My friends and I do quite a bit of 20+ mile trail hiking and now that the bill is almost in effect we were wondering. It's always something that bothered us, if we were ever attacked by some nut or a wild animal, it might be days before anyone ever found us, because we were unable to defend and so deep in the woods.

Does anyone know how effective a 9mm or a .45 would be vs a bear if we were ever to be attacked by one? My XD holds 17 rounds and his ruger 8 or 9.
Would it be wiser to use fmj or jhp rounds?
Where would you even go for shot placement on a bear?
Could a 9 or a 45 even penetrate the skull?

When we get the money one of us will be trying to grab for a 357 or a 44 but probably wont be for a while, we're saving up for something better.