Mountain Lions

[Winter]

Not if it's Bigfoot! you'll be right at the perfect height for it to.. ah never mind it's too horrible to imagine.!

Especially during bigfoot's rut. Hahahaha.

[Winter]

My opinion as well. Where i excursion hike/camp i'm at definite risk of bear & wolf attacks. I actually see more of both those species than I do any game animals larger than squirrels, any time from April-Nov.

It's pretty mediocre as a dependable "survival knife", but as a personal defense knife against larger predators, the Bushmaster is pretty much king.
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I've tested it's penetration and strength against 1" lumber and can punch 4"-5" of blade through the wood. On both pig and whitetail carcasses I've been able to get the full 8" blade to penetrate, even through ribs and glancing off shoulders. The grip makes it very difficult to slip off or drop.

So far I haven't had to use it in such a way, and I'm unlikely to ever have to, but there's been a few 20ft standoffs & stare-downs with big black bears (i'm 250-260lbs and these buggers dwarfed me) that made me thankful I had it.
And another time when I was out photographing a late-season open beaver pond with beavers actively working in February that I DIDN'T have any sort of protection on me and i was circled for almost a half hour by a pack of 6 or 7 grey wolves, that I really missed it.

Up here in Ontario there's also increasing stories of attacks and near attacks on hunters by coyotes. Especially during turkey season. They come in so fast you often don't have a chance to swing your shotgun to shoot them before they've got your arm or your neck. Nice to have a big blade that can kill a 40lbs dog in one stab.

Do you really suggest this as an anti-natural predator defense? Or, are you saying it's a last ditch budget defense?

A blade is a great weapon. Most knives will do the job. A specialized fighting knife (stabber knife) is far better suited. IMO.

Here's why.

Leverage. With a 9 inch blade, you have a 100-200 lb (puma/cougar) force that commands the first 1/3 of the object that you hold 1/3 of. The "saw" on the back of that knife will ensure that your wrist and forearm fight the body of 100 lbs of wild animal.

If you are forced to carry a knife specifically purposed for defense; they make those.

Look for a Fairbain -sykes type knife if that is the knife's purpose. A fighting knife is far smaller than a handgun, and WITH TRAINING, is quite lethal against most anything.

ETA- Hog knives of the American SE are designed to kill a violent animal. Here's one.
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You are correct that the handle has to be impossible to let go of and provide a super strong grip and retention. It's part of that 1/3rd crap I was talking about.

A killing knife, as you alluded to, is a viable consideration for wild animal defense if you are not allowed to have guns. It's cheaper than moving to another state.

[Rick]

I've said before that my brain works differently than most but I'm thinking if I have 1/3 of the blade in a large animal that is now really, really, really ticked off, up close and personal, like my face in its mouth and its claws wrapped all the way around me. That is not the time to yell KINGS! It might even been less painful to turn the knife on myself and save the animal some work.

[Winter]

People routinely dispatch wild boar with knives Rick. To each their own I reckon.

[Oddmott]

Winter, i don't disagree with anything you said really. Except that the sawback of that blade doesn't stick at all... i've pulled it out of pork and venison carcasses with no issue, and without any adrenaline pumping.

For sure, a specialized blade will always perform better in a specific task. But i don't think most of us are looking to go out on a hike or photography excursion carrying 30lbs of pocket knife, filleting knife, skinning knife, gutting knife, utility knife, survival knife, wilderness defense knife and a wood splitting/foliage chopping knife; just to ensure we always have the perfect blade for any situation.

So yeah, the bushmaster is just a good budget "do-all".

[hunter63]

Hahaha, Our bigfoot attack was a humpback whale that got too shallow during low tide. Indescribable noises, best I could compare it too is 100 guys sprinting in gravel for 2-10 seconds at a time. It shook the earth a little.

Now THAT had to be wild.....how big of a knife does one need to dispatch a hump back whale.....Of course they can't run very fast.....Great addition to the mountain lions, and bears.....LOL

[Oddmott]

I've said before that my brain works differently than most but I'm thinking if I have 1/3 of the blade in a large animal that is now really, really, really ticked off, up close and personal, like my face in its mouth and its claws wrapped all the way around me. That is not the time to yell KINGS! It might even been less painful to turn the knife on myself and save the animal some work.

You wiggle 6"-8" of sharp steel around inside a critters guts in 2 or three places and see how fast the fight goes out of them.

When i was a journalism student, one of my court assignments exposed me to a video of an inmate knifing another, much larger inmate in a scuffle. The knife was made out of a plastic margarine container cut up, layered and melt-hardened. The "blade" was only 4.5" long, but the stabber just plunged it in and wiggled it around 3 different times and the bigger 280lbs-ish guy just kinda slumped and fell, in less than a minute.

I'd say that's pretty comparable to a cougar or timberwolf, etc. Maybe not a 600lbs bear... but thankfully where I frequent only "dump bears" get that large and they - so far - haven't been hungry/angry enough to bother anyone.

[Cast-Iron]

People routinely dispatch wild boar with knives Rick. To each their own I reckon.

