All of my firearms are for protection against animals. Both the four footed ones and the more dangerous two footed ones. Most animals don't go looking for trouble and usually don't attack unless they feel threatened. The two footed ones are a lot more devious and cunning and the most dangerous ones go looking for trouble with deadly intent. I figure that I want the most powerful caliber pistol that I can shoot the most accurately and still control. For me that is 10mm, .357 magnum, and .41 magnum. All three calibers are much more superior ballistically to 9mm and not too difficult to control and shoot accurately for me as the more effective .44 magnum (which has too much recoil for me to comfortably control and shoot accurately).

In your situation, since you already have a .357 magnum revolver and don't want to spend any money on another gun/caliber, then just put .357 magnum cartridges in your revolver? It's certainly a more effective a cartridge than .45 ACP.

 

.45 Colt because larger case will hold more snake shot pellets.

 

My choice of woods carry is my S&W 629-1 44 magnum in a Kenai chest carry holster. I also purchased an interchangeable holster for my S&W 686 357 magnum. When I’m doing strenuous work, the 357 gets the call as it is a bit lighter, smaller, and easier to carry.

 

Well, what part of the world do you live in and what dangerous animals are in the area? .357 Magnum in at least a 4" barrel should be effective on anything up to about 150 lbs. The theory being that in order for an animal to be dangerous to you, it is close and closing. A rifle is almost always better except for close-quarter engagements where a scope or other optic is simply confusing/ineffective and could get you mauled. So a good revolver in a holster where you draw, point and shoot in a hurry is probably what I would do. You might consider picking up a lever-action carbine also in .357.

 

Large dogs and coyotes
357 mag hollow points. Have done this many times. Dramatic energy dump. Drop in their tracks. Best record actual results stopping 2-legged snakes. Your single action would work fine.

Larger / Dangerous animals -
41 mag. Better penetration than 44 mag. Much lighter recoil!

* Same scenarios as above but with standard size semiauto.
38 super
10mm

 

You could probably kill a bear with a .22 shot placement counts . If I go play in bear country as in actively hiking I usually take a rifle. For canines your daily carry of choice with quality defensive ammo would suffice IMHO.

 

Carry the gun with which you feel the most confidence.
Ballistically, 9mm and .38 Special are very weak choices for anything four-legged, but both are better than a point-ed stick.
.357 would be an improvement, but not in single action revolver form.
I'd get the .45 fixed.

 

A law enforcement friend, shot a German Shepherd with his 9mm once, thinking he could kill it easily. After his initial chest shot, the dog chased him onto the top of his car, and he had to empty 13 rnds into it before it died!
Shot placement is everything!
Another friend killed this wolf he trapped with a .22 to the head.

 

A law enforcement friend, shot a German Shepherd with his 9mm once, thinking he could kill it easily. After his initial chest shot, the dog chased him onto the top of his car, and he had to empty 13 rnds into it before it died!
Shot placement is everything!
Another friend killed this wolf he trapped with a .22 to the head. View attachment 713418

I killed a large pitbull on my front porch with my Kel-tec P3At 380 acp. 1st shot between the eyes dropped him. I shot again but missed at 3' and put a hole in my porch floor.
A 9mm is not optimal for black bears it would work, Think strong muscular man.

 

If you can manage to shoot your attacker in the face, .45 ACP is tough to stop, regardless of the animal. Otherwise, you might consider .308 in some flavor ?

 

We've lived in the rural Allegheny Mountains for over 50 years and have carried assorted handguns when out and about for the entire time. Black bears are our biggest predators and we have lots of coyotes, as well as some feral canines. Our property is only 30 some acres but is bordered by miles of USFS land and we occasionally have folks wander on to our place but, being at the end of the road minimizes this. To be honest, we pack daily mainly because we like to, not because we feel need to. Caliber often depends on the season and what we might be able harvest as a target of opportunity. We've shot critters with everything from a .22LR to a .44mag, with mostly good success. These days we find that for rambling around we carry a 10mm 1911 n a chest rig a lot in the Fall and Winter or often a .32H&R Mag revolver and don't feel under gunned with the latter. Going to town is a different matter and that's where our CCOs come into play.
Pack what you shoot best and enjoy your time outdoors. And remember, as was said above, it all comes down to shot placement.

