If I was in the back country in Alaska and I were only going to carry a pistol it would be a 44 mag or bigger. Outside of Grizzly country I would cary what I was comfortable with. A revolver is just fine. I prefer Autos and carry a Sprinfield XD Tactical 45 for my back country pistol. I carry it on my hip and it does the trick. Open carry is legal here.

Any pistol is not going to be a magic bullet. Shot placement still counts and hitting a PO'ed black near is harder than it may sound. There may be issues with penetration etc. But 40 cal and 45 10mm will do the trick in an auto if you do your part. 357 and up will also do the trick if you do your part. All will do the trick on lions, bears and two legged critters.

So MM what have you gone for?

Nothing yet - just arrived in the new state two days ago, so gotta get settled and set up with a permanent address before I worry about background checks and whatnot.

Glad to hear that you got there. Hope it is working out good for you and you will be enjoying the outdoors soon.

MM hope everything works out for you

Let me know if you need a few good references for places to buy at. There are a few good places in The metro area.

Thanks - that would help a lot. Even better would be a range where I can rent a variety of stuff to try it out.

Firing line used to have tons of stuff to rent (haven't been/heard in a while)

Green Mountain family shooting center is a top of the line place that used to have just about any glock for rent (they have changed hands since I was last there so things could be different. Note: do not confuse with green moutain guns which is just a shop...a good one at that with good prices).

If you want outdoors, chery creek. Call them first as their rentals may not be what you are looking for.

I typically just drive out the hills and shoot for free. again, if you want to get together sometime, let me know. Got a few you could try out if you want.

when you make a trip up to Loveland, make sure to look up Jensen arms. Great prices/selection, but staffed with the most unhelpful blow-hards per square foot than I have ever seen at a gun shop (and that's saying something).

Firing line,Jensens, 5280 Armory, Green Mountain Guns. About the biggest selection in the state is in the Springs at Specialty sports. Think a large Walgreens with just guns. For Full auto goodness its Dragon Mans east of the Springs