I think I’ve worked out the best compromise for myself between the security of having a sidearm and the inconvenience of carrying the bloody thing when you’re hunting. I picked up a S&W J-frame Ti in .357, with the three inch barrel. I put Crimson Trace grips on it for a solid purchase and low weight, in addition to the precision potential of the laser. It is sighted in for .357 158 gr. bullets, and it holds both .38’s and .357’s in the same pie-tin size groups out to about 18 yards. This seems good enough to me for personal protection or for finishing off a game animal.
I usually put a shotshell in first position, put 3 .357’s after that, and have one 38 +P in 5th place. That way I can grab and fire the shotshell round quickly for snakes and such, and if surprised by two or four legged predators I can just fire through the shotshell without slowing down much. I keep the .38 round last so that I can manually index it for finishing shots on big game or plinking small game. I find I flinch less if I know that the round coming up is a .38.
The two drawbacks are related to the gun’s primary strength. The first problem is that precise shooting is difficult because of the light weight. Just single action trigger pressure (around 3.5 lbs) makes the gun quiver all over that pie tin, and any true precision shooting is nearly impossible in double action. The second problem is that the thing offers up recoil levels that rate somewhere between “Unbearable” and “Unbelievable” when shooting .357 ammo, especially the heavier bullet weights. I tried some 180 gr. Federal hunting ammo, thinking it would be the best choice for a field load in boar or bear country, and it probably is. I’ll never find out, though, ‘cause after the first cylinder there was no way I was going to try it again. Anybody need 15 rounds of Federal Cast Core hunting ammo?
The whole package weighs about 18 oz, including the nylon holster. It conceals beautifully (where legal) while remaining out of the way and has no tendency to want to ride my pants down. It is probably the best "carry alot, shoot a little" field sidearm I've ever owned.