What bullet design/type (s) do you like to carry in your hiking, scouting, walkabout firearms?

[eddiememphis]

For walking around-
Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt with some 300 grain solids over H110.
The old joke that if the bullet don't kill 'em, the noise and flash will scare him to death.

Camp gun-
AR-15 with .450 Bushmaster upper.

Last week in southwest Colorado, a sheepherder was attacked by a 250 pound black bear at 1am. He managed one shot with his .30-30. The stories vary as to whether the bear was hit or not. Regardless, the guy got a helicopter ride to the hospital for surgery.

Bears are no joke. A 250 pound bear is much tougher to kill than a 250 pound man. They have a coat, thicker skin, denser muscles and bones. They are strong and quick- much more so than any man.

 

[Leon tP]

We have black bear and cougars but encounters are pretty rare and they (both bear and cat) go running when they see you,.... usually.
Our most likely threat comes from the weed farmers and their big aggressive dogs.
Wander off trail into the wrong patch of land and it could get scary. To that end, it's XTPs in the G23 with spare mags of Buffalo Bore hardcast. The XTPs tend to penetrate deeper and expand less than the HSTs and Gold Dots but I don't worry too much about over penetration out in the woods. I'm not walking the popular tourists trails.
Again, because of the likelihood of running into the "oregano" farmers.
Hey, no one invited them but they some up from time to time anyway, then setup shop until the sheriff's department rounds them up or scares them off. Before that happens, some schmuck has to discover them and that's usually the unsuspecting trail hiker. But the Hell if I'll let them intimidate me so I'm gonna keep hiking those trails as I've done for the past 35 years. I also carry a smart phone with GPS and a 2M/440 radio that can hit several repeaters all up and down those trails, so I'm never out of contact with someone.

 

[tws3b2]

Spent a lot of years walking parks, trails, riverbanks, hillsides, back roads, woods, fields and so on. Never needed a gun. So, I have no favorite.

 

[IWAC]

Many of the THR family enjoys hiking, scouting, and or just exploring the woods, prairies, beaches and so on! While we do Many of us carry a firearm.

So the question is what type of bullet design do you like to carry? Hardcast, FMJ, HP, Copper solids and so on... If you carry different types please explain which kinds and why/where!

Mushroom season will be here soon

Cast 12-14 BHN150-160 gr. SWC or RNFP @~900 fps. Sometimes, Rem. 125 +P Golden Sabers or Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel +P, when I can't find the Gold Dot 357 Magnum loads. All perfectly capable for any reasonable use.

 

[Bob529]

9mm, 115 gr, JHP. Works for self-defense, small varmints, angry pit-bulls, etc. There are no bears or cape buffalos around here.

 

[Trey Veston]

Either Hornady XTPs or hardcast in 10mm or .45 Colt. 200 grain for the 10mm and 250 or 300 grain for the .45 Colt.

 

[br549arkie]

I carry different revolvers in 2,3 or 4 inch barrel length depending on what I'm doing but they're always loaded with fairly warm handloads carrying a 158 grain semi wadcutter.

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

Hornady XTP in .38 Super, .357, 41Mag, .44 Mag and .45 Colt. This is for woods cary.

 

[StrykerByte.45]

The best to carry would be the heaviest hardcast possible in your caliber going the fastest possible without exceeding 1100fps. Wadcutter, SWC, RNFP profiles will work.Supersonic speeds will round the edges of a hardcast's meplat and reduce its potential. If your heaviest bullet exceeds subsonic speeds then a solid copper would be a better choice. Either a flat point or an xtreme penetrator would do. If neither of those options are available, then a FMJ-FN. FMJ-RN should be last choice.
If the ammunition is considered overkill, then a different caliber should be chosen, not a lighter round
If the ammunition has too much recoil, then a different caliber should be considered, not weaker charges.

 

[md7]

Pistol is 45 acp loaded with 230 gr ball

Rifle is a 270 Win with 130 gr Core Lokt and that’s used for whitetail hunting

Knock around rifle is a 5.56 with M193 ball. For hogs, coyotes, feral dogs, etc. That rifle gets tossed in the side by side and off we go.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

As others have said, hard cast lead. WFN (basically lead miniature soda cans-not quite wadcutters) will hold together and penetrate deep to a large animal's vitals.

 

[Anchorite]

As others have said, hard cast lead. WFN (basically lead miniature soda cans-not quite wadcutters) will hold together and penetrate deep to a large animal's vitals.

Especially useful if the critter can bite back or stomp you to death.

For thin skinned, medium bodied animals (ie white tailed deer), a well constructed jacketed bullet tends to do just fine in most every conceivable situation.

 

[jmorris]

The further I am from human dangers, the more I carry with the first round being a shot round. We don’t have bears or cougars around here, just snakes. I don’t mess with non venomous ones but the others are culled.

My 45 ACP ones are quite effective but I have even developed them for 9mm and 380 once I started to prefer the smaller lighter pistols.






The rest of the mag is loaded with one of my major or minor gun game reloads because I know they will run 100% with them.

 

[PapaG]

I also have the 429421 hollow point I use in my 4” 624 during planting and cutting season for woodchuck and coyote. Pure lead and only about 650-700 fps.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

My concealed carry ALWAYS gets the ammunition intended for self defense. That's Speer Gold Dot 115 gr. JHP for my Walther.

Anything else I may have is based on what I'm bringing it for. For squirrel/varmint/small game, that's generally one of my flavors of .22 rifle. For rabbit, one of my shotguns.

 

[PO2Hammer]

In the woods I like a good FMJ-FP.
In 9mm that’s a Win 130 FMJ-FP 38 Super bullet.
In 357 that’s a Speer 125 TMJ.