True, but I was under the impression they did so with the assistance of canines to pin the animal. I've killed several feral pigs and all of them with a firearm. If you've never witnessed the power of a wild boar crashing through the brush, they're not to be taken lightly. They are incredibly fast and potentially very dangerous beasts.

[Rick]

All of that may be true but I'm still having trouble with the "my face in its mouth and its claws wrapped all the way around me" part. I'm sure he's not standing still while I jiggle that knife around. Of course if he's busy chewing my face off and ripping me to shreds he'll hold still long enough for me to jiggle it.

People routinely dispatch wild boar with knives Rick. To each their own I reckon.

Perhaps but they are better men than me, Gunga Din.

[hunter63]

Line from the Jeremiah Johnson, (book) when Grizz runs a bear in to the cabin.....Jeremiah stuck the grizz with his knife, and climbed a tree....
Grizz....."Right smart leaving that knife in'em, helps to bleed him out......"
JJ......."Tewrn't time to pull it out...."

[Oddmott]

Can't see me ever affording to adventure travel anywhere I'd have to worry about Grizzly or Polar bears... but if i do, maybe i'll swap out the knife for a cyanide capsule.

[hunter63]

....always follow the advice of a old hunter I once knew........."Always save 3 shells....2 for the bears, and one for yourself"

[Seniorman]

ODDMOTT -" ... You wiggle 6"-8" of sharp steel around inside a critters guts in 2 or three places and see how fast the fight goes out of them. ..."

That reminds me of an article I read years ago about knife fightng in a knife magazine. It was a quote taken from an old interview many years ago with a man who had been involved in such "activities.". The man was asked what happened in a knife fight and how he survived as long as he did?

The man answered, "Well, when they got to walkin' on their guts, the fight was over."

That man was Rezin Bowie, designer of the Bowie knife and brother of Jim Bowie.

Seems to me that would be the case even today, man or beast.

S.M.

[Wildthang]

Now THAT had to be wild.....how big of a knife does one need to dispatch a hump back whale.....Of course they can't run very fast.....Great addition to the mountain lions, and bears.....LOL

Man where is Blade when we really need him. I bet he could spin some yarn on this one

[RandyRhoads]

Some guy on the hiking trail Facebook page posted this in response to my question on bringing a gun on the hike.

Fredric L. Rice If someone is such a pants-****ting coward they think they need a gun "to protect themselves" in the outdoors, they should stay the **** at home, they have no business being out in the woods. Right wing NRA ****bags already infest the cities below, the ****ing insane violent assholes can bloody well stay the **** out of the woods among normal, sane, peaceful people.

Along with countless others and antigun BS. Should have realized backpackers are mostly stinky hippy *****es.

[RandyRhoads]

God I hope I don't run into these idiots on the trail. The more I experience hippys the more I hate them. They are the least open minded people, and seem to all be extremely rude.

Sorry Mr. rich parents college kids, you're the man, way cool, my bad. I worship you. You hiked a trail with $2,000.00 worth of gear and solar charges for your iPads. My heros.

[Wildthang]

Some guy on the hiking trail Facebook page posted this in response to my question on bringing a gun on the hike.

Fredric L. Rice If someone is such a pants-****ting coward they think they need a gun "to protect themselves" in the outdoors, they should stay the **** at home, they have no business being out in the woods. Right wing NRA ****bags already infest the cities below, the ****ing insane violent assholes can bloody well stay the **** out of the woods among normal, sane, peaceful people.

Along with countless others and antigun BS. Should have realized backpackers are mostly stinky hippy *****es.

I hope a huge mountain lion pounces on him and chews off his family jewels

[hunter63]

Some guy on the hiking trail Facebook page posted this in response to my question on bringing a gun on the hike.

Fredric L. Rice If someone is such a pants-****ting coward they think they need a gun "to protect themselves" in the outdoors, they should stay the **** at home, they have no business being out in the woods. Right wing NRA ****bags already infest the cities below, the ****ing insane violent assholes can bloody well stay the **** out of the woods among normal, sane, peaceful people.

Along with countless others and antigun BS. Should have realized backpackers are mostly stinky hippy *****es.

Don't fret....his mommy won't let him have one anyway.......

[RandyRhoads]

I hope a huge mountain lion pounces on him and chews off his family jewels

Man, the insanity. It was ALMOST unanimous. "Why in the world would you need a GUN? Are you serious? What a psycho. What kind of person would even think of a GUN on this hike. People like you ruin this and are the reason people get hurt. You'd probably end up shooting yourself or mistaking one of us for a bear."

2 or 3 stepped in and replied in my favor as how left the backpacking community is and "good luck" with them.

I even posted another thing about being able to fish and catch something and someone said "Yeah but you can't shoot them".

Seriously let it go hippys.....

Another suggested I get banned. SERIOUSLY? I got called a pants ****ting coward that is a psycho gun toting killer by mass amounts of people and I called someone Jane Fonda and said unbunch your ultralight panties. Clearly I was out of line.

[RandyRhoads]

Don't fret....his mommy won't let him have one anyway.......

No what seriously shocked me about that guy is he looks to be a 50-60 year old forestry or CalFire guy.