 

https://people.com/5-cyclists-attacked-by-cougar-in-washington-1-hospitalized-8584845

 

I've always carried a 9mm while hiking, considering it adequate for cougars or even black bear. However the liberal geniuses here in WA want to re-introduce Grizzlies to the North Cascades, which nowadays is a huge hiking/tourist mecca. I guess on the Grizzly forums they're asking each other what tastes better, little kids or their parents.

 

There have been multiple good choices mentioned in the posts above, but in my opinion, any that said "a weapon you feel comfortable with and how well you can hit what you're aiming at" are spot on. A .45acp will work for most if you put the pill where it needs to go. There are plus and minuses to any choice. A .500 S&W Magnum in a chest rig is a good choice, but not if you cannot handle it. Get comfortable and accurate with whatever you choose to carry.

Grumpy

 

12 gauge

 

Yep. If carrying a shotgun isnt a problem. I've used a 12ga on everything but humans over the years, and it's very effective with the right ammo choice. Including black bears. No doubt whatsoever that it would also work well as a personal/home defense weapon as well. I keep one next to the bed.

 

Pistols are fine, but when the chips are down I want a rifle or shotgun. I had to shoot a very large dog that was after my wife, the dog was 150lbs easy. It took two rounds of 55gr 5.56 softpoints to stop the dog, and it ran away a good 50 yards before dropping.

Although the AR15 worked, I keep a 12 gauge shotgun handy now. Slugs always have the final word.

 

10mm takes care of all around me!

 

I guess first Q would be, where do you live and what critters you have in your state?

For everything up to bear, 9, 40, 357sig, .357mag will work... 10mm is a good just in case option also.

Check out Liberty Ammo Civil Defense loads.. light low grain rounds traveling at 2000fps (often 2x faster than standard loads of the same caliber).. was chatting w a guy who uses the 9mm for hog hunting.. said the 9mm, shot in the back of the head takes the whole face off, whereas the standard 9mm takes a basebal size hole on the other side. nice part about faster low grain ammo like this is, lower incidence of over penetration, less felt recoil 20+% (faster follow up shots), and more accurate at med/ long distance.. also more barrier blind.

with this ammo, I'm good in IA, with most any predator we have here, 2 or 4 legs.. but in the woods I carry 10mm, JIC. The 10mm version of Civil Defense booms at 2400 fps.. a super get there round.

 

I've shot quite a few critters (mostly light varmints back when they were common) but a few hundred deer and wild boar. Half the big game I've shot has been with handguns, merely because I am interested in handguns.

I don't tell folks what to use. I don't mind sharing my experiences as long as people realize that aggressive animals (including humans) vary in their determination and that, and shot placement (and the resultant penetration) are about the most important variable...far more important than what cartrdge you use.

What you choose, I think, would depend on what critters you might run into - in our woods the largest thing we can expect - and those are very rare - is a Black Bear (we had one on the range once but it was not threat). The biggest threat, other than the occasional human predator, is some sort of rabid animal.

Personally I stay away from light fragile bullets except on really small stuff - I once shot a racoon with a 50 gr. .223 Federal Frangible - the "race" was on - I had to chase it down to kill it with a pistol! The .223 made an entrance hole 3" in diameter but it was only about 1.5" deep! Range was like 15 feet...for the first shot.

OTOH, the first year I seriously hunted woodchucks we killed hundreds of them with a .222 and 50 gr. Hornady SX - wich apparently hold together just a little better than that frangible load (even though SX is said to stand for "super explosive" ) - we seldom had one exit. In later years I shot them with a .243 87 gr. Hornday JHP at 3450 fps - those seldom exited either and normally gave about 2" of penetration - which seems to be good enough for 5-8 lb critters... I would want more bullet (not necessarily heavier but tougher) for a 12 lb critter.

