Projectile Choice for Woods Carry

The three forest firearms I choose from are a 10mm 1911, a Ruger Redhawk in .44 Mag and a Marlin 1895 in 45-70.

I load each with hardcast. Use Buffalo Bore in the Ruger and Marlin, with Underwood in the 1911.

It's hard to argue against a good cast bullet, preferably a semi-wadcutter, for a woods carry handgun. That's all I've ever used.

Where I hunt in Western NY State, we now have Black Bears, Coyotes and some reports of mountain lion/cougar (hard to believe, right), but they have been spotted by some folks I believe.

So, my preference is a 44 Magnum stoked with 240 Lead Hardcast SWCs moving at near Keith speeds. Should be good for anything I may run up against.

I'll add to my response here. Woods walkers should practice with their handgun and ammo choice out to 50 yards; in case they come upon an aggressive critter with a rifle.

These are my woods guns. I take one or the other, or occasionally both, with reloads.
Pistol: 6" Ruger GP100 7 shot, 357 Magnum, 158gr XTP / H110
Rifle: Marlin 336, 30-30 Win, 150gr Sierra / IMR 3031

Glock 29, 200gr XTP

Hard cast fired from the mighty .380 ACP. Average velocity is 1004 fps per my chrono.

We own wooded property adjacent to a state park and recreation area. As for wildlife its habitat for deer and black bears. Most likely whom and what I encounter is basically lost souls that have wondered off the park trail system. The bears, what we have photos from trail cameras. The bears have not become a nonsense thus problematic to us. I have my EDC 9X19mm semiautomatic pistol when I work the property.

It is an old principle, and a very good one, that you should always load with "solids" if you are under-gunned. Penetration is essential to kill or stop a creature, so you want to maximize penetration if there is a question of your gun being on the light side.

For some woodland defense scenarios against aggressive wild creatures, any practical handgun is on the light side, so go with a load that maximizes penetration. It does not have to be the only loading you take along, but surely you should have it.

My trail guns are either a 2.25" .357 SP-101 or a 4.625" .357 Blackhawk, both loaded with .357 158 grain JSP. I figure this should be reasonably appropriate for the likely four- or two- legged threats here in the backcountry wet part of Washington state.

I should add that in my 50 years of hiking, snowshoeing, XC skiing and mountain biking in this area, I have never seen a black bear on the trails. I live in a rural area 45 miles north of Seattle, and I see more black bear wandering through the countryside looking for food than up in the mountains. Bobcat and coyotes in the neighborhood are more prevalent, though.

JeffG said:

44 Magnum hardcast lead, Keith SWC, loaded to 1100-1200fps.

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Lived off the grid for 19 years in NE Washington state. Mostly carried a 4 inch S&W 29 with same loads JeffG, above does. We had a ton of black bears and occasional grizzly. Never had to shoot one but did face off with a 500 lb black bear one night at 6 feet. Only had a 357 available at the time . Put shots right near his ear and had to repeat several times but he finally left for good. Had dog food in a covered galvanized garbage can which he really liked.

What brand of dog food? Maybe I'll attract a bear this season.

Vern Humphrey said:

What brand of dog food? Maybe I'll attract a bear this season.

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Was some time ago, dry kibble, probably Purina. This bear had killed one a neighbors German Shepard dogs and maimed the other. The local grocery store owners son wanted a bear so we let him on our place to try. He put out some spoiled chickens and apples then he and a friend returned at night to wait. They were in an open Jeep with their own German Shepard. We heard them drive in then leave about 45 minutes later. They said the kept hearing branches snap etc, got scared ****less and left. They tried watching again in the daytime and only saw our dog come in and steal some chicken. We looked at the bait over the next week or so, ravens ate the chickens leaving the apples. Several weeks later the apples disappeared and there was left for us only a pile of bear dung. One of many memories we had there.

My wife just reminded me that the hunters had tied a string to some old bacon then to a limb. That was when they saw our dog.

I've tried dry dog food, with no success. Peanut oil that you've fried fish in seems promising, though.

Vern Humphrey said:

I've tried dry dog food, with no success. Peanut oil that you've fried fish in seems promising, though.

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The stinkier the better. Our bears seemed to run a regular route, checking berry bushes, looking for food. So if you find a bear trail you can put out the bait near it and maybe you can see at least a young dumb bear. But probably not a wise old one.

i used to just carry my shield in 9mm. I live in Maine and mostly worried about coyotes. Last year i had 4 raccoons come right at me all in a line. got the first three and the 4th dipped up a tree. i had one round left out of 8. its hard to pull out a sub compact with gloves and try to take a shot. my gloves covered up the sights and i just pointed and shot. the first one was soo close i had blood splatter on me. next day i carry the full size M&P and i put a laser on it now. I should have had them tested. I think they were rabid.

Hot loaded 45ACP hard cast lead or FMJ as I do not concern myself with over penetration in the woods.

Like a lot of others here, I tend for a heavy HCSWC around 1,100 fps in the 7.5'' barreled .44 Magnum Ruger Stainless SBH. Black bears are the biggest issue here although they are not big as a rule.

In the west, where larger animals live, I generally pack a 454 with 260 gr partitions. Not ideal for stopping a moose or gbear but good for everything else. I haven't ever had to stop one of the above, so don't worry about it. Other options would be a .44 or .41 mag. I leave the 357 behind, it doesn't have enough punch imo. Pretty much a jhp or jsp guy, understand the reasoning behind heavy cast, but to date have not needed it (knock on wood).

Marlin 1895 SBL in 45-70 with 420 grain +P hard cast lead HSM Bear Load preferred and/or now my Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt with 325 grain hard cast lead HSM Bear Load or Buffalo Bore +P stuff if I really want to go all out in either, still cast lead flat points. 3C

10mm, Glock 20, nuff said...

I carry my normal 9mm 150gr or 124gr plus p loads in the woods in MA. I’m mainly concerned about 2 legged predators or rabid smaller animals. Black bears are a minor concern so I’m not bringing a magnum revolver along.

True fact: a guy 20 minutes from me killed an aggressive black bear with a .380 last year.

Marlin 1895 45-70 400gr Woodliegh FP at 1980fps. We call it the T-Rex load.

TC Contender 14inch 45-70 300gr Factory jhp.

For light stuff Pietta 1873 in 44-40 with factory jfp loads.

IronHand

I like big, heavy cast bullets.

When I used to camp in Colorado, my camp rifle was a Winchester Trapper in .45 Colt... loaded with 255grn cast bullets over a big charge of Unique. My .45 Vaquero had 260grn JSP's over W296.

Hard-cast wadcutters, or if an autoloader a bullet with a flat ogive (also hard cast lead).

Driven to as high a velocity as safe, such a load is the best choice in any handgun caliber for woodsman's carry.