Wild cat

[Pigken]

Unfortunately my evidence is the fact that myself and my wife saw it as we stood there with dogs standing behind us. Now my dogs are not the best behaved, and had previously taken leg when a fox was walking in same place. Also when neighbour was altered to our sighting, said that might be why his dog would no longer sleep outside, although always had.
Now I realise none of this would stand up in a court of law, and I have no issue with some one not believing me, but I would swear on my children's heads that what we saw was a big cat.
But with respect to you we maybe need to agree to disagree.
But but as a man of rural areas as I assume you are, I am sure you must of seen things that you can not explain.

 

[Dry Rot]

Are we in what they call 'the silly season"? I really couldn't give a hoot who has seen a big cat and who hasn't but I find myself rising like a trout to a fly! It's boredom. We currently have a storm outside with (I'm told) 70mph winds. The horses were careering around like mad things earlier until I opened a gate and let them in to fresh grass and shelter. All is now peace. The electricity has been off to half power. Very odd with the computer off but desk light on (both out the same wall socket), other lights either not working or on half power. All back to normal now.

Many years ago I met a man in the Galway Hotel, Co Galway, Ireland, We started chatting, as you do with people at bars if you occasionally use such places, and as the evening wore on the conversation changed to a good natured argument. The bar closed and we moved to the residential part of the hotel, convinced the night porter we were residents, and shared a bottle. Half way through the evening, we changed sides and each argued the point of view we had earlier been defending. It was good fun, we were both pleasantly mellow on whiskey. I have no idea who he was, nor him me, and neither was completely stoned, just as I've said 'mellow'. Finally, we said our goodbyes and parted company. As I recall, I was quite able to drive the eight miles home.

I shall leave it to the rest of you to decide whether that was a bad thing or a very civilised evening, but I've never forgotten it! Have fun with your big cats. For my part, they don't exist. I am off to see if I can find a dead mouse to pick a fight with as this one is getting a bit boring.

 

[Danllan]

I've seen tracks that I know were of cats of given sizes. I knew it because I've been taught about such things by fellows who really knew their stuff, whether in a private or professional capacity. I'm certainly not claiming a skill-level even approaching theirs, but I am competent and I know what possible alternatives look like and that they could be discounted.

If you are prepared to accept 'expert' witnesses in the Courts, such opinions should also be valued out of Court too. What I've seen would have had the fellows who taught me laughing their heads off in exasperation, if I had suggested they were made by anything other than cats.

When you know what you're looking at it's that obvious... just think about how successful anyone would be in trying to convince you that badger spoor was made by a fox! They are so different that, once you know these things, they simply couldn't be mistaken - any more than you could 'mistake' an oak for a beech.

 

[Lincoln75]

Big lambs (40kg) stripped to nothing yet still warm and obvious paw prints when we had the last killing here, this was after weeks of finding texel ewes stuck ontop of barbed wire 6-7’ above ground.
The firearms department at the time said to me don’t attempt with a .22 rim fire unless you know your putting 5+ into the head and even then be prepared with a 12 bore with 36g+ cartridges in and make sure you can get somewhere safe if it turns nasty!

Hilarious, Clearly your firearms admin haven't a clue what they are talking about , sadly like most of them.

 

[Al R]

Hilarious, Clearly your firearms admin haven't a clue what they are talking about , sadly like most of them.

That was the actual armed police who came out and were all rural so knew a thing or 2 about game shooting and guns not office bods

 

[Lincoln75]

That was the actual armed police who came out and were all rural so knew a thing or 2 about game shooting and guns not office bods

Still a stupid suggestion whoever made it , being Police AR doesnt mean you know anything about about hunting / dispatching animals , to suggest putting 5 rounds in a wildcats head would not only be in breach of your FAC conditions but almost impossible to do unless it stood there and waited for you to finish it off , in addition a .22LR is totally unsuitable .

Too many firearms cops cant shoot for sh*t as has been seen many times ,many dont get sufficient training and the necessary constant practice. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ol-cars-catch-unlikely-fugitive-Grantham.html

 

[Al R]

Still a stupid suggestion whoever made it , being Police AR doesnt mean you know anything about about hunting / dispatching animals , to suggest putting 5 rounds in a wildcats head would not only be in breach of your FAC conditions but almost impossible to do unless it stood there and waited for you to finish it off , in addition a .22LR is totally unsuitable .

