Caliber for hiking?

Considering you're saying bears moose and elk, how about 7.62x54R or .308? Handguns are probably next to useless if a bear or moose mother feels you mean her young harm.

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Maybe one of those Drago pistols in 5.56 or 7.62? That 30 round mag would send a strong message. I have seen them but never fired one ; look interesting though.


Go Seahawks!
 
There is another consideration besides which caliber... and that would be if the person knows where the kill zones are and how to get to them from different angles for each dangerous animal they might encounter while hiking.

I did a quick search using the words " kill zones on a bear " and got this:

Link Removed

among many other results.
 
wolf_fire said:
The article I submitted goes into this a bit. For the short of it, bears' hides are thicker and their muscle tissue is denser. You want a round that penetrates more than expands.
Click to expand...

Why not 230 grn .45 cal hardball then?
I never hunted and I've always (blindly I guess) assumed a .45 would do the job!


Sent from behind Enemy Lines.
 
telpinaro said:
Currently I have a 2" revolver in .357 magnum, but I've been toying with the idea of getting something along the lines of a full-size XD-M (no idea what yet, but something like that) in .45. Mostly, just because I want one.

What would you take hiking with you? Or would you get something completely different? The only animals out here are mountain lions, brown and black bears, moose and elk.
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Well, it really depends on what you're worried about running into. If it's smaller game that could get frisky, a hard-cast 158gr +P .38Spl from a 4-6" revolver will do the job. If it's mountain lions, a .357 mag from a 6-8" revolver will handle it well. If it's bear territory... I'd go with a .44 mag or .454 Casull from a 6-8" revolver and nothing less. If you can carry a long gun as well, do it! A .357 or .44 mag from a 16-20" barrel is a hell lot more effective than a handgun. Can you handle a 20ga or 12ga with slugs? I think your best bet is to carry a rifle/shotgun and a handgun...
 
Johnny Dollar said:
Consideiring the OP is in Colorado the message would be "I want to go to jail"
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Sadly, yes. Hopefully that will get fixed in 2014...

gunnerbob said:
Well, it really depends on what you're worried about running into. If it's smaller game that could get frisky, a hard-cast 158gr +P .38Spl from a 4-6" revolver will do the job. If it's mountain lions, a .357 mag from a 6-8" revolver will handle it well. If it's bear territory... I'd go with a .44 mag or .454 Casull from a 6-8" revolver and nothing less. If you can carry a long gun as well, do it! A .357 or .44 mag from a 16-20" barrel is a hell lot more effective than a handgun. Can you handle a 20ga or 12ga with slugs? I think your best bet is to carry a rifle/shotgun and a handgun...
Click to expand...

Until my son gets a little older (he's six... good hiker but if I don't want to hear "I'm tired!" a lot I'd better keep it under five miles!) we'll be sticking to shorter, established trails, so we're not all that likely to run in to anything larger than a rabbit. I just remembered doing that when I was a kid, and once running in to a black bear, so prepared is definitely good. Luckily for us, he was only interested in the berry patch he found, so we gathered up the dogs and left him alone. I don't actually want to kill any of them, of course... they're just minding their own business usually. If I have to, I have to... and I want them down quick!

I do have bear spray, of course. A long gun will be a little much for where I plan to stay for the next couple years, plus I'll need a lot more practice with one before I trust my life to it... I was in communications so the Navy never bothered to figure out that I was very cross-eye dominant or teach me how to compensate.
 
Like everyone else has already stated... a .44 or 454 large frame revolver or rifle is the way to go if you are really worried about having to drop a large animal. Someone floated this idea past me once ( Link Removed ) for .44 ballistics out of a 1911, but I don't think it is worth it.

For all practical purposes in CO a 1911 is the way to go (IMHO substitute any other popular carry gun), namely because people are the most dangerous thing you will run into on established trails. Snakes and coyotes are the next most popular problem you'll run into. In my experience most everything else stays pretty far away from people and noises when they can.

I did spot a mt. lion armed only with a 12ga with #4 steel shot 6 years ago. He was just smelling the ducks in my car, and left without incident. For the most part I usually have a 1911 stuffed somewhere though.
 
I carried a 454 casull in alaska when I didn't have my 30'06 and it felt small. HOWEVER, a 357 or 45 with good hardcast/FMJ should make you feel better and will kill a black bear, he just will not drop with one shot. A large PO'ed bear could take several rounds from a rifle before expiring. A pistol is last resort anyway.

Carry your pistol of choice, stay alert and have fun.
 
I live in TN. and hike in the great smokie mountians , there are black bear in the mountians, but I'm more concerened about two legged preditors. I carry a 1911 with jhp for the two legged preditors and bear spray for the bears.
 
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