Firearms & Glocks while riding?

[Azulene]

I just found this site about Mt. Lions http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lion/

 

[chuck luck]

I just found this site about Mt. Lions http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lion/

Thanks Azulene for sharing the web site info. I thought the quote, " The chances of getting attacked by a mountain lion are about the same as getting struck by lightning" was surprising. I was under the impresion that attacks are few and far bettween, but not that seldom. I guess it makes for more of a reason not to carry a gun and just have fun riding.

 

[ireman_1]

I live up in Oregon where mountain lions exist, but rarely do I hear about mountain lion attacks. I have not met any mountain bikers that carry a gun or has ever carried a gun. The attacks I've heard of usually involve small children that are left alone to wander out of the campsite. What I have heard about mountain lions is that they are curious animals that like to stalk prey from a distance, but are timid and shy unless provoked. I know some bikers that have come across them on the trail from a distance and it is usually the mountain lion that retreats into the forest.
Have youever been attacked by a mountain lion or other woodland animal?
If so I would like to know the details of the attack.
I've heard the best thing to do in an encounter is to stand your ground and make yourself look as big as possible such as taking your coat off and waving it above your head. You can also make load yelling noises. These two things scare the **** out of them. The worst thing you could do is try to hunker down or flat out run away cause this will cause the mountain lion to think of you as prey. As far as a gun goes there is a chance of shooting yourself or someone else when getting mauled. I would take mace or pepper spray over a gun anyday when it comes to getting attacked by an animal, cause of the applied area that comes from a spray compared to the size of a bullit and also the weight savings when riding.
To me coming across a mountain lion would be a bonus considering they don't like to attack prey thats larger than them and they dont like people in groups; more the reason to go mountain biking with two or more people.
Yeah,to come across one would be awesome not to mention uncommon.
Bye the way I would love to hear about some of the stories from the attack sites written in your post. How many mountain lion attacks have there been and have they been recent? Did the people getting attacked at this spot die or live? How long was the attack and at what time were they? Did the attack start from far away or was the victim pounced on unaware of the mountain lions prescene?

I'm up here in Oregon as well and while we do have cougars around it's *really* rare to see them out on the trails/wilderness. We are lucky enough to live on some acres in the country and there are a couple of "local" cats that roam the area regularly. Even with them around (near constantly) and the presence of domestic animals which prove to be easy prey for them these cats have yet to come even close to anyone, reportedly anyways.

I've seen one on our property, but it was 400' down the hill and made some fast tracks away when all I did was step from behind the tree I was using to block me from view and walked towards it. That being said, I do insist that my wife keep the 870 express around if she is going to be out on the property planting/pruning/walking/exploring/etc. The advice to make a lot of noise and hassle is good. It works with bears as well. I've tried it and seen it work before. For those attacks (like last summer's attack on the mtbers in CA) that are sudden (aren't they all?) or when the cougar jumps on you/them out of "nowhere" then the chance of having your gun make any difference is slim to not bloody likely.

As someone who wears a gun as part of his job and as a matter of protecting my family/friends/civilian next to me at the store when I'm off-duty *and* as someone who shoots competitively it would be a hell of a challenge (most of you/me/us are *not* up to quite frankly) to notice the cat, determine a threat other than the mere presence of the cat, dismount from the bike, find/draw your weapon, acquire your site picture, and then correctly depress the trigger on your weapon-/accurately/.

If you've never fired at something when your life depended on it it's a whole other ball-game you will not be prepared for, period; even if it's a cat.

Anyway, none of this is meant to convey I *never* carry a sidearm while riding. There are times/places I *choose* to ride/hike when I do carry. Those times/places have no basis on wildlife though. It is due to drug producers and the odd mushroom picker that gets a bit over-zealous in their "hunt." Those moments are few and far between (thankfully), but they are a reality of the world we live in, unfortunately. If anyone cares: off-duty carry is either a Kimber Pro-tactical or Kimber Ultra-carry (.45 of course). I don't know why someone would carry a full-size glock (21, etc) when they are being active (hiking/riding/etc) unless they don't have the funds to purchase a compact/micro. The 30 would make more sense to my limited thinking. Be safe and take care...

K.

 

[Ferdinand]

By the way, I never said, nor did I mean to imply, that I carry a pistol while riding a mountain bike. However, I have carried and used pistols for other purposes and am very familiar and proficient with them. I just wanted to offer my input to the original poster. I was glad to see a topic that I had more advanced knowledge of and provided me with an opportunity to help somebody get the information that they were seeking.

 

[Psychobiker]

A .5 Desert Eagle with 10" barrel should put a stop to it










Overkill?

 

[mtbikesuperstar]

im all about wrestling mountain lions and bears, i current hold a 0-45 record, but i feel a win coming my way sooner or later!!!! who needs weaponry when you have sheer strength and will

 

[triguy98]

If you've never fired at something when your life depended on it it's a whole other ball-game you will not be prepared for, period; even if it's a cat.

K.

I would think this should read especially if it's a cat. They are so much faster than most people can even imagine. If you see one, he's not to worry about. It's the ones you won't see that "should" concern you.

