hiking carry gun
- Thread starter giaquir
- Start date
Looks like a 9mm was good enough for Alaska.
https://www.americanhunter.org/arti...ishermen-from-raging-grizzly-with-9mm-pistol/
With the better heavy for caliber hardcast bullets available today any of the common pistol calibers are viable bear cartridges. The 9mm load used above has shot through 5+ feet of gel. They only had 5' and never found the bullet.
The same 10mm loads have taken game as large as cape buffalo.
Of the 3 the 45 ACP gives the least penetration, and I like 10mm the best. But if I already owned a gun in either 9mm, 45, 40S&W, or 10mm and were concerned about large predators when hiking I'd buy some heavy hardcast ammo in that caliber and hike with the gun I had.
It is 2 legged predators that concern me the most anyway. The 9mm, 45, 10mm, or even 40 S&W are versatile enough to stop predators and still come in smaller lightweight packages with enough ammo capacity for human confrontations.
https://www.americanhunter.org/arti...ishermen-from-raging-grizzly-with-9mm-pistol/
With the better heavy for caliber hardcast bullets available today any of the common pistol calibers are viable bear cartridges. The 9mm load used above has shot through 5+ feet of gel. They only had 5' and never found the bullet.
The same 10mm loads have taken game as large as cape buffalo.
Of the 3 the 45 ACP gives the least penetration, and I like 10mm the best. But if I already owned a gun in either 9mm, 45, 40S&W, or 10mm and were concerned about large predators when hiking I'd buy some heavy hardcast ammo in that caliber and hike with the gun I had.
It is 2 legged predators that concern me the most anyway. The 9mm, 45, 10mm, or even 40 S&W are versatile enough to stop predators and still come in smaller lightweight packages with enough ammo capacity for human confrontations.
Onward Allusion
New member
Between the two go for the capacity of the 10 mm. You're much more likely to encounter evil 2-legged creatures than a hungry bear. I'd stick to 9mm +P in a G17 or M&P.
wild cat mccane
New member
I hike every weekend in Utah. For years.
Almost all without a gun.
Bear spray is far better for an aggressive animal.
Any other comments is opinion.
Almost all without a gun.
Bear spray is far better for an aggressive animal.
Any other comments is opinion.
American Man
New member
I've spent a few summers up in NH and the biggest threat up there is Moose... at least for me they were. I tolerated getting chased a few times by them... pretty much cause I considered myself the outsider. I carried a 357 mag up there, 180gr HC. But now, I would carry the G29 or the G20.
Also, despite how they have denied mountain lions being up there, thanks to home security cameras, they have been filmed in many backyards.
Also, despite how they have denied mountain lions being up there, thanks to home security cameras, they have been filmed in many backyards.
If you manage to take down a charging moose with a 357 magnum revolver that would be quite the tale.
Not all wild cats are mountain lions. Fish and Game have investigated the recordings. Absent some grand conspiracy they were found not to be mountain lions but other cats instead . My experience is that coyotes are the more common predator, and they've shadowed my wife and her dogs before. The ones we have around here seem to have bred with wolves or dogs and are larger than some found elsewhere.
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My EDC is an EC9s and I want a pistol I that makes me feel a little bit more secure.
We ,over the last 10 years are seeing more moose and bears. Yes 2 legged critters who be most likely more of a problem. I don't hike per se,I do a lot off "walking" in the dense woods up here as well as follow a lot of old lanes and it's more common now to see trash and garbage quite a ways out in the woods. I"m 68 and believe one never knows what the heck is around the next bend and me with my little Ruger 9. I pretty sure there was a time when I could handle a hot 10mm but not so much now. The 45acp would be a better fit and be a good defensive round for what ever comes along.
I so much like to follow old lanes to wherever they might go and carry some good confidence.
We ,over the last 10 years are seeing more moose and bears. Yes 2 legged critters who be most likely more of a problem. I don't hike per se,I do a lot off "walking" in the dense woods up here as well as follow a lot of old lanes and it's more common now to see trash and garbage quite a ways out in the woods. I"m 68 and believe one never knows what the heck is around the next bend and me with my little Ruger 9. I pretty sure there was a time when I could handle a hot 10mm but not so much now. The 45acp would be a better fit and be a good defensive round for what ever comes along.
I so much like to follow old lanes to wherever they might go and carry some good confidence.
Around here those "findings" of fish and game are often disregarded because the experts at fish and game assured the people in Michigan that if they released large cats with massive ranges that often run juveniles out of those ranges in the Upper Peninsula there was no way they could possibly enter the Lower Peninsula. Apparently they neglected to consider the fact that cougars are known to swim from island to island AND the straits of Mackinac freeze solidly enough for vehicle travel in most winters.
I've seen some of the trail came footage that has been disregarded as "that's not a cougar" as well as been to the spots they were taken to get size references because "your just misreading sizes" They are not house cats in that footage and they are not bobcats.
The Michigan DNR has a vested interest in not identify cougars in the lower peninsula because of their own record and previous statements in regards to the animals.
American Man
New member
A 357 is what I had. 357 HC is more than enough for a moose in NH. If the first place I would have experienced moose was CO or AK, I'd have thought differently. And it is no secret up in NH that Fish and Game are almost desperately trying to deny lions exist up there cause it might lead to less tourism dollars.
Killing a moose with a well placed shot is one thing. Hitting one when it charges you is another.
I'd argue it might lead to more tourism. People will believe what they want when it comes to conspiracy theories. I've spent decades in NH. Conspiracy theories are practically a state tradition. Doesn't always make them true.
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If I am ever at the wrong end of a moose charge I hope that I am able to bring a 458 LOTT or 460 Weatherby into the equation and that my hiking partner has at least a 375 H+H. But, as carrying these is inconvenient, I might have to accept that a 10MM or a .357 is far more likely to be available. Even the 500 S+W is inconvenient enough to carry that it would be unlikely to be available while hiking.
corneileous
New member
My hiking/woods sidearm is a 10mm.
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