Unorthodox shooting position-mountain bike?

[fightingquaker13]

Like fightingquaker13's idea with the driving holster.

Have to tell you though that I have a good amount of experience with puma concolor (mountain lion) through research and hunting in Arizona, California, and Montana. Unless you're wearing a backpack covering your neck, if one decides you are food there is not a thing you can do. You'll just feel something hit you from behind and bite your neck in a split second.

For ones whom have not decided you are food:
1) Bear spray is very effective at discouraging bad behavior, has decent standoff range, large pattern, and is the preferred method in this type of encounter. Unless you burn a lot of powder weekly and can remain cool, the spray is the way to go. A wounded
animal can make things turn seriously worse in a hurry.

2) Handgun, (I carry a light ported a 38 +P that will anchor a bear when hit between the shoulder blades, including grizzlies). A single shot in front of them works 99% of the time. Ones with rabies, have been raised closely to humans, already have had a taste of you, and some transients (ones looking for a home ranges) normally fit in this one percent group that will not respond to a warning shot. That is when you'll wish you had the spray

FYI: You may all know this, but if you think the animal has rabies try not expose spinal fluids to the air or damage the skull. Certain  rabies strains can infect victims purely through airborne transmission, exposing spinal fluids obviously increases this risk. Undamaged skulls can be tested and save you a lot of grief. Fortunately, only a very small percentage of lions get infected.

Hope that helps some.

Well, now that you have succeeded in scaring the crap out of us, welcome aboard. You'll fit right in.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

Well, now that you have succeeded in scaring the crap out of us, welcome aboard. You'll fit right in.
FQ13

Crap, FQ stole my line .
While I was typing  ! The SOB  

2 other comments on your post, I think you are wrong about bear spray "has decent standoff range".
If something has decided that it is going to eat me I would not say that an ICBM "has decent standoff range"
The second thing , more serious, is that no, I did NOT know about the spinal fluids, and have had occasion to shoot a couple POTENTIALLY rabid dogs over the years.

[Pathfinder]

Badshotomen kinda stole my thunder. If the cat is after you, it will be from behind. The only way you will see it is if you surprise it, not the other way around. And mountain lions should scare the crap out of you. They are the only wildlife that will routinely intentionally hunt a human.

Story from a hunting rag a few years back - a father/son were out hunting deer, saw something down by a river. Dad put the scope on it, and the cat looked back at him. Dad and son skeedaddled back to the pickup and came back next day with help. The cat had followed them back to the pickup. The now much larger group swept through the area for some time, and ended up back at the pickups without seeing the cat. Then they saw the tracks following their trail as they swept - the cat had tracked them the whole way and was likely watching them at the moment they realized it.

Object Lesson - Cats attack from behind.

Actually the small airhorns with the handle bar mount are a great idea.
...
It should more than suffice for a sub 100 pound cat.

Just what we want to hear on the trails, especially the Maah-dah-Hey, airhorns. Doubt seriously they would work on a cat, other than to resound like a dinner "bell".

And just what kind of pussy cat do you have in FL? Sub-100 pounds? If it is a young'un or sick and dying, maybe it's sub-100 pounds. Most of the healthy ones up here are well over 100 pounds, with the males heading toward 200.

In event of cougar? Fall backwards off the bike and you'll have a sore butt, but still have time to draw whatever weapom you choose (this being plan A).

One more time - cats will attack from behind, they are stalkers.

Another story from a hunting rag - a couple of turkey hunters were sitting on the ground with their backs against some trees calling the birds. One heard a faint rustle from behind, glanced back, and barely had time to swing the shotgun muzzle and pull the trigger before the cat dropped dead in his lap. Object Lesson - When you sound like prey, you are prey. Oh, yeah, and cats attack from behind.

A couple of ideas, DR. 1 - Backpack with hydration is a great idea, especially if you can find something to ride high over the back of the neck. And made of Kevlar maybe? 

