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What is the best round for Mountain lions?

Does anyone know where in Shannon County it happened?  I mean it is the second largest area wise county in Missouri.

Lions have been in the southern part of Missouri for at least 50 years, maybe longer. I have seen two yellows and one other best described as a "torty" like a tortoise color
housecat.  The torty was seen at the edge of the West Plains city limits, it hopped out into a log road in front of myself and two others while riding horses, then turned and
took off.  It had a face about the diameter of a paper plate and a long tail. I'd estimate its weight at 90lb.  At 25 yards, bright sun, 1pm daytime it looked like a torty, pretty
sure at longer range it would have just looked black.  My FIL had been telling me for years they were in the area but I didnt believe him til I saw it myself- and he was with
me that day- turned to me and said "well? what do you suppose THAT was?"

Several months later I was driving a dirt road in the state forest west of Pomona and came upon two conservation guys hunkered over something by the road ditch.
I stopped and asked what they were doing, as they had sifted dirt in about a 6' diameter area and stood up a large wooden q-tip thing in the middle of the sifted area.
They informed me that they were doing lion surveys, and that the q-tip was dipped in some kind of attractant. Every day they would check the sifted dirt for tracks
and then correlate that to the size of the cat.  I asked whether they'd ever seen a black cat and they told me that black cats are an Ozark wive's tale, there is no such
thing, at which point I told them about the one I saw. They recanted then, and said well, its possible, if someone released a tame one...then I told them my in laws
had been seeing them in the same area for 50 years.  Then they claimed someone had released a breeding pair, then, maybe.... but they aren't native thats for sure.

I said, well, thats good to hear that they arent native, that means there is no season, no protection, and no bag limit so the next time I see one I will shoot it and bring it
to you for a look.  No, no noooooo they said, you can't shoot one. I said well there are no restrictions on shooting invasive or non native feral animals, thats what the law
says.... so are you admitting that you know the black cats are native?  "Well, it might be a dark color phase cougar" they said.  And the in-laws have seen 10 of them,
none of them yellow.  I reckon we have some of those same big black cats that florida has. Not a wive's tale

I have hunted more than most for the past 50 years, have spent a lot of time afield., maybe seen about 10 bobcats in my entire life.  I figure if there are 100 bobcats
for every mountain lion, Im pretty lucky as far as seeing the 3 big cats, and extra lucky to have seen a black one.

Black cat in Florida:

Im going to say over on Peck Ranch, thats where they keep the Elk mostly.  https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/activities/driving-tours/elk-driving-tours

 

22LR works fine apparently Nah, very illegal to shoot lions.  I think its been done a few years back, old boy said the cat
was killing his calves, which would indeed make it legal. https://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/ray-county-cattleman-kills-mountain-lion

I always get a kick out of agents about animals they refuse to admit are here. I can remember seeing a couple of mountain lions in St Charles County in the late 80's and we had one living close to me just outside of Warrenton in the mid 90's. My dad remembers seeing mountain lions occasionally along with lots of tracks on a family farm in the Hannibal area back in the 50's and 60's.  And our dogs cornered a cat around Ft Leonardwood one night while coon hunting back in the late 80's.

I have also had arguments with agents about black bears and alligator snapping turtles. An agent said there were no black bears as far north as Jefferson County until I took him out and showed him one. And agents argued that alligator snapping turtles were not in St Charles County until I proved them wrong.


As far as catching a mountain lion, just set out a really big cardboard box. No cat can resist a cardboard box.

Attached File

I saw a black bear in Eureka in 2008, no one believed me.  Then one ran through old town and got locked in the school a few years ago.  Not too long after there was one spotted in Ballwin.

So yes they've always been around, now people have cameras to prove it.......so others believe them.  

Never seen a mountain lion, but there are bobcats around here too.

I thought it was odd that the link provided was from a California-based website so I started digging around. Seems there's several versions of this same report posted on different sites around the internet in the past couple of days. None of them provide any details and what quotes I saw seem to all be from previously posted MDC materials that don't directly relate to this incident. About the only thing concrete I can find is the MDC mountain lion tracker webpage:

https://mdc.mo.gov/wildlife/report-wildlife-sightings/mountain-lion-reports/confirmed-mountain-lion-reports

Supposedly, there are photos of the attack. Has anyone seen them posted anywhere? I'm not doubting it happened, I'm just curious to see the pics.

My wife saw this  on Facebook.

I live in Shannon County.  I've been asking everyone I know where it happened, and no one seems to know... I'm just across the river from Peck Ranch...

Here is the story on Channel 8 KOMU in Columbia, MO.  https://www.komu.com/news/state/elk-killed-by-mountain-lion-in-shannon-county-mdc-confirms/article_f8667ad2-5982-11ee-ae13-77b07e48adc7.html

That's a big kitty.

So i got a chance to talk to the local MDC guy I know... it happened at log yard.... that's within spitting distance of my house....

Best put a really big box out in your yard for that cat.


On a serious note, stay safe.

we have several friends that work for MDC, the local herpetologist left our place last night and before she got off our land, ran into two pigmy rattlesnakes.... she was suprised as she has only come across 5 in her career in the wild... so check mark another type of danger noodle in my AO....

They are not uncommon in the mountains here.  When I'm up in the hills I always have my S&W model 57 on my waist.

I've seen tracks but haven't seem one in the wild yet.

That list isn't very accurate. Several people spotted a mountain lion in northern Cass county a few months ago (near Pleasant Hill).  Someone even has game cam pics.

I live in Howell county (the county just west of Shannon) surrounded by family cattle farms. I moved here from NH a couple of years ago (the northeast was getting way too crazy for my wife and I). My neighbor who has cattle said his wife saw a ML a few weeks ago crossing our field. It definitely was not a bobcat...too big and tail was too long.

He has lost several calves in the past several years and he figured they were brought down by packs of yotes which we have plenty of around here. Now he's not so sure. I always carry a CZ75 when I'm out and about but now I'm wonder if I should have a 12g shotty slung over my shoulder when I'm in my fields and/or woods. Of course, to do any damage, you have to hear and see them first and from far enough away to have time to take action. They're sneaky bastages.

A Mountain Lion has to eat too. I like seeing them around and pretty sure I saw one (it had a long tail) at distance Deer hunting last year.

A neighbor or mine at my lake house (Bull Shoals Lake - Ozark County), says he's seen 2 Mountain Lions around recently.  

I see Bobcats frequently at my main house about 5 miles away. Chatting with a local at a charity event a couple years ago, I showed him the pictures of the Bobcat in my backyard, that I took. His 1st question was... Did you shoot it?

My rule is, I don't shoot things that aint bothering me or I can't eat.

I kill Squirrels chewing on my house. Raccoons destroying my bird feeders. Deer, Hog, & game animals to eat.


Unless they are charging / stalking me... Coyotes, Bobcats, Fox, Bear, Mountain Lions get a pass.