What is/are the best handguns for self-defense when out in the woods with a family? In my neck of the woods there are black bear (and cougar-sightings also), as well as the occasional criminal.

I almost always take my S&W m57 .41 Mag with a 6" barrel

Delta Dog: Something like this one?


For black bear and cougar, a good .357 will work, if you can make a good shot. I'd suggest a six-inch barrel, like the Ruger GP-100 or an S&W 686-Plus. Unless you're using a 10mm, leave the bottom-feeders at home. Most don't have the power to reliably take game.

Pretty much Bill !

Some day I'll get around to figuring out how to post pictures

cocoamama,

To answer your question directly, the Mountain Lion (Puma concolor, Puma, Panther, Cougar) and black bear can both be brought down with a .357 Magnum. This is probably the minimum caliber I would use. But the 10mm auto, .41 Magnum and .44 Magnum would also be good choices. (Note: The "full" 10mm load sends a 180gr bullet downrange at about 1200-1300 fps).

Generally, when protection against 4-legged critters is needed, I prefer to use either jacketed [/i]soft points[/i] or a hard cast LSWC for penetration. Self-defense ammo will likely underpenetrate on the tougher muscle tissue of animals.

A friend tells me that he carries a small tin can (actually a vienna sausage can) that's been cleaned out, containing 3-4 small rocks and a plastic lid. In the event he sees the bear/cougar/skunk first, if he needs to distract the animal from him, he tosses the can towards them. The rattling of the can & rocks when it hits the ground startles them. Either they retreat or attack the can...while he backs away and conceals himself.

As for me... I've always been lucky that a shout or two has spooked them off. But just in case...