Personal defense while hunting...

[MastaVern]

I have always carried my Ruger p90 with me when hunting in case of emergencies, tho it just seems... too... urban i guess the word would be for out in the woods, not to mention being semi-auto, and i know you can cary semi-auto for personal protection with you while hunting, as long as you are not shooting at game with it, is fine, but for bear i have my doubts. in general .45 acp is a heavier slower moving round, probably more suited for defense against a human aggressor.

so i have been kicking around the idea of picking up a revolver for some time now, and have kinda been torn between a .44 mag, and a .454 mag. (tho that does not preclude any other caliber revolver, as a .500 mag by S&W) while confident that my 30-06 hunting rifle will be more then enough to dispatch any threat, it is always nice to have a back up. and after getting invited to hunt further out west by family, up in the Alaskan bush, as well as parts of Montana and Wyoming it kinda solidified the fact that i may need it as a worst case scenario.

as i am fond of quoting to anyone who asks why i carry a pistol (concealed) in public... a quote from the movie AVP "the same principal as a condom. i would prefer to have it, and not need it, then to need it, and not have it."

any thoughts one way or the other to help me make a decision? or should i just say screw it, and look into just getting both (or all 3) lol.

[39flathead]

You mean .454 Casull or .445 Supermag?

I'd go with a revolver in .44Mag or larger loaded with some Buffalo Bore ammo.
The .44mag, .454 Casull, .460S&W or .500 will all work for what you are looking to do, the main thing is how much weight do you want to lug around for something you may never need. Bear attacks are pretty rare.

I'd seriously consider the S&W 329PD.

[wellcraft]

i would go with nothing less than a 44 magnum and probably nothing more than the 454 casull. the SW 460 and 500 are awesome hard hitting rounds but the guns are heavy and lugging one around all day may become uncomfortable quick. since the 460 and 500 are heavy guns they are also a bit slower to be brought on target so the extra second you save using the lighter gun in 44 or 454 might be the difference between getting mauled and walking away unscathed.

[Xringshooter]

Myself, I'd go with a Ruger Redhawk .44Mag in the 4 to 5 1/2" barrel (for ease of carry in the woods). Extremely strong gun, can be loaded with some real good big animal stoppers and when not in the woods, can be loaded down to44 special loadings which are fun to shoot.

The 5 1/2" barrel is a good barrel length but it is real hard to find lately. The 4" (actually 4.2") is easier to find.

[Snowdogs]

A friend runs the Iditarod and this past year while training 2 of her teams they came across a moose. To make a long story short the moose ran through their dog teams 3 times and turned for a 4th go. The other musher was in direct line between the moose and dogs and had nowhere to go. The moose was brought down from about a 10-15' distance with a 44 mag. to the head. Normally they carry 12 ga with slugs for these situations but it wasn't reachable in the time allowed.
More or bigger is better but as others have said take all factors into consideration when making a decision on what to take. How mobile would you be and how quick to come on target would you be with the 500 as opposed to the 44?

[MastaVern]

All really good points, and most of which i have already had cross my mind. as mentioned above, the .500 S&W would be heavy and probably get cumbersome quickly carrying it around, thus why i am in a toss up between the .44 or .454 (casull)

On one hand, the .44 is more then enough to dispatch any threat you may come across in the lower 48 states, tho if i will be in say Alaska, the extra power of the .454 would be just added peace of mind. and of course the load i choose would have a lot to do with it as well. the .500 is kinda more fantasy then anything while i would love to get one, not practical from all that i have weighed the pro's and con's against it.

the .44 i have been leaning towards just because it is common, and ammo is easy to find as it is so common. one shop i visited in in Ohio i was asking about the .454 ammo, and the clerk looked at me like i grew a 2nd head, and had no idea what i was talking about, and the other gentleman knew exactly what i was talking about but said they would need to order it for me, rather then keep the ammo on stock because it does not sell often.

and of course, there is always the "Dirty Harry" weigh in.

I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

Most people claim the .44 has just enough recoil to handle with great ease for follow up shots, bit i guess the American idea of "go big or go home" has got me still weighing in the .454 as well.

thanks for all the input so far.

[MT1]

I'd opt for a stainless .44 with 4" barrel

[Kramer]

I usually carry my 4" S&W 629 Mountain Gun.

[dkf]

Myself, I'd go with a Ruger Redhawk .44Mag in the 4 to 5 1/2" barrel (for ease of carry in the woods). Extremely strong gun, can be loaded with some real good big animal stoppers and when not in the woods, can be loaded down to44 special loadings which are fun to shoot.

The 5 1/2" barrel is a good barrel length but it is real hard to find lately. The 4" (actually 4.2") is easier to find.

This^^^^^^

[gummy jones]

the old adage is that the best two hiking/hunting side arms are 1) the gun you are proficient with and 2) the gun that you have on you. but we all know that.

most people on any forum you check will probably say stainless .44mag at least if you are concerned about browns/polars. the fact of the matter is that any and every handgun is worse than your 30-06 or whatever rifle you are carrying. anything other than browns i carry a 10mm with heavy case bullets from BB or DT. some guides swear by the 10mm as well but i just feel a little better with .454. EDIT i say rock the .454 because it is America and if worst comes to worst you can always use .45LC to familiarize yourself with the gun (although they feel like you are shooting a 9mm in comparison).

there have only been something like 12 fatal brown bear encounters in the US since 2000. i do not disagree with preparing for the worst but the fact of the matter is that they just arent very common. most can be avoided by situational awareness. the attacks that do happen are very fast, leaving little time if any for 1 shot, maybe 2.

i am sure that by now we have all seen this video, but here is a refresher (always fun to watch).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbnmLLnsfw

i think the best advice i ever got was, regardless of pistol choice, to make sure that i filed the front sight off