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Goes to a Cabelas and get a large spray can of Bear Spray. I'd still bring a handgun but scumbags hate high concentration pepper spray. I've seen it used multiple times in prison riots. And being a "less lethal" weapon it'll show a jury that you were not inclined to shoot someone. This could save you a trip to prison for manslaughter if you'd ever need to use force.

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S&W Mdl 43... wink


Hunt with Class and Classics

Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray

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I've never killed a black bear or a lion, but I've had a few close encounters with both. I've had lots of "encounters" with two legged varmits and used a handgun in two such cases.
If you are more worried about two legged varmits, I wouldn't pack a revolver if I had a choice. I'd pack either a 1911 style semi auto or a SIG 220. That's because when you drop them on a hard surface, they work when you pick them up. 50% of the revolvers I've seen so dropped or used as a club in one case, would no longer fire.....
Do make sure you understand and obey the laws in the areas where you'll be. However, frankly, I can explain anything but my own death.
Will a .45 ACP or a 10mm work on a black bear or a Mtn Lion with common expanding ammo ? I understand they will. But, if you insist ona guy who has seen lots of them shot with such guns, ask JJHack. E

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Raver,

If you go with your .44 Special I recommend that you consider the Buffalo Bore 255 gr cast SWC load at 1,000 fps.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=88,

Penetration should be excellent. This is the load I carry in my M-329 on the Pacific Crest Trail. Good luck.


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When I bum around the place in north Idaho I carry an old Ruger Flattop 44 Mag cut to 4 5/8" loaded with 280 gr WFN's at 1050 fps in a pancake holster. Light enough in weight and easy enough to shoot well with right sized bullets from MBW.


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Originally Posted by noKnees
its a little late to suggest buying a new gun.. but this is my answer to your question.

[Linked Image]

12 oz 357, I carry a full power 158g load in it.


Unfortunately no longer produced...but I got mine.

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There is a reason Smith and Wesson made the Kit Gun.

Ok, so let's get real, cougars and bears on the AT? Only a problem in your most fevered fantasies. Two legged varmints will be more than impressed with anything pointed in their direction and even that is a stretch. . Keep it light because you will come to resent every extra ounce in your pack. The most likely use of your handgun will be in taking small game and trout.?????....trout? (The Statute of Limitatation has run out so I am safe in telling you to get close and aim low....trust me.) Take it from one who has been there.


You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
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Somehow I feel you would be better off with a LW 22 and a box of hollow points than your 3 pound bazooka's. No I have not killed anything or anybody so my comment is pure Internet malarky.


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Originally Posted by Mule Deer
How many of the people who've responded so far have actually shot a black bear, mountain lion or 2-legged varmint with their choice of "hiking revolver"?

Just curious, partly because of all the threads on the the perfect deer/elk/Cape buffalo/mongoose cartridge or bullet.



Not me..I have now shot three eastern black bears, but all those bears where shot when unaware with rifles. I somehow expect that shooting an unaware blackie with a rifle is a bit different from shooting at an unhappy bear 15 feet away with a handgun.

My choice of gun in this thread, a 357 with 158's I have no doubts would be fine shooting the unaware bear from a tree stand, but would no doubt feel small and unimpressive standing 15 feet in front of a pissed off sow. Of course there is something to be said for 12oz handguns when walking for miles and miles. To be frank I am more concerned with threats like people, or unleashed aggressive dogs than with black bears. It wouldn't be my choice if I was in grizzly county, but I spend hundreds of hours in black bear country a year and if I am lucky a week or so in Griz country every year or three.


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Carry what you feel comfortable with and can shoot good.Chances of being attacked by a bear are slim to none.I have shot quite a few bears with a revolver,but none were attacking me.


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Originally Posted by Mathsr
I'll be hiking a piece of the Virginia AT in October. I don't plan on carrying a firearm even though I usually have one handy. Virginia and Georgia don't have a reciprocal carry agreement. For some unknown reason the Constitution only applies in your home state or those that decide that your home state has done enough checking on you to allow you to protect yourself. Evidently Georgia and Virginia don't see eye to eye when it comes to carry permits.



It is a shame that there is not a National CCW permitting process that would allow national carry.

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The Second Amendment would serve if we could elect some people that had read it and believed what it said.


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Watch out you don`t stumble on a grow site.Things could get sticky and i would want to carry a man stopper.


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Don't argue with stupid people, They will drag you down to their level and then win by experience
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How about a Charter Arms target bulldog? 23oz. I had to stop this critter with mine while hog hunting a couple of years ago. It wasn't my primery hunting gun. I carried it to have something to carry first day out while my son hunted. Using a 240-250grain cast bullet at anything around 800fps will deal with most problems in that neck of the woods and it is so light you won't even know you are packing. reflex264

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I've never shot a bear, but I did poleaxe a 1200 lb cow with a warmly loaded .45 Colt. My neighbor asked me to put down one of his cows that had a distended bowel, as all he had was a .22 rifle and he didn't want it to suffer. I just happened to be wearing a S&W 25-5 at the time, loaded with home-cast 270 gr RCBS SWC's over a fairly stout charge of Unique. Old Elmer was right, a .45 will go through the frontal plate on a cow, traverse the skull and go on back into the neck. In his autobiography he tells of having to rescue the East Helena butcher who had been treed by a bull. Elmer rode up on his horse and shot the bull in the forehead with his Colt SAA .45 as it charged him, dropping the bull right on his nose. In my case I felt bad for the cow, but at least she never knew what hit her.