Fox and Coyotes are fairly light in the body and whatever will kill a woodchuck will likely kill one - but Coyotes are sometimes aggressive (I had one try to bite me once). Feral dogs are also unpredictable but I don't like to shoot dogs due to the fact a dog might not be feral just someones pet who is out getting into mishief. Same with cats, though I recognize they can be a lot more damaging to wildlife.

Riposte

 

No need to overthink this. You already have a .357 ------- and six rounds of .357 is lotta firepower! Get some powerful ammo & you should be plenty safe in nearly all forests within the lower 48.

And I sure wouldn't pay the $$ to buy a whole 'nuther gun unless I lived in Grizzly / Moose country.

 

Well if you live in grizzly country then you need a big caliber gun. Heck even a .458 Win Mag feels too small with a large angry grizzly after you. In that case a .44 mag, 460 or 500 S&W would be adequate. But if you live where it it’s black bears are the biggest then your .357 magnum would be good enough. But if it is only coyotes and maybe a cougar then your 9mm would work. Nowadays it is the two legged predator you have to watch out for mostly.

 

Short of buyng another pistol your options are fix the 45, carry 357 or the CZ75. Not knowing what you may confront it is hard to answer. In a general choice, I would carry the 357 until the 45 was fixed.

 

My camping, woods gun is a Springfield Armory RONIN in 10mm with underwood 200 grain FMJ Flat Nose bullets.

 

If I remember right, you said you're in a rural part of Virginia?

If so the worst you'll probably encounter are snakes on a normal day. On an abnormal one, maybe a rabid '**** or coyote. For the most part, even the black bears aren't gonna be too eager to mess with humans unless they're old/infirm and starving or have something (cubs) to protect.

If limited to pistols, I'd say anything between 9mm and 357 should suffice for taking care of most 4 legged problems. I'd favor deep penetration on a 4 legged critter, so for example if carrying 45 I'd actually prefer FMJ to hollow points or hardcast rounds in 9mm. Provided you're matching the round to the purpose and hitting the important bits that make them bleed out fast what you've got ought to do the job. I have a 44 mag for the woods, but that's more because I wanted one than because I felt a particular need for it. Edit: And I don't care what people say about Remington ammo, the 180 grain UMC rounds make a big boom and an impressive fireball, even out of a 6.5 inch barrel.

Out of the pistols you've got on hand? I'd probably vote for the CZ75. At least until you get the Colt squared away. Mostly because the 357 is a single action. For me drawing and operating a single action would be too slow in terms of getting off that first round and making any necessary follow up shots. If you're more proficient with one, then maybe that would be the better answer for you.

 

Whatever gun you choose, learn to shoot a moving target. This is the difference between hunting and shooting. Defensive shooting is more akin to hunting. Coyotes are hard to kill but tend to run off when they’re poked with a few holes. We can’t even run beagles around here without worrying about them getting jumped by yotes. My preferred pistol is a 4 inch Buckmark because I can lay all 11 in a moving critter.

 

Coyotes are hard to kill but tend to run off when they’re poked with a few holes.

Unless it is a chance encounter, you'll probably never get an accurate pistol shot off before they are gone.
Coyotes require a plan. Like a 58 gr. Hornady V-Max @ 3900 fps out of a 243
Just about any good body shot ends them. That bullet at that speed jellies internals. Dead right there.
They are not hard to kill with an appropriate weapon. Which does not require "a few holes".

 

Kids. The veal of humans. ---------- but many adults DO have a high fat content / marbleized meat.

 

.44 magnum. No hollow point, it might not penetrate the skin of a bear of coyote .

 

You have been a member here for almost nine years and today you posted for the first time!!