Choices are:

Springfield XD .357 SIG with 12 rnd mags JHPammo .......Use this one for camping and wildlife.

Glock 19 9mm with 15 round mags JHP ammo ................Use this one to conceal carry on the way back home.

Springfield XD .45ACP with 13 round mags JHP ammo .....Well, I guess a .45 is great for people who like having underpowered rounds and also having fewer of them. Trade this one for a 10mm Glock 40 MOS and you'll be better prepared for next year...

quote:

Originally posted by Billy346:
I believe XD has a 10mm option, and of course, Glock has several. Just a suggestion.

SIG also has a couple of offerings in this caliber
 

Of those, I would carry 357, which not coincidentally is what I do EDC. Though if I had a reasonable expectation of bear, I might upgrade to 10mm.

Of those choices, go with the 45.

If I were buying an auto for woods carry, it would be a 10mm Glock.

Of the offerings, I'd probably go with the .45. I would load +P JHP alternating with FMJ. That way, if the first round doesn't discourage the bear, hopefully the next one will. And so on...

I really like Bendable's advice - you have a reason to buy a new .41 or .44 revolver!

Tough choice. Bad time to point out that even the best handgun round, is still a handgun round.

That said, I'm not sure which I'd pick.

A .357 (9mm or Sig) may expand. But a .45 won't shrink.

An extra tenth of an inch's chance of hitting an important artery or bone might be better than a few more feet/pounds.

Then again, it might not.

357 Sig or jump a step and go 10mm with Underwood ammo.

I would go with one of the XDs, prob the .357

I agree that you definitely need to look for a good round to load up with.

Like others have said, doing a bunch of camping would be a great excuse for getting a couple new guns! How about a .44 mag or .357 mag revolver and lever gun, you'll really be set then!!

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
Bad time to point out that even the best handgun round, is still a handgun round.

OP -- this.

I've hiked, climbed, and camped in the back country for decades. Only carried a weapon in grizzly country, but in reality I'm not certain even my 10mm would be enough for a face-to-face with a angry grizz. That's why we always want a slower buddy with us in grizz country.

I've been within smelling distance of black bears twice, armed with just water bottles and rock climbing gear. No issues. Not even when I got between a mother black bear and her two cubs on hike up to the base of the Grand Teton, WY. FWIW, I was paused on the trail, she came crashing down a talus field to my left, the cubs to my right. She "woofed", the cubs scrambled down the slope, and all was good. I will admit that I was happy my bladder wasn't full at that moment....

You likely won't see a cat during a lifetime of hiking, unless it's guarding a recent kill. Cats are extremely wary of humans, although they have on extremely rare situations gone after toddlers that have run under a tree they're perched in.

Deer, elk, antelope, goats, and sheep are common in my neck of the woods. They don't like humans, and thus will run from us whenever possible. The only time I'll give them a wide berth is during the rut -- bull elk are pretty unpredictable around their harem. Just ask a few idiot photographers who get too close to bulls in Estes Park, CO in the fall.

Black bears in parts of California are a serious problem, mainly because of food. They actually rip car doors off to get to coolers. I'm vary wary of any backcountry travel with food in Sierra mountains. But that's on a different coast than what you're talking about.

In Colorado and Wyoming I'm more scared of moose than anything. Between 1,000 to 1,500 pounds -- it's said their brain is roughly the size of a walnut. Dumb as a frickin' brick. I've seen moose (both males and females) charge at photographers for no apparent reason, other than the person was within the moose's eyesight. I only photograph moose from my car, with the window rolled down, and while using a long lens.

Bottom line -- your own personal awareness is more important than anything else. The noise of any firearm will scare the bejeezus out of virtually any wildlife this side of grizz or maybe moose. Caliber won't matter, bullet size won't matter. Carry for protection against humans if you feel inclined, enjoy the wildlife when/if you see them.

Actually, my biggest issue with wildlife is rodents. Squirrels, chipmonks, mice eating my food at night. #&*$%@ marmots eating food, packs, boots, ropes during the day. Virtually anything this side of aluminum that has smells of food, salt, or sweat during the day. I've become tired as hell of creatively hanging approach packs at the base of a climb, only to have my post-climb dinner chewed to bits by #&*$%@ marmots.