2 - keep weapons (yes, plural) on your body, not on the bike. Maybe start with a shoulder holster, plus belt carry, cross-draw or better yet weak hand in case your strong is is, you know, busy being fed to the cat?. As for the Bond derringer, better than nothing, especially if you're up against the wussy cats in FQ's neighborhood. Up here? .45 ACP or 9mm HP only, and lots of them. And maybe a Bowie knife - you know, just in case?

3 - Check with the rangers before you ride to see if any cats have been seen recently. Cats cover a lot of ground so this isn't foolproof, so one could just show up, but will at least let you know if one was in the area for sure. Watch for sign as you ride, tracks, scat on the trail, etc. Absence of other wildlife too, although hikers/bikers will spook much of the wildlife.

4 - Don't ride alone and keep those behind you in your mirrors, don't let anyone get trailed too far behind - they are the prey of choice. Safety in numbers.

[tombogan03884]

And just what kind of pussy cat do you have in FL?

They are almost mythical they are so rarely seen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_panther

The Florida panther is a highly threatened representative of cougar (Puma concolor) that lives in forests and swamps of southern Florida in the United States. Its current taxonomic status (Puma concolor coryi or Puma concolor couguar) is unresolved, but recent genetic research alone does not alter the legal conservation status. This species is also known as the cougar, mountain lion, puma, and catamount but in the Southeast, and particularly Florida, it is exclusively known as the panther.

Males weigh about 34.2 kilograms (170 lbs) and live within a range that includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.[3] This population, the only unequivocal cougar representative in the eastern United States, currently occupies only 5% of its historic range. The number of living Florida panthers is estimated to be between 80 and 100.[4]

Much more at link

[Badgersmilk]

[Sponsor]

[Hazcat]

They are almost mythical they are so rarely seen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_panther

The Florida panther is a highly threatened representative of cougar (Puma concolor) that lives in forests and swamps of southern Florida in the United States. Its current taxonomic status (Puma concolor coryi or Puma concolor couguar) is unresolved, but recent genetic research alone does not alter the legal conservation status. This species is also known as the cougar, mountain lion, puma, and catamount but in the Southeast, and particularly Florida, it is exclusively known as the panther.

Males weigh about 34.2 kilograms (170 lbs) and live within a range that includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.[3] This population, the only unequivocal cougar representative in the eastern United States, currently occupies only 5% of its historic range. The number of living Florida panthers is estimated to be between 80 and 100.[4]

Much more at link

I believe about 6 or so of those 'mythical" creatures have been killed by cars this year!

[tombogan03884]

I believe about 6 or so of those 'mythical" creatures have been killed by cars this year!

See, Those six obviously weren't seen. 

[PegLeg45]

DNR has said repeatedly that there are none in our area (guess they have maps and can't come across the GA/FL border  ). My best friend growing up is a DNR Game Warden and he says he has seen several, but his superiors deny their existence in Georgia.
I've seen them with my own eyes over the years. There's one that roams the area along the creek 500 yards from our property. We have pics of tracks on a camera phone but they are not clear, so we are in the process of setting up more cameras. It has become a personal goal to get a picture of this cat.
Our son caught a pic of one with a game trail camera along the river that runs through his girlfriends dad's land (40 miles away)...only to have his girlfriends father erase all the pics while trying to retrieve them (haven't figured out how he did it).

There may not be a lot of the cats out there, but there are more than DNR admits to.

[tombogan03884]

We "don't have them" in NH too.
Thing is, They are endangered,  in the East any way. If they are here, then the Feds mandate all kinds of managment crap, spend money, get every one PO'd, and probably kill off the animals, If there are "none here", every one is happier, including the animals.

[Dakotaranger]

We "don't have them" in NH too.
Thing is, They are endangered,  in the East any way. If they are here, then the Feds mandate all kinds of managment crap, spend money, get every one PO'd, and probably kill off the animals, If there are "none here", every one is happier, including the animals.

The feds probably haul them out here because we are 'unpopulated'