Best 223 Round for Mountain Lion

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donamese

New member
It has always been a dream to drop a mountain lion. Labor day weekend I was doing archery deer, turned and 40 yds away was a young lion coming to get a drink at the water hole I was watching. He dropped back to 60-70 yds before I could get the bow drawn, I took a shot with my 1911 but missed. Anyhow, now I have the itch to call one in and be prepared for it this time.

I have a Bushmaster AR and a Remington 7mm Magnum. The 7mm I believe is quite a bit of overkill for a lion so I was planning on the 223. I live in AZ so will likely try the night hunting since one of the units is only 40 miles from my house. Estimating the shot to be 50-75yds.

What is the best 223 bullet to use for mountain lions? Or should I just use the 7mm or a shotgun instead?
 
If you go with the .223, I would probably try to find a 70 grain controlled expansion or ballistic tip. I would use the 7mm with deer loads, but thats just personall preferance. I am by far no expert, so at some point, someone might just come along and give you something better.
 
Ok, I have little to zero experience with mountain lions, so here go's.

A couple of manufactured ammo choices come to mind.

64gr Winchester RazorBack XT
64gr Winchester PowerPoint
62gr Federal Fusion
60gr Federal loaded with Nosler Partitions
55gr Federal loaded with Barnes TSX's
55gr Barnes Vortex TSX


Chupa
 
Well I can say first hand, I called a big Tom in a couple of weeks ago while coyote huntin and I can tell you this 40gr nosler ballistic tips are a bit on the light side the first shot was right in the chest as he was looking at me then the second shot was right behind the front shoulder, which while skinning it out that shot splashed just under the hide then the third shot which was also behind the front shoulder made it into the cat and put him down so I don't know for sure which bullet to use but I know definitely which bullet not to use. Any one of those shots with a good hunting bullet I'm pretty sure would have got the job done with one shot but the varmint bullets are by far not the best choice!!! All three shots were taken at less than 50 yrds . Hope this helps some..
 
I have killed several with 55gn sp bullets. That said if I was specifically going after lions I would probably try something in the 65 grain area. Lions arn't hard to kill but they can cover a lot of ground in the few seconds it takes them to die, so they don't leave a easy to follow trail. My worst tracking job was on a bow killed lion shot with a 100 gn thunderhead from a tree stand. Hit it a little far back and got the liver and one lung. The lion ran about 130 yards but probably didn't hit the ground 6 times covering that country. No tracks and only a few drops of blood. Both I have killed with a 223 and 55 gn sp were shot at around 150 yards and went strait down. One was sitting facing me hit center of the chest. The second was walking broadside went in thru the shoulder and out behind the opposite shoulder.

drscott
 
Personally I would take the 7mm mag.
If you just want to use your 223 I would recommend a 70gr Speer round nose. I have been loading them for whitetail deer for my children for years. I have a Handi rifle that has been used as a first deer rifle by all three of my children.
The bullets have a rounded ogive which allows them to fit an AR mag and stabilize with a slower twist.
 
This proly the only one I'd chase a cat with ,62 TSX....
IMG_0673.jpg
 
I'd choose the 60 grain Partition. I know that it will both expand and penetrate. If I didn't want to do that, I'd choose a 55 grain Soft Point.
 
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53gr TSX with 24.5 gr of benchmark. Frontal shot above collar bone, exit on rh side behind shoulder .22 hole goin in.. 22 hole comin out. everything in between was J-E-L-L-O.
The cat dropped like a rock and never twitched.. 155 lb Montana tom shot last January.
 
Was that a treed cat?

I think a lot of the choice depends on it you want to drop it right there, or don't mind it running a little ways.

In my area, if it runs very far at all, it may be next to impossible to find.

If you are specifically targeting a lion, which most will get very few chances in life to take, why limit yourself to a .223?

I have had good performance with 60 grain v-max on coyotes, hogs, bobcats and deer but on the bigger animals shot placement is key.

I have had a few I didn't recover when it came to the coyotes and hogs because the shots sometimes were rushed as they tend to be sometimes when calling.

All of the deer I got usually with neck shots.
 
I could see me shooting a cat with a 223 but in the moment if I had a choice or I specifically set out to kill a cat I'd have my 308 with a partition. Im not sure but does Hawk make 223 bullets? Thats something that I probably need to look into now.
 
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