Bowhunting side arm ammo question

[DoubleJ]

The only side arm I have to carry while bow hunting is a Glock .45ACP.  What would be the best ammo to have in it for in the woods?  I carry Cor-Bon hollow point 185gn. in it right now but I'm not sure if those would be the best bet for defense in the woods.

[bwhntr350]

 I have read your question a few times, now, and started to answer a couple of different times but not sure quite how to do it on account of the fact that my opinions are probably much different than yours.

 In my opinion there is nothing to "defense" against, out in the woods. Well, at least around here. I have never heard of a cougar attacking a full grown man, the least of my worries, and a black bear? Meh, not in my lifetime. The few I have seen were breaking trees out of the way to get away from me.

 So, that gets me thinking the way that I think, which is, I feel more need to protect myself from humans than anything else. Whether it be a tweaker gone mad or a pot farm that I stumble across. Perhaps I hear dueling banjo's off through the woods....

 Aight, seriously, getting to and from your hunting grounds by driving and maybe stopping for gas and some food is a lot more risk to your life than walking through the woods. I would protect myself from that, first and foremost, and use the woods "defense" as secondary. I would use what you have mentioned, the 185gr. Cor-Bon's and be happy,  but that is just my opinion.

 If I lived in Grizzly country, it would be a revolver, a big revolver. At least a .44 Mag, but I have always wanted a .454  Casull and that would be my excuse to buy one:)

[BallisticsNut]

Not being from here and only a resident for the past few years, I can only agree with bwhuntr350 and not offer advice otherwise.  I will say though, I have carried my sidearm .9mm on every hunt.  Not so much from personal protection but the protection of others and my truck.  Depending on the hunt, I will carry a typical copper jacketed round and alternate bird shot every other round.  Why, I am more worried about comming upon a snake then I am a bear or cougar.   In the winter, I am more worried about tweekers, theives and plan ole dumbarse.  The one time i didnt carry some DA decided to ruin our hunt by riding dirtbikes without mufflers on a fire road where no off road vehicles where allowed.  We got back to our truck and sure enough, there was their truck with a ramp still on the back tailgate.  We decided to take the high road and not cause a stir.  As we where packing up, these two fellers showed up on their bikes, parked and asked if we saw anything.  My buddy replied just a couple DAs on dirtbikes.  This guy got real upset, walk over to my buddy and got right in his face and tried to, lets say intimidate us into backing down or throwing down.  He eventually walked off after us telling him we weren't looking for trouble.  As he walked back to his truck, he turned and asked us "Hey did you see that bull elk"!   

Now, I probably wouldn't have acted any differently but I dont think this guy would have been such a DA had he seen my sidearm strapped to my thigh!   

[JimmyHoffa]

I'll agree with the above posters.  It's the two legged creatures that concern me most.  I'd carry an ammo like a hydro-shok.  People aren't that tough when compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, so the need for thick full metal jackets/bonded partitions isn't really there.  Something that expands fast would be my choice.  I carry hollowpoints--figure it the shots don't kill them....the exit wounds will be big enough for me to stick my hand in and rip stuff out.

[sakoshooter]

I carry a Ruger Single Six in .22. Since your chances of getting attacked by a bear or cougar are almost nill but your chances of running into a grouse are good.

[Instinct]

I carry a springfield 1911 .45 wth a 230gr. So anything ya feel comfortable wth really

[mallard79]

I carry a springfield 1911 .45 wth a 230gr. So anything ya feel comfortable wth really

Same here.  Unless I feel like packing something a little lighter like my Glock 19.

[yajsab]

Super Redhawk .44 magnum hydroshock under the arm and M&P .9mm hydroshock on the hip.  Depends on the mood, I might throw in a .22 in the pack.   

I'm more worried about the 2 legs creatures as well.

[Angus]

I never even considered carrying a sidearm for anything let alone bow hunting until a couple years ago when I was fishing on the Skykomish and was chased by 2 dogs (rott & large mutt). I was more then a mile from the nearest house so I'm not sure if they were wild or not but I know I wished I had a gun instead of a fishing rod in my hand. I heard them coming and made it across a side channel just as they came into sight, the channel was 20' across and waist deep, they didn't cross, luckily. That was the last time I've bank fished or hunted without a gun on my hip, carried a Blackhawk .357 for a while but it was bigger then I liked so I bought an SP 101 .327 mag last year and shoot 115gr hollow point. Doubt I'll ever need it for bear or cougars but I think its more then capable of handling any dog or 2 legged POS that might need "handling".

[hoyt2002]

Around here i carry a glock 33 in 375 sig. It's good for tweekers and DA's but i dond think it will be good for much else. I dont worry about the bears here or the cats for that matter. If it were grizz country i'd carry the 44 

[FC]

I almost always carry my J frame loaded with 125gr +p gold dots in my pocket, if I will be in an area with grouse I grab my Ruger 22 too and if looking for bears in thick stuff I like to carry my P226 .40 with it's usual 180gr gold dots or PDX1's.

[sakoshooter]

Oh yeah, my .22 loads are CB shorts. Quiet as a pellet gun but great for grouse. I hate to make any noise in the woods.

[MADMAX]

Plus 1 for the Glock 19, lots of rounds in 1 clip for Tweakers and general ahole deterrent in plain sight.

.41 Ruger for normal walk about in woods gun

[BlackRidge]

Glock 19 here as well - 1 clip of FMJ, 1 clip of gold sabers

Another 357 is on the list though

[sakoshooter]

Damn, am I the only one on this board that doesn't hunt in a tweaker area?