Anyone taken a mountain lion with their 6.8?

[Guntrician]

Hi all. I'm new to the 6.8. In fact I haven't even shot mine yet. I have a Spikes Tactical 6.8 and am considering using it on mountain lion this year.

I've been using my 22-250 in the past and it has performed great so far. Was wondering if anyone here has taken a lion with their 6.8. If so what bullet did you use and what is your opinion of the performance?

As you probably know, lions are pretty thin skinned and not too tough to kill with a well placed shot from a .22 centerfire and up. I'm ordering some loaded 110 gr. Sierra Pro Hunters from SSA tonight in addition to brass, bullets and powder. I've read about deer kills with this bullet on here and everyone seems happy with the performance so I might give them a try on lions.

Anyway, Ive been lurking for some time here. Great forum. Any input anyone shares would be greatly appreciated.

Good hunting!

[Ratdog68]

Welcome to yaz... what part of the state are yaz?

I have NO doubt that the 6.8 is more than enough to fatally perforate kitty. The SPH rounds should do good for ya. Last weekend I was out in the woods doin' a little target tinkerin' with a buddy of mine. The log we had our targets against was probaby 10" thick (and wet). My 6.8 with the SPH were blowin' out the back of the log from about 35yds... his 5.56 wasn't goin' through.

[Guntrician]

Thanks for the welcome Ratdog.

I live in south central WA in a little hole called Goldendale.

I'm looking forward to trying the 6.8 on a animal. One thing that always concerned me about calling cougars during the overlapping part of the season is the possibility of a bear responding when armed with a 22-250. With the 6.8 at least it would be legal to harvest a bear if the opportunity presented itself.

I'd like to try some of the lighter HPs on coyotes too. I bet they would be dandy.

[stmcelroy]

Any of the factory offerings from SSA should be more than enough for a mountain lion.

Love that area. Growing up my family had acreage north of White Salmon, wish they didn't sell it.

[Ratdog68]

I've "overnighted" in Goldendale a number of times while riding around (M/C)... usually at a little family run Motel just west of a pizzeria... Ponderosa Motel. Nice folks there. I remember seeing a cat carcass alongside the road once, north of town (headed north, towards Yakima). Always enjoy ridin' up the curvy road from Mary Hill and Stonehenge as we're comin' into Goldendale.

If you search the Hunting forum, a thread talking about the largest game taken with a 6.8... you'll find a post in there by arteacher where he shares his taking of a black bear with his 6.8 with two shots of a Barnes 110gr load. I'll bet that if you loaded up with the Barnes 95gr TTSX, you'll be fine for either predator you come across. It seems to open very quickly, which should help with the thin skin/soft body of the cat.

[Guntrician]

Any of the factory offerings from SSA should be more than enough for a mountain lion.

Love that area. Growing up my family had acreage north of White Salmon, wish they didn't sell it.

Yeah White Salmon is a beautiful area. Wish I would have invested in real estate around that area. Prices have went through the roof. I actually work in Bingen at the lumbermill as an electrician. Kind of a long drive every day but at least it's scenic. lol!

I've "overnighted" in Goldendale a number of times while riding around (M/C)... usually at a little family run Motel just west of a pizzeria... Ponderosa Motel. Nice folks there. I remember seeing a cat carcass alongside the road once, north of town (headed north, towards Yakima). Always enjoy ridin' up the curvy road from Mary Hill and Stonehenge as we're comin' into Goldendale.

If you search the Hunting forum, a thread talking about the largest game taken with a 6.8... you'll find a post in there by arteacher where he shares his taking of a black bear with his 6.8 with two shots of a Barnes 110gr load. I'll bet that if you loaded up with the Barnes 95gr TTSX, you'll be fine for either predator you come across. It seems to open very quickly, which should help with the thin skin/soft body of the cat.

Yeah the old Ponderosa Motel is still alive and kicking. Much to my dismay they sold the pizza place and it is now a secondhand store. Much rather have pizza than old coffee tables.

The cat population has increased quite a bit over the last couple years with the shorter season implemented. Used to be pretty rare to have a cougar sighting now it is a pretty common thing. Lot of domestic critters disappearing.

I'll take a look for the thread you mentioned. Thanks for the heads up.

Thank you both for the input. Appreciate it.

[stmcelroy]

Yeah White Salmon is a beautiful area. Wish I would have invested in real estate around that area. Prices have went through the roof. I actually work in Bingen at the lumbermill as an electrician. Kind of a long drive every day but at least it's scenic. lol!

SDS? Used to bring rigging there 3-4 times a day.

Do you also have a MSAR? It seems like I remember you from another forum.

[Zippy]

The SPH sounds like an excellent choice. They are accurate, effective and inexpensive. They should work great for you!

[dredge]

i shot a coyote with the prohunters and didn't find it or any blood. same shot with my 22-250 and that sucker wouldn't have run off like that. YMV...JMHO, but i would proly use 90gr. hp's. i'm thinking about using this load as well for deer next year, but i'm gonna see how the prohunters work out for me this year. i didn't get to shoot a deer with it last year.

[Guntrician]

SDS? Used to bring rigging there 3-4 times a day.

Do you also have a MSAR? It seems like I remember you from another forum.

Yup, that's the place.

I don't have an MSAR but I do have a TPD AXR. Before I got it I did inquire about both rifles quite a bit over on ARF.com. Might have been over there. I'd like to get a MSAR too. They are good rifles.

The SPH sounds like an excellent choice. They are accurate, effective and inexpensive. They should work great for you!

Hopefully I can get a lion in front of me to try it out on this season.

i shot a coyote with the prohunters and didn't find it or any blood. same shot with my 22-250 and that sucker wouldn't have run off like that. YMV...JMHO, but i would proly use 90gr. hp's. i'm thinking about using this load as well for deer next year, but i'm gonna see how the prohunters work out for me this year. i didn't get to shoot a deer with it last year.

Yeah, that does concern me a little. I've shot coyotes with my regular .270 Win before using deer loads and although it kills them fine I've had a few that survived longer than I like. Sometimes they just punch right through and the more heavily constructed bullet holds together a little too well. If I screw up and don't put the bullet where it should be they might try getting up again. Not good on a cat. I'd hate to have to track one down in the brush not know if it was dead or not. That isn't the case with the Sierra 90 gr. HP on coyotes though. Definitely is not a fur bullet but it anchors them for sure. lol! I'm not a fur hunter so I do plan on loading some 90s and giving them a whirl on coyotes.

Like you said, never a problem with the trusty 22-250 though. The Sierra 55g HPs work real well on coyotes and lions. The cats spring about 6 ft in the air and might make it 15-25 yards before expiring very quickly. Bullet core is just under the hide on the exiting side (on cats).

Good hunting