This is a nice pistol with 8 rds of 357 and is lighter than the GP100, but more expensive;



Another option and one which has rapidly become my preferred daily carry;


5 rd 357 less than 30 oz. Very nice trigger, don't notice that it is there. Nice rounded butt, just a nice carry pistol.

Go to a gun club and "try before you buy"....then all will become clear...

The question I first must ask is just what is your and your fiance' life worth?

It's a Cruel question but this is what you are talking about, your lives. If you were to stumble upon a whizzed off lion or mama bear with her cubs they may very well see you as a threat (or meal) and attack. What will be your best chance of saving your lives? A big gun and knowing how to use it!!!

I am a hunter in remote areas and my back-up hand gun is a 454 casull and yes it is a handfull but if I need it I am in a desperate situation and recoil is a non-issue.

I recommend you two buy at least a 44 magnum. My wife is 60+ and can handle the 44 mag. For practice you can use lower power 44 Special.

But you must be very comfortable with your choice; If it's the 45 go for it, it is a powerful handgun and well placed shots will stop most anything.

Anything would stop a cat IMHO. A compact Glock would work. I wouldn't go subcompact. Ruger Vaqueros and Blackhawks can be had in many calibers and configurations. That be my ideas off the top of my head. Both guns are fairly priced and tough as nails.

Welcome to the board Yukon.
Maybe take a minute and post an introduction of your self

Pl

(to be read in you best Tommy Lee Jones voice)
“Ditch that nickel plated sissy pistol and get yourself a Glock!”

But in all reality, I’d say go with the Glock in .45. IMO it will be just about the most versatile gun for what you are after. The 21 is the full-size gun and it can be a beast, the “compact” (I think it is the 30) will likely be more up your ally as it will be a bit lighter than the 21 but you can still feed it w/ 21 mags if you think you need more than 10 rounds, and the gun has the same finger purchase as the most popular Glock, the 19.

Feeding it high –end fodder from Buffalo Bore will get the job done on Mtn lion and bear and will really make the difference between the .45 and 10mm negligible. On paper, the 10mm looks good, however recoil is said to be “snappier” (which could very well be an issue for your female companion) and practice ammo is WAAAY harder to come by and pricey when you can find it compared to the .45.

A revolver is not a bad choice, but anything in scandium will hurt your pocket book and be murderous on your hand, which for novices and most experienced shooters equals poor accuracy. A single action gun, or one that is carried with safety on (ala 1911) will require much more training and muscle memory than a “grip it and rip it” double action/safe action pistol (insert obvious statement here about the need to train with any gun you own/carry).


On other thing on the Glock over the revolver or other brand simi autos, for a couple hundred bucks you can get a .22 conversion and practice on the cheap AND/or carry it with you for small game.

Also should you decide to get your CCW, the 30 conceals in almost identical fashion to the 19. What more can you ask for? A piece for two and four-legged predators, something light weight, something concealable, something that will fill the stew pot if you are foraging small game, and a pistol with identical controls for training on the cheap!

FWIW, I’m from CO, I backpack in the summer and backpack hunt in the fall. I’ve carried 9mm, .357 and a 1911 as a pack gun or back up to my rifle. I know a 9mm “can” kill, but after some first hand experience, for ME and MY FAMILY, I’m carrying something larger…. especially if I think there is a chance to have to face a creature with teeth and claws but YMMV.

There has been some excellent advice given here.

Small .357 Mag revolvers are probably the most useful.

They are quite accurate too. I've killed a grouse using a scandium frame DAO .357 Mag. You'll feel the full loads when you practice, however when you shoot at game or if you have to use it for self-defense, I doubt you'll feel too much recoil. From my experience, when shooting at something that's alive, whether it's a buck or a coyote (with a rifle), I don't feel the recoil at all.

You can load down to .38 special and even shoot bird shot.

The relative advantages over semi-auto pistols are reliability, ease of use, ability to shoot various loads, light trigger if you're using one with a hammer and cocking it first.

Relative disadvantages are lower capacity, slow reloads (this can be argued and mitigated with proper equipment such as speed loaders and strips), heavier trigger if your not cocking the gun first, and the possibility of getting burned from the gasses escaping from the gap between the cylinder and the barrel.

If you are looking at a Glock, a good alternative is the Springfield XD, XDSC and XDM.

They have some different features when compared with the STOCK Glocks. First is a fully supported chamber. This is feature is considered safer for shooting hot loads. Second is the grip safety. Similar to a 1911, the grip must be fully depressed to shoot. This is an added safety without adding a cumbersome manual safety. Third, is a more natural pointing gun (for me). I have heard many other shooters say that the XD just points more naturally. The advantages speak for themselves. There are other differences, however, I believe these three are the most relevant to your inteded purpose.

Semi-auto pistols have much higher capacity. My XDM holds 16+1 of 40. That's alot of firepower. My scandium frame .357 mag holds 5 rounds. There is a weight trade off though.


All that being said...

I usually carry my .357 Mag. when hiking or hunting big game. If I'm hunting coyotes, I've been carrying my XDM, because we don't travel that far on foot.


So, essentially I repeated some of what Sumo said. I should have just said that I agree with him. Oh well.

His and her .357's..which are NOT death rays contrary to common belief. What you actually practice with and have with you can work..but you must practice and you must have them.

Absent that, save your money and buy a couple of STORM whistles.

I carry a .357 in the field but no lions where I go.. one psychopath can ruin your day though,IMHO.

I usually carry a S&W 329 PD whenever I'm out in the woods. It's a scanadium framed .44 mag thats BRUTAL to shoot with my max-power reloads. BUT, with .44 special rounds, it's really quite a pussycat.

My daily carry gun around town is a Glock 23 (40 S&W caliber). Great gun, one I definitely trust my life with. IMHO the 9mm just isn't enough of a stopper. I've got a suppressed Glock 19 (9 mm) that I've shot a pile of pigs with and most of them just keep right on running like I didn't even hit 'em. I find them dead at the bottom of my property, 1000 ft away. Not what I'd want on an angry cat. On the other hand, all the animals I've shot on my buddy's farm with a .44 mag haven't gone more than a few feet before expiring. Haven't tried the .40 on anything. I suspect it's performance would be right between the two extremes, though.

Hey everyone...first post.

If I could add my two cents worth, I'd strongly recommend a double-action revolver, rather than an automatic. They can handle a wider variety of power in loads (from light recoil practice loads to special loads for self-defense to higher power, cat- or bear-stopping loads). Also, if an automatic jams while you're shooting, it might take quite a bit of training to rack that slide instinctively--with the revolver, you just pull the trigger again. (Those thoughts courtesy of my dad!)

A Taurus Tracker .44 magnum with a 4-inch barrel cost me a bit over $400 at Academy. It has a "compensator," or holes toward the end of the barrel on top. It also has a soft rubber grip--both the grip and the compensator help decrease recoil.

The Tracker is smaller than most .44 magnums...it's really a pleasure to carry. It also comes in .357 and other calibers. For backcountry, I wouldn't go smaller than a .357 magnum, and if bears are around, I'd probably go for the .44 mag. (You can always always get the lighter loads to practice with!)


Some have doubts about Taurus, but a guy at the range clover-leafed three shots with it at 50 feet, so it's more accurate than most shooters.

Hope this helps!

Welcome to the Yard NH, That's some good advice.