A self-defense connoisseur with a large social media presence has ignited a firestorm over his posting of a video showing a mountain lion getting shot in the head.
Mrgunsngear (Mr. Guns n’ Gear), whose first name is Mike, is a United States Air Force and Army Veteran who uses his “experience on a pretty wide variety of fire arms” to review firearm products on several platforms, including a YouTube channel with over 650 thousand subscribers, according to his website.
A video posted to his Twitter account Wednesday depicts someone using a Glock to deter the threat of a mountain lion in the wilderness. Mike has stated that he did not film the video himself.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language and violence that some viewers will find offensive.
“Not all threats are two legged…” he tweeted.
Not all threats are two legged…@xssights@GLOCKInc #mountainlion #bigcats pic.twitter.com/KuGQkesK5u
— Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) September 29, 2021
In the clip, you can see the mountain lion and the unknown man in a tense encounter, as he tries to warn the animal before shooting.
“You get back,” he said repeatedly.
“No!” he shouts moments before the sound of a gunshot is heard.
In the next clip, he mentions how he had to shoot the mountain lion, as it had reportedly “pounced” at him.
Due to the explicit language used by the man behind the video, it’s clear that he was nervous about the threat the animal posed.
The man’s decision to shoot the animal was met with a heated debate in the comment section.
“People saying they would have fired a warning shot first. Right. Try being stalked by this killing machine. If it pounces you have no time. You do what you have to do. Good shot,” one user said.
People saying they would have fired a warning shot first. Right. Try being stalked by this killing machine. If it pounces you have no time. You do what you have to do. Good shot
— Redpilledreality (@RedPillsPlease) September 29, 2021
I’m a Youtuber and journalist. But If I really thought I’m confronted by something life-threatening, I would be too busy or too cautious to point my camera to it. BTW, I’m not even against recreational hunting, but this is very disturbing.
— SydneyDaddy 悉尼奶爸?? (@SydneyDaddy1) October 1, 2021
“Pounced? Cat is in the same spot as it was before he moved the camera. (So he could shoot it, claim it was aggressive, and get away with it)” professional boxer Caleb Truz doubtfully chimed in.
Pounced? Cat is in the same spot as it was before he moved the camera. (So he could shoot it, claim it was aggressive, and get away with it)
— caleb truax (@GoldenCalebT) October 1, 2021
While it appears that he used his best judgment by shooting the animal, why was he filming the encounter?
His choice to film should make everyone skeptical of the incident overall; however, it’s difficult to understand the full context without being there.
It’s certainly a tragedy that the mountain lion was shot, but the cliche of “man versus nature” creates a serious moral dilemma.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
