Wesson Marlin

Wesson Marlin

My Cousin wants to go Mountain Lion hunting. What caliber gun does he need to take for the hunt?

My cousin is planning a Mountain Lion Hunting trip. He has a guy with a pack of dogs trained for hunting lions, taking him. He's not sure what caliber gun he needs for the hunt. The guns he has are....

Remington and Marlin 22lr (We both agree that these guns would never do on a trip like this.)
Smith & Wesson .40 semi-auto handgun. (He's thinking of taking this gun only as a back up.)
Ruger Hawkeye .204 bolt action rifle with a Leupold scope.
Remington 710 .300 Win. Mag. with 3-9x40 Bushnell scope.
Benelli Nova 12 gauge pump shotgun.

Which one of these guns would do for his trip? Or does he need another caliber gun for the hunt?
James S : You have been reported, don't insult me or anyone else. By the way, its NOT illegal to hunt moutiain lions. Get your facts straight before you answer a question.
I should state that we live in Nevada, Where it is LEGAL to hunt mountain lions.
Forgot to mention, my cousin also has a Winchester Model 94 Ranger .30-30 lever action.

Most of the old farmers where I hunt deer usually use their 30/30 for pest control when needed so pretty much anything other than the .22 should be fine. If you are using dogs, you are going to end up treeing them and shooting from a distance of 20 - 30 yards max. BTW - Tie up the dogs BEFORE you shoot, a wounded cat will take a few dogs with them if they get a chance.

For those that don't know Wa state has cougar season from Aug - Mar with a bag limit of 2. We've outlawed hunting with hounds, so you have to do it on foot. These are not nice cute cuddly animals, they are top of the food chain predators who do kill cute little animals like deer to feed upon. They also kill any farm animals they can get, and will quite often stay in one area and feed exclusively off of calfs, sheep, goats, etc. at which time the farmers have to kill them.

Marlin 60 Varmint Killer .22L/R tube fed semi auto dragonov stock large scope