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Originally Posted by raverym14
First time post. I am going hiking on the Appalachian Trail in 2 weeks, and wondering what some thoughts are on loads and guns for carrying along. I have a Smith 21 .44 Spl and a Smith 57 .41 Mag. I also have a Super Redhawk .480, but I am not considering it (too big and heavy). There is a very slim chance of black bear, which are fairly small in the Southern Mountains, and cougar. More worrisome are the two legged rats on the trail. I had a cousin and her boyfriend murdered in their tent on the trail back in the 80's. No rape, no robbery, just shot in their sleep for the @#$$ of it. No gun in the world would have helped them, but I am still taking one. I went back and re-read some old articles by Brian Pearce, and I am looking for opinions on which caliber and whether to go with some of the hot Buffalo Bore hard cast loads or something like the Hornady XTP loads. I also have my eye on one of the Ruger Blackhawks .44 Spl built on the .357 frame. ( I am basically just looking for a reason to buy it, it seems it would be less bulky to carry. Any help is greatly appreciated.


By the time I was 16 I'd walked just over 1,000 miles of the AT. Never, ever felt the need for a handgun. If I felt the need, I'd resist and carry bear spray. Damn effective on two and four legged beasts. FWIW, I never pack a handgun here in grizzly country, except when packing out bloody elk meat... then it's just a backup to bear spray.

Carrying a handgun is an awesome responsibility. If you've ever taken a human life you'll know what I mean. Unless you're thoroughly trained and have the right mindset, I'd not carry.


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Originally Posted by Brad

Carrying a handgun is an awesome responsibility. If you've ever taken a human life you'll know what I mean. Unless you're thoroughly trained and have the right mindset, I'd not carry.


What Brad said....


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Good points here by Brad and DW. While I can carry, I prefer the chemical irritants.
Pretty dam effective for man or beast and a lot less paperwork and court time.
For protection in my home, "Condition One" is the rule of the day.

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Originally Posted by Brad


By the time I was 16 I'd walked just over 1,000 miles of the AT. Never, ever felt the need for a handgun. If I felt the need, I'd resist and carry bear spray. Damn effective on two and four legged beasts. FWIW, I never pack a handgun here in grizzly country, except when packing out bloody elk meat... then it's just a backup to bear spray.

Carrying a handgun is an awesome responsibility. If you've ever killed someone you'll know what I mean. Unless you're thoroughly trained and have the right mindset, I'd not carry.


I agree. Also, there is the problem of what to do with the gun while in town. You will also likely be violating a myriad of laws. UDAP bear spray weighs 9oz. Bears are an increasing problem in the SE, an AT section in GA now requires you to hike through or have a bear canister if you camp now.

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Originally Posted by David_Walter
Originally Posted by Brad

Carrying a handgun is an awesome responsibility. If you've ever taken a human life you'll know what I mean. Unless you're thoroughly trained and have the right mindset, I'd not carry.


What Brad said....


I've never felt the need to carry a firearm or pepper spray when hiking along the AT in Pennsylvania. With that said, I am trying to understand the the train of thought with regard to whether people who are accustomed to using firearms not consider defending themselves with one unless they have received some expert level of training. I believe you and Brad may have experience in such matters that I do not, and so I would value your opinion.

Let's say that I have been in the woods along or near the AT many times since I was a kid carrying a firearm while hunting. Presumably, I would defend myself from a four-legged or two-legged critter with that firearm if the need arose, although honestly, I never really thought about such a far-fetched scenario.

What's the difference between a life-long hunter and shooter walking along/near the AT with a long gun during hunting season versus a life-long hunter and shooter hiking along the AT with a handgun, especially if the hunter/shooter has a fair amount of experience shooting the handgun? Does the difference come down to entirely one of a different mindset where in one instance the primary purpose for carrying a firearm is hunting while in the other instance the primary reason is self-defense? Can't there be some overlap where a person with years of experience handling weapons while hunting and shooting has at least the bare minimum experience needed to be able to defend himself with a firearm if necessary?

I ask this because I have seen threads in the handgun forum and elsewhere suggesting that your run-of-the-mill, life-long "gun guy" really shouldn't even consider self-defense with a firearm unless they have a high level of expensive civilian training or LEO/military training. But I am of the opinion that if I really needed a gun, nothing else would suffice, and I wonder whether being around guns since almost forever, coupled with a dose of common sense, would be "good enough".

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