I disagree with the revolver being more reliable. I own and carry both. Revolvers are great, but there is a reason the military doesn't issue them. They have many working parts exposed to dirt, and can get goobered up fairly easily. Keep them clean, and they are quite reliable, and don't jam shot to shot.

Autos can have a problem jamming shot to shot, but they don't expose their workings to mud like a revolver does. If you drop a Glock or HK into the mud, you can pick it up and pull the trigger, and it's going to work. The HK is even tested to not have the barrel blow up if it's plugged with mud.

This all said, the best gun is the one you'll practice with and have with you. If you're not willing to put 500 rounds through the gun in parctice, you have no busienss carrying it with you.

A minor point is that a .357 is a bit hotter than a .40 S&W. For a cougar, it isn't going to matter. Hit kitty with one shot of anything, even a .22, and he's going to change his dinner plans.

In the woods, I usually carry a 4 inch .357 because of the power and the accuracy of the particular gun I have. I wouldn't feel bad with my .40, I just like the .357.

The stats behind that claim are extremely suspect. In particular, the oft quoted stat about a handgun being 42 times more likely to kill it's owner than a crook is only valid if you consider suicides. Long debate there, but I don't consider that a risk worth considering. If you choose to end your life with a gun, I think it's a reach to blame the gun.

There are well over 200 million firearms in this country. There are approximately 10,000 firearms deaths per year, most of them active acts of violence. Most of the deaths are between people who know each other, and most of those are perpetrated by individuals with previous histories of violence and crime. Avoid being around violent criminals, and you'll be fine. And if you have to be around armed violent criminals, I for one, would prefer to even the odds.

My guns won't hurt anyone, unless I think they deserve it.

There has been several fatal Mountain Lion attacks in my area in recent years and it appears that the victims never knew what hit them. The chance of getting a effective shot would slim or none. A Mountain Lion that does not want to be seen is not seen.

The ban on hunting Lions in Calif. has been very effective. There are lots of them and they are not afraid of people. One cat came up on a front porch and ate their dog a short time later it came back to get the other dog. The guy shot and killed it, turns out it had a radio collar. The cat had been wandering around houses for months and they knew it. The weird part is when the biologist got pissed off because the cat was killed.

Time to put the fear of God into the cats or the biologists

Regards IB

Thats funny... I always thought Gods name was Harold... not Smith or Wesson?

Just curious....What stretch of river were you on?

40 S&W

Speaking of which, I had a pretty close encounter with a cat this afternoon.
It was a little one, but it spooked the crud out of me.
I was walking the Salmon, over some downed alder trees, when it poped up out of the vegitation in front of me and bounded away for about 50 yards. Then I lost sight of it.
It was little, no more than mid thigh or hip hight. But that's as close as I've ever been to one in the wild, but I still don't have the need to pack. Maybe I'll pay for that, but that's the chance you take when you are in there territory. I was beyond the nat'l park boundary anyway.
There was also a herd of about 20 elk in the immediate area.
I'm sure that even that little guy could've done some serious damage if it wanted to.
I saw a big one a few years ago at the tree line in the oxbow canyon while fishing. That one easily would have doubled, if not tripled the weight of this one today.
At what point do cougars loose their spots? I would have believed that this one was a cub, jugding by it size, but it didn't have thse spots. It looked like a miniature replica of an adult cat. Very long tail.

I'm more afraid of the tweakers than the cats. I carry a Glock 19 most of the time, and not just fishing. I've had bigger calibers but didn't shoot them as much because I was too cheap to buy ammo. 9mm target ammo is dirt cheap.

I was in the in the lapush road area!

Reckon that means that I ain't fishin' none of the terminal salmon/steelhead areas anytime soon!