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Is a Beretta bobcat .25 or tomcat .32 powerful enough to scare off a montain lion or coyote?

By Yahoo Answers
2008-02-12 12:35:27
I take my dogs in the desert a lot and i love to go camping. I'm not too worried about attackers where i go much more about animal attacks and i would like something smaller and easier to conceal then my spingfield XD. Also, will either of those guns fit comfortabley in a bigger guys hand?
Answered By: Bill G
In Colorado the state patrol uses M-80s to chase anamals away from the roads. You might have better luck using pepper spray for protection. My parrot uses a strange growl to scare dogs off.
User: Obama smokin'
Waving a stick can do the same thing.
User: nicholas
It is the sound that is scaring them. A larger caliber will make a louder sound. .32 or large firecracker.
User: wujoosay
If I were stuck choosing it would be the .32 pistol. I have a Kel-Tec .32 I use for when I just cant have something bigger. I wear size 13 rings and it just barely fits my hands.
User: kc0fzz
With a well placed shot, it may scare the animal off, but I wouldn't be willing to stake my life on it. If the shot isn't well placed, it may startle the animal into attacking. It may also wound the animal and trigger a defensive response, where it now feels it has to fight to survive. Compound that with the relative innefectiveness of the .25 cal and the .32 cal (the .32 dismissed by most as a defensive caliber and by the rest as the barest minimum you'd want to use), and you could make things worse for yourself. Personally, if the XD is a viable option, I would use that. As for the general size of the Tomcat, I actually have aftermarket rosewood grips on mine (the factory plastic ones cracked after lots of practice). They seem to give it a little thicker profile without losing concealability. You do want to make sure you have a tight grip on the Tomcat, as its weight gives even the .32 ACP a little snap.
User: jimihendrixwa45
Probably. Neither of those animals are the type that will continue an attack if they are being shot at. Even a .25 is enough to kill either of these two predators with several short-range hits to the vitals. A .38 Special snubby revolver would be even better, though; and some of them are still pretty small and light. Anything is better than nothing. Probably the best combination would be a stout walking stick, AND whatever gun you can comfortably carry concealed.
User: ntolerant
Woah man! I am no hunter of big cats, they are beautiful and don't taste too well, so I cannot say how they react to certain calibers. I can tell you from the way a large pig reacts to two well placed double taps from a .45acp that I want no part of a Mountain Lion with anything less than a .44 Mag in my hands. Even then I would still be wishing for a shotgun or rifle, while saying prayers if one had me and/or my family cornered in the wild. The key thing here is they can cause A LOT of damage in a LITTLE time, a Mountain Lion can easily swipe out a chunk that would cause you to bleed to death way before you got to help or it got to you.....even in its death throes. That said, I would want a round that would put him down and out without so much as a twitch, and again this is from someone who would go to great lengths to keep from having to kill a Mountain Lion. As for the hands issue, I have big paws too, and nope, there is nothing comfy about a bobcat or tomcat in my hands. Very few compact handguns do, so sub-compacts are out when comfort is the issue with a big guy. That is not to say I don't carry them, and carry comfy, but when it comes time to shoot there is nothing comfy about the process.
User: HM
If you don't mind me asking, why do you need to conceal it if you are just walking in the wilderness?A .25 is a bad cartridge all around from what I hear.bad range,bad accuracy,bad power.If you have to use a concealable weapon,then I reccomend a small frame revolver in .22 mag or .38 special, or some small framed auto in at least 9mm
User: Jonah W
get a good .357 mag snub nose u can easily fit it in a coat pocket
User: randy c
so, if you fire a little pop gun like that at a lion, and it get's pissed offf, now what? you'd probably be better off throwing it at him. Seriously, you need to pack a small framed .357 mag like the SP101 from Ruger. Load it with 158 grain semi jacketed soft points. Or, pick up one of the new S&W titanium alloy revolvers in either .357 or .44 mag. Not a lot of weight to carry on your hip, but one heck of a lot of "peace of mind". I always tell people, if you ever shoot me with a .25 auto and I find out about it, I'm gonna be pissed. ;0) A big cat or a bear feel the same way!! Oh, and they say that for every second a big cat is on you, you need 100 stitches. The only thing worse, is a leapord, for every second it is on you, you will need 200 stitches. I think I'd accept the extra weight, and carry one of the magnums.
User: Bill G
In Colorado the state patrol uses M-80s to chase anamals away from the roads. You might have better luck using pepper spray for protection. My parrot uses a strange growl to scare dogs off.
User: H
The .25 acp is better than a stout stick. The Beretta Tomcat .32 acp with good ammo like from Fiocchi or the 60 grain Silvertip hollowpoint is a decent stopper. I'm 5-9, 210 lbs. and I carry a Tomcat as backup. It fits my hand OK. Coyotes scare off easily enough but a big cat, well that depends... Neither one will scare off if rabid or if the cat has kittens or the coyote has puppies and they feel you or your dogs are threatening them. You can drop either one with a .32 acp if you're a good shot but really, you'd be better off with at least a nine if these critters are a real threat. I carry at least a .357 Magnum when I'm in the woods. Best. H
User: James J
I would think the noise from either would be sufficient to scare them off. I also think standing up, waving your arms, and bellowing as loudly as you can and standing your ground or actually running at the animal while doing so would scare it off as well. Animals retreat when confronted with something bigger and louder than they are in my experience. Coyotes are particularly easily spooked, and even North American predatory cats know to run from something that much larger and louder than they are. Particularly if it's also blazing away with a pistol at the same time! I'd chose the .32 as the better noisemaker of the two, and load it with Winchester Silver-Tips, in case you decide you need to actually SHOOT something with it.
User: CIH(Ret)
You MIGHT scare them off but do you want to risk your life, or that of a friend or family member, on a "maybe"? Those little popguns won't be enough to kill a mountain lion. If he didn't scare off and you tried to shoot him, all you would do is piss him off. If there is any possibility of a mountial lion attack where you go, you'd be well advised to carry something that will kill, not scare. If you don't want to kill the animal, you can try one or two shots to scare it but if it persists in its attack be prepared to stop it before it gets to you or someone with you. Tomorrow is too nice of a day to spend it as a cat turd.

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