Chopper/ Defense Blade?

I can almost see it now.

Hoffman%20Tarzan%20Lion.jpg


And learn to make this sound:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwHWbsvgQUE


Here is a video with everything you need to know about fighting lions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkIlqjekzh4
n2s
 
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I've gone over bear and cougar defense for a long time and eventually ended up on not carrying anything specific for it at all. If I'm in Grizz or Polar bear country that would change but for the most part an attack is of such low probability that preparing for it is a little silly IMO. How many of the guys who carry a gun specifically for bears and cougars smoke, drink, or eat fatty foods? I'd rather die in a minute from a cougar attack then over months from cancer. Just another perspective for you.
 
Forget a big knife, your folder & bushie blade are enough. Since you can't carry guns yet, get a Cold Steel Spetnatz shovel and sharpen the hell out of the edge. That will be a useful tool for the outdoors and also serve as a field expedient weapon. A sharpened entrenching tool was highly valued for close combat because you can chop & bash with it (almost like a Smatchet!).
 
Using a blade against a big cat sound like a losing proposition. If all you can carry is a blade, I would suggest a machete. Good reach and a great all around blade for hiking and camping. You would need something pointy for the best effect.

Ross
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Custom machete's
Waki machete has a sharp point.

http://www.akiblades.com
 
A high school guy can't carry a shotgun where you live? Get your parents to move to the United States where the 2nd Amendment obviates ludicrous laws like that maybe?

Anyway - a Becker BK9 would be a reasonable answer to your question. It's big, beefy, scary, well made and inexpensive. It does a great job with camp chores, chopping, splitting and cutting and so forth. I'd hate to be in the position to defend myself with a knife, but this one would be as good as any and better than most for the task.

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Beckerhead #42
 
If you want a good inexpensive all around blade, find a thick bladed machete and cut it down to less than 18 inches overall. this will give 12 or so inches of blade and it will be heavy enough to do most all of your other work. Here is a prototype I made up which I now make in 3/16" thick carbon steel...get a good sheath. Your safety is most important while carrying it. (I made this up for fast travel in South America- it is finished with black K&G Gun Kote and then sprayed with whatever color paint I need at the time). Overall length here is 15 inches. Handle is G-10.....

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As for self defense...if you are laughing while posting this then you probably had better carry a park ranger with you. You have no business carrying anything for self defense in that case. I know many 'hippies' that have firearms and other weapons and are not afraid to use them to defend themselves. Self defense is serious business and it is your responsibility. I carry a sharpened walking stick that is less than 4 feet long. I use it as a third leg when laden down with a pack and no one ever questions me with it or has hassled me, even ''the man". It comes in handy moving snakes, alligators, and other pests out of my way and I have defended myself against feral hogs by stabbing them in the side through the lungs. It is not for the faint of heart. Many 'Hippie" hikers I know (one even named KrispyKritter) carry a knife and are willing to fight to the death with it to defend themselves.
 
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That Cougar attack report is very valuable. It shows that when attacked by a cougar there are options other than lie down and die. A cougar is a stalker, so a bear spray is of little use because you're unlikely to see the animal first. If you can't carry a gun, carry a knife that can be brought to action very quickly (like a fixed blade on your belt). If you can protect your neck and stay conscious long enough, you have a chance to injure & inflict pain on the cougar so it breaks off the attack.

By far the best protection is to not travel alone. If you get attacked, your friend can distract and scare the cougar enough to leave you, even with makeshift weapons like rocks.
 
Bagwell says that a camp chopper is well suited to defense against wild animals. They don't dodge and feint like people do - and they don't know that an edged weapon is more dangerous than a comparably sized woofle bat. If you hit them they aren't as likely to flee due to injury or stop attacking out of pain. Something like a kukri or a brush axe would probably be better than a Bowie designed for fighting humans.

Edit: Unless you pack a gun -- my money would be on the cougar.
 
