Bunch of 9mm haters on this forum, truth be told you cannot call the 9mm a whimp if you think the 357 is a real manstopper (yall been watching too many movies). Let me clear this up the 357 cal is a 9mm projectile so there is no real difference in the reguard to caliber, secondly the energy of +P 9mm loads rival the avarage 357 loads and excede the performance of the more mild 357 loads. To be fair lets compare the 9mm +P gold saber to the 357 mag gold saber.
9mm 124gr bullet 1180fps
357 magnum 125gr 1220fps
To imply that anyone or anything would notice the difference between the two is just plain silly, much less a night and day difference. Now granted there are more powerful loads for the 357 but there are much more powerful loads for the 9mm also.
The 9mm has been and will remain a highly effective weapon for both two and four legged predators. Many of the hog hunters around here carry 9mms they just outpenatrate the 45s.....go figure.
Since we're talking trail, why don't you compare 9mm124/147gr XTPs to 357mag 125/140/158/180gr XTPs, or the 357mag 180gr WFNGC, Swift A-frame and Nosler Partitions?
Why is everyone thinking they'll be getting a clear shot on whatever kind of threat on the trail or at a campsite? I know of two people who have had their dogs tangle with black bears, both were carrying JHP ammunition, the first in 41mag and the second in 357mag. In both incidents, all 6, less than optimum target acquisition, shots were needed to save their dogs, #1 bruin weighed about 250#s and the second about 150#s.
I live in dense mountain lion habitat and I don't know anyone who carries a 9mm for defensive mountain lion protection. 357/44mags are very popular and I've carried both, a M29 Mountain when there are bears in the area, but mostly 38Super loaded with 125gr XTP @1491fps, a 357mag bullet at factory 357mag velocities. I prefer the 140gr XTP/1500fps in 357mag as a minimum this time of year, but I can't match the Super/1911 split times with the 686. I'm also the only local I know of who carries the 10mm, 200gr WFNGC.
I like to shoot and this is a great time of year to pop a few caps, over 2100 rounds past 3 weeks, and work on those tan lines.
I can go outback a thousand times and nothing happens, other times the Super has been used in defense, typically feral dog packs and typically charging pit bulls. The Super provides those lightning stops Mas Ayoob refers to when writing about the 357SIG. In reading over a number of DEA incident reports, including assisting local LEAs with paper service, I was surprised at the number of attacking pit bulls that survived after being shot with the 40 S&W during door entry. Are we to believe the 9mm would perform better? What about a mountain lion that's facing you at 40 yards and isn't retreating?
Every morning I take the dog (95# West German - German Shepherd) out to exercise and get a few wind sprints in. Monday morning we went from play to work in the wink of an eye. A coyote was following a game trail right to left and then stopped upon seeing us. Coyotes and dawgs are extremely unpredictable when they meet. Dawg was off leash and I had given him the down command, when I drew the Colt Super, I noticed through peripheral vision that he sat up and keyed on me. To my surprise, the coyote faced us and advanced. I brought the Colt up, it's front post was wider than the coyote so I squared up the sights between the coyote's ears and fired. I had guesstimated 90 yards and it turned out to be 95 yards,the XTP shooting flat and taking out a piece of the coyote's shoulder. It still ran after being hit.
The dawg and I have shared thousands and thousands of rounds together and he would have attacked had he been given the command. We walked to the hit sight and he picked up another scent and started walking toward a dense mesquite area on the property. I called him back and took him home because there are areas I don't take him.
As much as I like the Super, the XTPs are not suited for thick mesquite, enter the G20 SF with 200gr WFNs and upon entering the dense mesquite area I find the very fresh footprints of a large bobcat/lynx, measuring 3.25" across. Good definition between the pads and the loose sand hadn't had time to mute. A couple hundred yards away and I came across very fresh bobcat scat in a large dog print. In another dense mesquite area I saw prints showing where a large dog had been broadsided by a bobcat or small mountain lion a couple of days earlier.
To bring this to a conclusion, dogs, whoever they belong to are magnets for cats, bears, hogs, javelina and whatever other predators may be on/near the trail. The 10mm/200gr WFNGC is sufficient for what the OP may encounter in the NW, otherwise get a mountain gun in either 41/44mag and load it with a high sectional density WFN. A heavy weight bullet penetrates deep and it can be loaded for recoil rather than top end velocity. For that matter, same can be said for the 44 Special or Buffalo Bore's 255gr WFN in 45auto if it feeds reliability.
Brush alongside trails also makes the case for heavy WFNs, nature has a way of obscuring a lot of things to the untrained eye.