There's alot more things in this world to worry about than those two incidents. You've got a heck of a lot better chance of getting robbed or carjacked than anything else. Backpacking in yellowstone in prime bear season, girl firend's mom was all concerned and worrying. Didn't see one bear. Not one scat. Not even a track untill the last day.

Get over it and ride.

 

[keydates]

Regarding what another poster said, I've heard that it's best to make a lot of noise whenever you're travelling in bear country as this should scare off any nearby bears. Don't know if that's the same for mountain lions. I'd concur with the majority of the other posters who say that it's unlikely that a gun will be very effective against such large carnivores.

 

[J1S]

Iv'e Never even seen a gun outside a shooting range and I like it that way.

 

[Meek One]

Go over to the roadies forum and do a search and you'll find a long thread about packing. Believe it or not a substantial amount of them carry. I couldn't believe it, I thought it was a joke. No wonder they need 10lbs titanium bikes, to make up for the weight of their guns.

I haven't checked the track cyclists yet.

 

[Chris_G]

There have been right around 10 documented mountain lion attacks on humans since 1909. No need for fire arms to defend yourself against them.

 

[willtsmith]

I live up in Oregon where mountain lions exist, but rarely do I hear about mountain lion attacks. I have not met any mountain bikers that carry a gun or has ever carried a gun. The attacks I've heard of usually involve small children that are left alone to wander out of the campsite. What I have heard about mountain lions is that they are curious animals that like to stalk prey from a distance, but are timid and shy unless provoked. I know some bikers that have come across them on the trail from a distance and it is usually the mountain lion that retreats into the forest.
Have youever been attacked by a mountain lion or other woodland animal?
If so I would like to know the details of the attack.
I've heard the best thing to do in an encounter is to stand your ground and make yourself look as big as possible such as taking your coat off and waving it above your head. You can also make load yelling noises. These two things scare the **** out of them. The worst thing you could do is try to hunker down or flat out run away cause this will cause the mountain lion to think of you as prey. As far as a gun goes there is a chance of shooting yourself or someone else when getting mauled. I would take mace or pepper spray over a gun anyday when it comes to getting attacked by an animal, cause of the applied area that comes from a spray compared to the size of a bullit and also the weight savings when riding.
To me coming across a mountain lion would be a bonus considering they don't like to attack prey thats larger than them and they dont like people in groups; more the reason to go mountain biking with two or more people.
Yeah,to come across one would be awesome not to mention uncommon.
Bye the way I would love to hear about some of the stories from the attack sites written in your post. How many mountain lion attacks have there been and have they been recent? Did the people getting attacked at this spot die or live? How long was the attack and at what time were they? Did the attack start from far away or was the victim pounced on unaware of the mountain lions prescene?

I'd echo your comments.

I think the BEST deterrent would probably be

a) a vest and or helmet cover that had some REALLY nasty tasting stuff inside.
b) a "cat whistle" (like a deer whistle) that made noise that was VERY annoying to a mountain lion.

Lions are meant to hunt animals that have better hearing, better sense of smell than humans and near 360 degree vision. If mountain lion is REALLY stalking you for food, you won't know it until it's too late.

As far as bears go, the old saying is to save a bullet for yourself.

 

[willtsmith]

I would think this should read especially if it's a cat. They are so much faster than most people can even imagine. If you see one, he's not to worry about. It's the ones you won't see that "should" concern you.

There's alot more things in this world to worry about than those two incidents. You've got a heck of a lot better chance of getting robbed or carjacked than anything else. Backpacking in yellowstone in prime bear season, girl firend's mom was all concerned and worrying. Didn't see one bear. Not one scat. Not even a track untill the last day.

Get over it and ride.

Teenagers behind the wheel are WAY more dangerous than any animal in the woods. I'd rather be in the woods than on the road ANY day and TWICE as much at night ;-)

 

[ahinalu]

I think the ONE thing that should be stressed about lion/bears whilst
riding your bike.

1) Ride with a group
2) Ride with a group
3) Don't be the last person in the group
4) Don't be the first person in the group
5 & 6) Ride with a group

Of course with that being said, only ride DH w/ FF helmet and body armor

About making noise, how about a cow bell attached to your handlbar?

Aloha

 

[AtlantisArms]

That one remined me about hiking in my home state of Arizona.

Never be the third hiker in a group.
The first person will wake the Rattelsnake.
The second person will **** it off.
The thrid person... BAM!

 

[warrior1]

As for the bear comment: You should just ride with a slower riding partner!

I'd echo your comments.

I think the BEST deterrent would probably be

a) a vest and or helmet cover that had some REALLY nasty tasting stuff inside.
b) a "cat whistle" (like a deer whistle) that made noise that was VERY annoying to a mountain lion.

Lions are meant to hunt animals that have better hearing, better sense of smell than humans and near 360 degree vision. If mountain lion is REALLY stalking you for food, you won't know it until it's too late.

As far as bears go, the old saying is to save a bullet for yourself.