I read the 45acp for bears thread. I am more worried about the cats and two legged animals than the bears. They (or at least a large male that lives in our area) comes into our camp occasionaly during our elk hunts. It jumped on top of one camper early one morning. The animal control have unsuccessfully hunted this particular cat the last I've heard. A bowhunter was attacked, and mauled, by a female a few miles from where we camp a week before our last trip. I would simply feel better with a sidearm on my hip.

So, I own all 45acp pistols. The lightest is a USP compact(25.6oz). I am short on funds right now, so I was considering taking it with me. Or, am going to try to get the money for a lighter 44 or 41 mag. I used to have a S&W Trail Boss(40oz), but it was just too heavy. Weight for me is everything. I'm loking at the following:

GLock 36  20.11 oz  an even lighter .45
S&W 329 PD   26 oz  .4oz heavier that the usp, but is a 44
Taurus tracker 425SH4C  24.3oz  41 mag
*Taurus Total Titanium 415SH2C  20.9  41
Taurus ultra-ultralight  28oz  full sized, heavier that the usp, but is a 44, might not be avail. before Oct.

Anyone have any experience with these? Is the .45 enough? I am assuming that I can get better penetration on a cat than a bear. How is the 41 mag? They will not be comfy to shoot, but that's not what I'm looking for. I want small and lightweight. That 20oz looks appealing to me.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I would go with a heavy bullet.  Cast load.  Something HOT, I mean REAL HOT!

That sounds like a vicious cat.

Three people were mauled by this cat last week.  So arm yourself well.  




TRG

If the gun is going on your hip then screw weight.

Get a Ruger Redhawk in .44 mag or .45 Colt.  That will put the kitties in their place and won't break your budget.

The big cats attack by surprise, probably from behind, and try to grab and bite your neck and shoulders, killing you by slow suffocation. You need to be able to get to the pistol while under attack and being bitten. Big revolvers would be slower to get into action than a smaller automatic. While .45ACP is a bit light for hunting, it should be more than enough to stop a cat attack. They don't like getting hurt and give up quicker then bears or dogs that are more likely to fight to the death. One cat in California gave up because rocks and a bicycle were thrown at it.

If you were talking about big African cats the .45ACP would indeed to be too small.

I think the USP Compact will more than fit the bill!

Ive known several cat hunters in sw Texas.  The one I know the best uses a 22lr.  Keep in mind, most of the time they have been treed(sp?).   If you get blindsided a good knife will be better than the gun you can't grab.    

Quoted: Big revolvers would be slower to get into action than a smaller automatic. .

That's nonsense.   A revolver on the hip is as fast as any gun to bring into action.  Hell you would be hard pressed to find anything faster than a revolver on the hip.  An auto in your waste band would be a hell of a lot slower to bring into action.  An auto on the hip would be fine, but it's going to be less powerful and less rugged.

Quoted: Quoted: Big revolvers would be slower to get into action than a smaller automatic. . That's nonsense.   A revolver on the hip is as fast as any gun to bring into action.  Hell you would be hard pressed to find anything faster than a revolver on the hip.  An auto in your waste band would be a hell of a lot slower to bring into action.  An auto on the hip would be fine, but it's going to be less powerful and less rugged.

Agreed. A lot people think revolvers are slow though. I don't know if it's the fact that in movies they shoot magnums slow or the fact that programers of video games purposely make them shoot slow. It's a myth. I can get a 4 inch barreled 686 out and firing on target as fast as any auto I've had.

For cats I'd be okay with a .45 using FMJ's. I'd try and go with 230 grain +p's. They don't have as much bulk between the skin and bones/organs. All that being said I would prefer a .357/,44 with heavy hunting ammo.

Quoted: Quoted: Big revolvers would be slower to get into action than a smaller automatic. . That's nonsense.   A revolver on the hip is as fast as any gun to bring into action.  Hell you would be hard pressed to find anything faster than a revolver on the hip.  An auto in your waste band would be a hell of a lot slower to bring into action.  An auto on the hip would be fine, but it's going to be less powerful and less rugged.

I've got to agree with the revolver in this case.   When [in crisis] you jam your gun against the animal your automatic may come out of battery rendering it useless until you move it out again.

10mm seems to be a popualr choice for handgun hunters...Ted Nugent took a boar with a stock Glock M20 with a single shot at like 100 ft or yds I can't remember?! Either way I'd say a 10mm would be more than adequate