IMHO, a gun of your choice would certainly be in order, as would a good knife of your choice & a big can of grizzly spray. But what is also most important is, to be able to retain all of them and to be able to easily reach them & draw them & use them, if blindsidded & knocked to the ground. Your sheaths should also be chosen carefully to make sure it is possible to do that. If a large cat is on your chest & your gear is in or on your pack, you become a statistic. If it is on your leg or the side or front of your belt, you at least have the chance to stop the attack. A BK7/9 or other large knife sunk to the hilt in its side, should take the fight out of a cat---if you can do it before it kills you. I like sheaths that do not have a strap to secure the handle, for emergency defense use. Very secure, but very easy to get out as well. Just my .02 cents.
 
Ankerson said:
Then carry a Shotgun loaded with 00 Buckshot and forget about a SD knife.
I mean really, a knife against an animal that is at the top of the food chain in the US... Now that is funny....
Sounds like someone has been watching way too much TV and movies....
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It happens all the time. I've had a friend punch a black bear on the nose that attacked him. Just hiking along a trail and was surprised. The bear got a swipe on his chest but he was alright. The bear then walked away. Mountain lion attacks happen where people have fought it off without a knife. Though many have used knives to fight them off. Many forumites here live in countries or states where they potentially contend with dangerous animals and do so without a gun. Carrying a large knife (and Busse knives do look cool!) is a smart idea if you can't carry a gun or choose not to fear of law enforcement harassment.

By the way I was going to post a link or two of mountain lion attacks were the hikers were ok. But then I got distracted and ended up watching Venture Brothers clips on youtube. Did you know David Bowie does the voice of one of the characters? I hope his new album rocks.
 
DrivebyTrucker said:
It happens all the time. I've had a friend punch a black bear on the nose that attacked him. Just hiking along a trail and was surprised. The bear got a swipe on his chest but he was alright. The bear then walked away. Mountain lion attacks happen where people have fought it off without a knife. Though many have used knives to fight them off. Many forumites here live in countries or states where they potentially contend with dangerous animals and do so without a gun. Carrying a large knife (and Busse knives do look cool!) is a smart idea if you can't carry a gun or choose not to fear of law enforcement harassment.

By the way I was going to post a link or two of mountain lion attacks were the hikers were ok. But then I got distracted and ended up watching Venture Brothers clips on youtube. Did you know David Bowie does the voice of one of the characters? I hope his new album rocks.
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Then there are the stories about things like that Tiger that killed over 230 people in India.

And don't forget the Lions that killed all those People In Africa.

People Getting away is more by luck than by anything else (Like the Cat let them go by choice), no matter what BS story they might tell later on, if a Big Cat is stalking a person the chances are very good that it won't end well for the person.

In the end the chances are very low there would be a problem, but having just a knife for defense is foolish at best against a Mountain Lion.

Yeah this is a knife forum and people want to flex their Internet muscles etc, but real life is different forgetting all that BS macho crap that will get people killed or worse out in the real world.

If one is going out there they really need to be prepared just in case and a knife ain't it.

People think they are Tarzan or something.... :rolleyes:

There is a lot of very bad info in this thread that could get the OP seriously injured or killed if he does have a real problem.
 
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Big Bo said:
It is called a 9mm or .40 or 45acp or .357mag or 41 mag or 44spl or 44mag. A blade for a family of Mtn Lions? No F`n way. Lead and fast lead at that.
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+1, you have niether the upper body strenght, the will (if you really are a hippy), or the technique to defend yourself against an animal like that. If you can't get a gun, stay the f out of the Wild until you can or you "pays your monies and you takes your chances!" No amount of knifes unless fired rapidly out of some kinda improvised gun will save you!

In reality, the mountain lion is gonna kill ya and then use your knife to cut you up before he cooks you and he's gonna use pepper spray to season you! that or your gonna spray into the wind blinding yourself causing you to fall on your knife, killing yourself in the process. The Mountain lion is gonna say/think to itself, "wtf, did that guy just kill himself... I better get the heck out of here before the media gets ahold of this and blames me. Then the cops are gonna hunt me down and blow me away!"
 
