Hiking with a handgun

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coondog1963

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Going to be hiking in the southeast US in the next month or so and was wanting to get some opinions about what caliber semi-automatic I should carry. I'm trying to decide between my Glock 36 (7 rounds of 45 ACP) or my Glock 19 (16 rounds of 9mm). My two biggest concerns are black bears on the trail and two-legged predators at night back in the cabin. I could carry my Ruger P345 for 9 rounds of 45 ACP. Thoughts??
 
Bear - get something much bigger. 9mm and .45 ACP are likely to only anger it. I would suggest reading up online on how to avoid bear. It's better to prevent an encounter vs. taking pot shots at one with a under-powered pistol.

Bad Guys - take which ever you prefer. 6 of one, half a dozen of another. I personally take a G17 when I go knocking about the woods. It carries 20 rounds loaded, is light weight, and if I lose it/damage it I won't lose any sleep. I've used Glocks as my beater guns for decades.
 
dmwphoto, you're probably right, as I have come across them before (within 50 yards) and the adult bruin, about 300 lbs, never gave me a second look. He was too busy eating! My concern is unexpectantly coming across a mother and cubs. They are beautiful animals and I hope it would never come to me having to shoot one, but if it's between it and my daughter, well...

Sturmgewehre-is a 44 special or mag considered adequate for black bear?
 
I hike with a .41 Mag as there is a chance of grizzlies, plus a lot of moose where I live. When I hiked in the Sierras with only black bears and cougars I usually didn't even carry, but later started hauling my .357 with me, mostly for the cougars. I've seen so many black bears, I really don't worry about them, and don't see them as much of a threat. Nowadays humans worry me much more than then.

Where I'm at in Idaho I'm more worried about moose, they can get mean and I see them all the time, but for me any firearm is the last step against critters. I went to the .41 Mag just because it was that or a .44 Mag for penetration with hard cast bullets (didn't want the bigger cartridges like a .454 or .480), but if there were no moose or grizzlies, I'd pack only for two legged critters and I think both of your choices would be fine. Being 2 or more miles off road and coming upon a crazy or a bad guy is much more of a concern IMO.
 
Attach some "Jingle Bells" to your body in such a way to make them jingle constantly,and you'll never see any bears....
 
Stiofan, your last sentence really gets to the root of my main worry...I WILL be a couple of miles off the road both on the trail and at the cabin we stay. That's the main reason I'm thinking about the G19...ammo capacity. With sixteen in the gun and another 30 in a double mag holder I really don't think I'll have anything to worry about. Agree?
 
coondog1963

I am 72 years old and have trekked the back country of the great northwest for a long, long time. Conventional wisdom has it that black bears will run away from you and, for the most part, that is true. However, if there are cubs involved or if the bear is sick then conventional wisdom goes out the window and you are in danger. I had that happen twice and, believe me, a 45 ACP or a 9 mm pistol is not going to be sufficient to stop a bear that is coming for you. A good 44 mag will do the trick and that is what I carry. The two times I needed it - it worked well. Carry a 44 mag if bears are at all involved.
 
Yup, I agree. A .44 Mag would be my minimum for dangerous animals in North America. I would of course prefer to have a good rifle, but if a handgun it is - go with a .44 Mag loaded with a good solid bullet (don't use hollowpoints).
 
I do a lot of hiking in the Southeast and usually carry my Glock 23. I find the size to be comfortable and I appreciate the 14 round capacity (one in chamber) plus an additional mag. I'd go with the Glock 19.
 
Great comments one and all. This is going to be a great forum (I just signed up today). You all have certainly given me much to think about. Dairycreek, I appreciate the wisdom your experience brings to this thread. Maybe the best solution is for me to carry the .44 and have my wife carry the G19 Best of both worlds.

Again, thanks to all who contributed!
 
Should the 44 mag be SA or DA? I have a 44 Super Blackhawk, 4-5/8" barrel.
Click to expand...
Personally, I would go with a good DA/SA revolver like the S&W 29/629 or Ruger Redhawk. But there's no reason a revolver such as the Ruger Super Blackhawk wouldn't serve well. I would rather have the option of double action if I was in a bad situation vs. having to cock the hammer for each shot. But it's really a matter of personal preference.
 
With hand guns I would carry for the two-legged concern. I would take the 345 for that.

For black bears with a hand gun, I would lean toward .44 mag, .41 mag, or 10mm; the 10mm Glocks can have 15 (+1) round mags and with good ammo approach .41 mag ballistics. However, I personally don't recommend hand guns are bear defensive weapons; unless back up to something else.

If bears are truly a concern, bear spray and/or a 12 gauge with slugs. In Alaska, not one (read that again - not one) fatality when bear/pepper spray used against bears ever. You will not find a statistic like this when researching hand gun defensive shootings against bears. (Check adn.com for reference - Anchorage Daily News) And we do have a few bit bigger bears here than down there. Picture half a ton bear 10+ feet tall.

Having hunted bears and moose in Alaska I personally would not ever want to try shooting a game animal with a hand gun. And then imagine, down there,an enraged mama black bear coming right for you.

My standard answer for bear country where I live: flamethrower! Large caliber hunting rifle, shotgun with slugs and/or bear spray.
 
When hiking, I worry only about dogs, humans, and only rarely, black bear. I go the 10mm route. 200gr solids, once from my Delta Elite, now from a Glock 29. The G29 is a good carry pistol that fires a potent caliber accurately and is easily controlled for follow-up shots.

If I was truly expecting bears, I would want my FAL.
 
Wow! I'm going to love this site. You guys are great! What a wealth of information. Makes me proud to share a great hobby (passion) with like-minded individuals. Maybe I'll get to meet some of you at the Million Gun-Owners March in DC next year.

Hadn't even thought about bear spray, and I heard it can really be effective. I'll start searching the net for the stuff and see what I can find.
 
The Game Warden to the "Green" Back-Country Hiker:

GW: How far ya going?

GBCH: Oh, quite a ways. A couple of days hike at least.

GW: You're up on all the bear regs right? You've got the pamphlets, and have read them?

GBCH: Oh yes! I think we will be fine where the bear are concerned. We both have our pepper spray and our jingle bells on our shoes...see? (jingle-jingle)

GW: I see...so you know how to tell the black bear scat from the grizzly scat, right?

GBCH: No, I'm not sure we do...

GW: Well, your black bear scat looks a lot like human scat, but it may contain a wide variety of undigested seeds, roots, berries, and small animal parts. Your Grizz scat, on the other hand, has little brass bells in it and smells like cayenne pepper!:D:D
 
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