Too many firearms cops cant shoot for sh*t as has been seen many times ,many dont get sufficient training and the necessary constant practice. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ol-cars-catch-unlikely-fugitive-Grantham.html

They had MP5’s so I said to them to go walking around some gorsed areas instead of guarding a perfectly secure house

 

[Lincoln75]

They had MP5’s so I said to them to go walking around some gorsed areas instead of guarding a perfectly secure house

Sounds about right for them.

 

[Wilksy]

I share a shooting permission with an ex (retired) AR,clueless sod goes on completely wrong fields no field craft, can’t swing a shotgun but I can’t tell him nowt, knows it all

 

[Danllan]

Bloody hell... these firearms 'experts' know SFA about game shooting if what's written on here is the best they can do. A .375 will see off leopard perfectly well with a shot through the shoulder, which takes out the heart and a fair amount of lung too. A head shot with one would drop them instantly, and there wouldn't be much left to put any more rounds in.

I'm buggered if I'd get close enough to try and kill a leopard with a shotgun unless there was no alternative and nobody else sufficiently stupid enough to go instead! I've known some PHs who have had to follow up on wounded leopard (clients' gutshots etc.) and they did use shotguns.

One fellow used to carry a part sawn-off double barreled 12 bore because it was the quickest way to get as much lead as possible into an animal close up. He was still around and looked more or less normal, so I guess it worked.

I've only been around very angry leopard a few times and only near an angry injured and uncaged one once. I am not a panicker by nature, and didn't then, but it has to be one of the top two frightening things in my life. The speed and noise and utter ferocity have to be witnessed to be believed! I am relieved to say that the beast in question went straight past me and demolished a friend's dog, while we f*cked off back to the rover faster, as they say, than a thousand gazelles...! Hurombo changamire, but that's life.

 

[Lincoln75]

Bloody hell... these firearms 'experts' know SFA about game shooting if what's written on here is the best they can do. A .375 will see off leopard perfectly well with a shot through the shoulder, which takes out the heart and a fair amount of lung too. A head shot with one would drop them instantly, and there wouldn't be much left to put any more rounds in.

I'm buggered if I'd get close enough to try and kill a leopard with a shotgun unless there was no alternative and nobody else sufficiently stupid enough to go instead! I've known some PHs who have had to follow up on wounded leopard (clients' gutshots etc.) and they did use shotguns.

One fellow used to carry a part sawn-off double barreled 12 bore because it was the quickest way to get as much lead as possible into an animal close up. He was still around and looked more or less normal, so I guess it worked.

I've only been around very angry leopard a few times and only near an angry injured and uncaged one once. I am not a panicker by nature, and didn't then, but it has to be one of the top two frightening things in my life. The speed and noise and utter ferocity have to be witnessed to be believed! I am relieved to say that the beast in question went straight past me and demolished a friend's dog, while we f*cked off back to the rover faster, as they say, than a thousand gazelles...! Hurombo changamire, but that's life.

A .375 H&H is overkill for big cats and not a particularly accurate round and the rifles are generally quite heavy , better with a light 308W sporter for snap shooting fast moving cats , I`ve spent time in Africa and generally P.Hs recommend 300WM for everything except the big species , but here in the UK firearms licensing are clamping down on .30 magnum calibers.

edit , That said , there are no leopards/cheetahs / mountain lions running around the British Countryside.

 

[Danllan]

A .375 H&H is overkill for big cats and not a particularly accurate round and the rifles are generally quite heavy , better with a light 308W sporter for snap shooting fast moving cats , I`ve spent time in Africa and generally P.Hs recommend 300WM for everything except the big species , but here in the UK firearms licensing are clamping down on .30 magnum calibers.

edit , That said , there are no leopards/cheetahs / mountain lions running around the British Countryside.

Never said it isn't, but it is - probably - the most widely held calibre for general purpose work out there, certainly in ZIm where we were. Most people would have had one, a 12g and a .22 of some sort for small stuff.

I'm certainly not going to waste time in a dispute about hunting ballistics, I don't have the obsessive 'expertise' on, or interest in the subject that many do and, anyway, it's more prone to extended and pointless arguments than either politics or religion!

What I will say is that - aside from trophy hunting - the concern of people I know has never been 'overkill', but rather underkill - if I'm shooting something for the pot or because it's dangerous, I don't care how pretty it looks, as long as it's dead.