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Bring 2-3 friends. Unless a whole pack of lions are stalking you, there shouldn't be an issue. Also, in a group of 3-4, I'd like to think one of you would be old enough to own a gun.
 
As a lightweight backpacker, I just can’t accept carrying that much extra weight to handle a situation that is very unlikely to occur. Put that shotgun, pistol, or machete on the scale. Do you really want to carry that just in case some animal wanders near and you have NO other use for it? Now if you have another use for the weapon (two legged predators, chopping wood, etc) the equation may change. But still, that is a LOT of weight to carry around.

Awareness is the best defense. Mountain Lions rarely, if ever, attack adult humans who are not jogging along oblivious to their surroundings. Bears rarely attack humans who don’t stumble upon a mother and cubs.

I carry a hiking staff which has several other good uses. It will at least allow me to make an end of myself worthy of song. But my wilderness weapon of choice is my Tibetan Mastiff. At 150 pounds, he is the heaviest weapon that we have mentioned. But he is self-propelled so who cares?
 
salguod said:
As a lightweight backpacker, I just can’t accept carrying that much extra weight to handle a situation that is very unlikely to occur. Put that shotgun, pistol, or machete on the scale. Do you really want to carry that just in case some animal wanders near and you have NO other use for it? Now if you have another use for the weapon (two legged predators, chopping wood, etc) the equation may change. But still, that is a LOT of weight to carry around.

Awareness is the best defense. Mountain Lions rarely, if ever, attack adult humans who are not jogging along oblivious to their surroundings. Bears rarely attack humans who don’t stumble upon a mother and cubs.

I carry a hiking staff which has several other good uses. It will at least allow me to make an end of myself worthy of song. But my wilderness weapon of choice is my Tibetan Mastiff. At 150 pounds, he is the heaviest weapon that we have mentioned. But he is self-propelled so who cares?
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Most people walk around with their head up their ...... Especially these days with all the gadgets.

Likely a Mountain Lion could be standing out in the open right in their path and most people wouldn't see it because they are so distracted by other BS like talking on the cell phone, or texting or listening to MP3's, tweeting and or just talking to someone else instead of being aware of what is going on.

Most people are VERY easy targets (Prey) from what I have noticed over the years, they just don't pay attention and are too easily distracted.

I would say that a Mountain Lion or Large Bear could walk right up behind or from the side of most people out in the open and they wouldn't even know they were there until it was way too late.
 
Ankerson said:
Most people walk around with their head up their ...... Especially these days with all the gadgets.

Likely a Mountain Lion could be standing out in the open right in their path and most people wouldn't see it because they are so distracted by other BS like talking on the cell phone, or texting or listening to MP3's, tweeting and or just talking to someone else instead of being aware of what is going on.

Most people are VERY easy targets (Prey) from what I have noticed over the years, they just don't pay attention and are too easily distracted.

I would say that a Mountain Lion or Large Bear could walk right up behind or from the side of most people out in the open and they wouldn't even know they were there until it was way too late.
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EXACTLY! Can’t remember his name now, but I saw a Ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park give a slide presentation once. He told a story of how a family had a family reunion and picnic in the park. There were people gathered from all ages from 9 weeks to 90 years. They had their picnic party and then they took the obligatory pictures. They went home and developed the pictures and were astonished to see a mountain lion in the tree above the picnic table. He had obviously been there the whole time and just chose to wait out the party before leaving. The Ranger then showed the photo and we all had a great laugh. There was the lion, lounging on a branch right over the baby and everyone else, plain as day.
 
salguod said:
EXACTLY! Can’t remember his name now, but I saw a Ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park give a slide presentation once. He told a story of how a family had a family reunion and picnic in the park. There were people gathered from all ages from 9 weeks to 90 years. They had their picnic party and then they took the obligatory pictures. They went home and developed the pictures and were astonished to see a mountain lion in the tree above the picnic table. He had obviously been there the whole time and just chose to wait out the party before leaving. The Ranger then showed the photo and we all had a great laugh. There was the lion, lounging on a branch right over the baby and everyone else, plain as day.
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Yep, that's an excellent example of what I was talking about. :D
 
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