Fighting a big cat...

C

cash2006

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Jan 24, 2007
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188
What reasonably sized and priced knife might you wish to have?

Crazy question, but after reading a wonderful leopard encounter by Wilbur Smith, seeing survivorman in Africa nervous about lions, and then seeing the "what are you afraid of" thread, I can't help but ask..

Cats have always made me nervous, and if one ever hit me I'd want to do some damage.
 
Cats pounce on you with no notice usually.

Fixed small blade within reach that does damage in close quarters.

I am thinking A fixed Karambit of 3 inches. It looks like a claw as well, no coincidence I guess.

Skam
 
You should also read The Beast in the Garden, by David Baron. Some pretty crazy cat encounter stories around Boulder, CO back in the late 80's early 90's.
 
I think that when you get pounced on by a big cat. It's going to knock the living crap out of you hard and fast. It will always have the element of surprise, so you can never be ready for it.
I think I remember a story on the Discovery Channel that a man was attacked. Through the fighting he managed to slit it's throat with a 3" folder and it died from bleeding to death. He end up losing a eye, lots of deep cuts from the clawing, and his arm was mangled for life.
I guess if you get lucky and shake out the cobb webs in your head. Any knife is better than nothing. That's if you can get to your knife before the cat get to your throat for the final kill.
 
The Spyderco Temperance Was Designed By Sal For That Very Thing(mountain Lion Attacks)
 
Fixed blade would be the prefered knife for such an encounter, as there is little time to employ a folder. We have the big cats in the area, and I normally carry a fixed blade when out for walks in the rural area, but I hope I never have to use it to fend off a cougar.
The one that was around here last winter was very large, but if it were to attack one has to use whatever type of knife it is, and it has been proven that a folder can save lives in such attacks.
 
Whatever knife is handy next to the holster of the .357 AND only after the revolver runs dry!
btuner, I noticed your location. Just to let you know there have been more sightings of mountain lions in McDowell Co.
 
btuner said:
just choke the sumbitch
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HAHAHAHAHA! That was the best response I've seen. I actually know a guy who dropkicked a big cat right as it was jumping at him. It stunned the cat long enough for him to get his gun out and after the first crack, the cat skeedaddled.
 
I think something in the fixed blade 4"ish. Maybe a Bravo-1

In reality, though, I think whatever you had you would be sunk.

Maybe you should get something really pretty so they can put it in your hand in the casket!! :)
 
Any decent fixed blade and a large backpack, and you're good to go. It would likely be useful to have a slightly longer blade, perhaps 6", with some extra reach for a good stab, without adding too much weight and bulkiness. For this kind of thing, I think a M.95 Sissipuukko wouldn't be bad at all. But why the backpack? Big cats like going for your neck. It's a little hard to go for your neck if it's covered by the backpack and whatever you have attached to it. Works for bears, too. If one of them bastards jumps you, hopefully, they'll hit the pack and not your flesh. Then you can either try to put them down with the knife, or ditch the pack and decide between running like hell and attacking the critter with whatever you have. A gun would be nice - they might get scared of the sound, even if you don't hit them.
 
skammer said:
More info.

Skam
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Re: Spyderco Temperance

I found this review: http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/temperance_vg10.html. Looks like a basic knife-- a mora would be as effective, IMHO.

It seems to be the same issues as self-defense against a human, adding stealth along with 20 claws and a big set of teeth-- my point being, you want to be able to access your weapon and disable the attacker with stabs or slashes.

There are a lot of "if's". Other than a frontal attack where you might be able to get to a vital spot with a knife, you can still do damge to a cat with your fists as much as you can a human--- IF you can get a punch in. If it has you by the neck or head, it's a tough call. If I were dealing with a human attacking from behind, I would be kicking and elbowing or trying to thrust with a knife. Other than that, it's street fightin' time and going for any soft spots I can find-- eyeballs, pressure points, twisting limbs. Predators do get hurt by their prey and have a sense of self-preservation-- you need to make things more inconvenient than they are hungry. Good luck.

Most of the attacks I've read about were on kids and they were grabbed by the head. In each case, an adult was able to get the cat off the victim with rocks and sticks.
 
I second the Temperance as that is exactly what it was designed for.
The blade shape and tip design are all geared for maximum penertration into soft mediums !!!
 
Masi men and boys kill lions with spears. Of course we have no figures on how often the lions win.

LOL

The Maasai, or Masai, or Masi as they are sometimes called(I call them red blanket wearing, crazy bastards, with a death wish), are a tribe of Africans who more or less have maintained their style of living over all of these years(at least they hide the antennas very well). They jump around and herd cattle and goats. The interesting thing about the Maasai is that they do all of this right out in the Mara where the lions and cheetahs and leopards can jump around on their livestock. The even more interesting thing about the Maasai is that the "warriors" tending the cattle are between the ages of 12 and 15. These guys, get circumcised without anesthesia at 12, then get thrown out into the Mara with just a shield and a spear or maybe even a stick to fend off full grown lions. In fact, in the old days, they were required to kill a lion before they could consider themselves a man(the redneck Maasai still do this). On top of all of this, they are allowed to have up to seven wives. As if the lions weren't scary enough! These guys are men's men. They only eat meat, blood and milk. For further references rent "The Ghost And The Darkness".
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KHUKURI !
There is a fellow in Nepal who killed one when he was attacked. He didn't have time to pull the blade out of the sheath but the impact was so great it killed the leopard dead on the spot.
 
syrinx said:
whenever I go hikeing my pack always has my trusted Machete for just such a thing.
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At close quarters, a long blade could be difficult to bring into action.
You may even find it difficult to draw it out of the sheath.

Using the point.
The "point" of most machetes is way sub-optimal for stabbing, which is
what you might need at close range. To get the point into action,
you might have to pull your hand and the machete-handle way back,
which is very unnatural in a fight.

Using the edge.
Some of the South East Asian arts show you how to use the blade edge
(not the point) of a machete-type knife at close range. This involves
applying force to the back of the blade with some part of your body.
Example: imagine your left forearm pressing against the back of the blade
as your right hand works the handle.

Granted, if you see the animal before it closes, you could get a real good
old fashioned hack, which could be very effective.

I would want a backup: 6 to 8 inch knife.
 
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