mm and wow does it change my outlook on things. My first thermal. I haven't been hunting for the last couple of years, lost my wife to a stroke, and I'm just getting back at it. I've been updating some of my varmint hunting equipment, my new foxpro should arrive today, and getting familiar with the thermal. My son and I were watching some deer in the pasture the other night, doe and two fawns, when 4 coyotes came in and the deer took off. The coyotes came within 40 yards of where I was standing by a tree and never saw me. Unfortunately I didn't have my thermal mounted on my AR, I was using it unmounted. I live in Hunt county just south of Greenville. Good luck and I enjoy your video's.

Posted: 11/29/2017 1:32:07 PM EDT

[#24]

Great shooting Tex.

You killed a predator that kills hogs, and you didn't even recover it for a trophy.

What a waste.

UPS driver I know in that area sees big cats crossing the road at night regularly.

Posted: 12/19/2017 12:22:52 AM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:
Great shooting Tex.

You killed a predator that kills hogs, and you didn't even recover it for a trophy.

What a waste.

UPS driver I know in that area sees big cats crossing the road at night regularly.

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I missed where you posted pictures / videos of all the mountain lions / cats you have killed. What a waste not to share your coveted experiences.

Thanks for sharing OP. I would have done the same thing.

Posted: 1/8/2018 9:49:04 PM EDT

[#26]

Quote History

Quoted:
Yeah, no blood, nothing, I thought I might have hit a little low causing him to leap like you said. That rifle and scope is really dialed in. I'm dropping hogs with headshots all day long from 50-100 yards. Watching the video in slow motion it looks like that bead is square on his front right shoulder but who knows..

Really, I don't know why I didn't take the headshot. 90% of the time, on a hog, I always take the hog shot. I guess I was just thinking that a cat's hide and bones aren't as tough as a huge hog and a body shot would do the trick.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Hey OP, did you find blood, a blood trail? If not, did you find hair and if so what color hair?
If no blood but belly hair perhaps you grazed it, and if not perhaps you hit right under it thus the giant leap into the air.

Head shot next time with the AR

Yeah, no blood, nothing, I thought I might have hit a little low causing him to leap like you said. That rifle and scope is really dialed in. I'm dropping hogs with headshots all day long from 50-100 yards. Watching the video in slow motion it looks like that bead is square on his front right shoulder but who knows..

Really, I don't know why I didn't take the headshot. 90% of the time, on a hog, I always take the hog shot. I guess I was just thinking that a cat's hide and bones aren't as tough as a huge hog and a body shot would do the trick.

I've found cats are pretty amazing with how they can react no matter how they're hit. I killed plenty of bobcats in southern California growing up with rimfires that didn't twitch. I shot a feral housecat here in MD last season. It was sitting at 220 yds and that land owner wanted all the predators gone(chicken farm). Held 3 inches over his head with a 60gr BT at 3010fps. It jumped almost 6ft in the air then ran 20ft before flopping all over. I was thinking I'd just grazed it or something. When we got over there, it had entered the left eye and there was just a shell left on the back. I guess it was just nerves, but I've never seen any other critters react like that when there's only 10-15% of the brain left in them.
I've also had a bobcat hit solidly with a Grendel launch straight at us at head height with all 20 claws out when hit with a subsonic.22 insurance shot. We parted like the Red Sea in a hurry, right @MrPlayer ?

Posted: 1/9/2018 1:36:11 AM EDT

[#27]

Quote History

Quoted:

I've found cats are pretty amazing with how they can react no matter how they're hit. I killed plenty of bobcats in southern California growing up with rimfires that didn't twitch. I shot a feral housecat here in MD last season. It was sitting at 220 yds and that land owner wanted all the predators gone(chicken farm). Held 3 inches over his head with a 60gr BT at 3010fps. It jumped almost 6ft in the air then ran 20ft before flopping all over. I was thinking I'd just grazed it or something. When we got over there, it had entered the left eye and there was just a shell left on the back. I guess it was just nerves, but I've never seen any other critters react like that when there's only 10-15% of the brain left in them.
I've also had a bobcat hit solidly with a Grendel launch straight at us at head height with all 20 claws out when hit with a subsonic.22 insurance shot. We parted like the Red Sea in a hurry, right @MrPlayer ?

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Yeah, that surprised us all and got our attention pretty quick.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Mountain Lion/Big Cat Shot with Thermal in East Texas...

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