#&*$%@ marmots. I think we should have open season on them.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
......Actually, my biggest issue with wildlife is rodents. Squirrels, chipmonks, mice eating my food at night. #&*$%@ marmots eating food, packs, boots, ropes during the day. Virtually anything this side of aluminum that has smells of food, salt, or sweat during the day. I've become tired as hell of creatively hanging approach packs at the base of a climb, only to have my post-climb dinner chewed to bits by #&*$%@ marmots.

#&*$%@ marmots. I think we should have open season on them.

In that event, what is needed is a good mouse gun.

quote:

Originally posted by Nipper:
In that event, what is needed is a good mouse gun.

Many, many moons ago...

I had just graduated from school, working in the oil industry in Wyoming, along side a bunch of green 22-year-olds. A few of us just had our dads pass hunting rifles down to us. A Winchester Model 70 in .270 for me. Other guys with Remy 700s -- .30-06, .308, .243. A few times during the summer we'd go to BLM & forest land, trying to reduce the marmot population in the talus fields. This was before I knew anything about ballistics. My scope had a simple duplex reticle. We didn't have range finders. We nothing of dialing elevation, bullet drops at distance, or wind drift.

We scared most of the marmots with ricochets off nearby rocks, but bagged a few here and there. I can state with certainty that a 30-06 or a 270 definitely is "enough gun" for a marmot.

Fritz makes a very good point. The chances of wildlife encounters is rare. I carry because of another varmint in the bushes - The two legged variety.
Since I wish to cover the entire threat spectrum, my back country carry is:
Warm weather: G20 with Underwood.
Cold weather: Ruger SBH .44 Mag with Underwood.
We have the same things here as most western states. Black bear, moose, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions and.....tweakers.

It is pretty funny to hear people talk about power and handguns in the same sentence.

Of those guns which do you shoot the best? I would carry that one. The most dangerous animal in the woods is people. I carry a glock 19 in the woods. I have used it as a noise maker to scare off a bear that kept circling where I was at (later found out I was being a dick and its den was under the boulder I climbed up to get away from it) that was one contact with bears in over 20 years of moving in bear country. I probably run into scetch people 20% of the time I am in the woods. My carry is set around that.

What holster to use is very important, almost more important than the gun itself. A tool is only as good as it's availability. I used to carry in a versa pack murse thing. This was oaky but put the load off center which is a slow weardown while hiking. Now I use hill people recon kit bag it mounts on the chest and is carried separate of your pack so you can drop your pack and still retain some items. The gun has its own section and it very fast to draw from. A crossbreed Ohai holster is really ideal in this setup, but you can just put it in the bag with no holster according to the manufactuers.

I EDX a Springfield XDm2 .45 ACP for urban threats. In the woods, however, I carry a revolver, either .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum revolver. My ammunition is Buffalo Bore solid hard-cast lead. For large predators you need penetration, not expansion, in a handgun caliber. Yet a hard-cast bullet is more than adequate for a two-legged predator since over penetration doesn't present a hazard to bystanders.

If I were to camp or fish in bear country, I would probably carry a .45-70 carbine, which packs a whole lot of hurt in a small package, and has an effective range of about 135 yards. That puts about 5 seconds between you and a bear.

I never plink with my EDC. I have a nice K22 Masterpiece for that. It's lethal on tin cans and small rocks.

For me the biggest threat in the woods would be feral hogs with an occasional black bear or big cat. Generally speaking, I would believe my every day care Sig P229 in 357 is adequate, that having been said, during hunting season I carry my S&W 629-4. If I didn't have the 629 carrying a 357Sig would cause no concern.

The vast majority of folks will never be in the presence nor encounter the majesty that is the grizzly in the wild. If ya do, you soon realize just how inadequate a handgun is against one with shear speed and size. Nothing beats a major caliber rifle in the woods. You'll sleep better in that tent too

Uhm underwood 10 mirrimeter!!!! Not saying its the best but I would prefer it with 16 rounds of Fuck YOU! Even Alaskan state troopers carry it (not the ammo but the caliber). Not ideal but....

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
A .357 (9mm or Sig) may expand. But a .45 won't shrink.

Cavitation is a wonderful thing.