Best caliber when walking in the woods?

What is the smallest caliber you trust to protect yourself?

My personal favorite defense gun when hiking has always been a Beretta Jetfire in 22 short.
Over all the years I've been hiking I never leave without it in my pocket.
Of course we all know the first rule when hiking in the wilderness is to use the "Buddy System."
For those who may be unfamiliar with this it means you NEVER hike alone.
You bring a friend or companion, even an in-law, that way if something happens there is someone to go get help. I remember one time hiking with my brother-in-law in northern Alberta.
Out of nowhere came this huge brown bear and man was she mad.
We must have been near one of her cubs.
Anyway, if I had not had my little Jetfire I wouldn't be here today typing this.
Just one shot to my brother-in-law's knee cap and I was able to escape by just walking at a brisk pace.

yeah you just have to be faster than your partner.

It holds off Black Panthers, Bigfoot & Copperheadedrattlemoccasins..

If one of them is after me I'm gonna shoot my bud cause Iam slow and survival of the fittest is against me right now

I was wondering about the .22 short choice, nice humor though, I LOL'd.

Guess my answer would depend on what I expect to run into while walking in the woods, snakes, gators, coyote, thug.....

A well place .22LR round would stop most, but the snake and gator, would have to be very well placed.

A Judge or Governor would be nice, .410, .45 Colt or .45 ACP in the case of the Governor. I'd think that would handle most anything on my above list.

When you're life or a loved ones is on the line, can never have to much gun.

2in .38spl would be the best choice IMO. Small but yet has some "punch". Brand really doesn't matter, but a cheap accurate Rossi would fill the bill just fine.

SubGunFan wrote:

fastarrow wrote:............. Copperheadedrattlemoccasins.

I saw one of those a few years ago. Still have nightmare................

.

YEA - they some bad dudes --- big too; especially after a couple beers!!

I lived in Alaska for a few years. After all the Ruger Redhawks, Blackhawks, etc. I came to believe the gun with me that I could shoot the best with ..was better than the cannon back home in the safe.

For a practical test..lets take a 8" paper plate at 7 yards. Take the magnum of your choice and when the timer goes off pull the trigger as fast as you can.Some can place the first shot on the plate..after that the rest of the shots go up and off the target. Some very experienced shooters can group two shots on the plate without hearing protection under mild stress...I found a good compromise was a Glock 21 loaded with the +p 230 hollow points or fmj.I could place a nice group on the plate very quickly. Much better than the magnum and follow up shots were still on target.

YMMV..But I do have a grizzly bear and several black bears under my belt.

Its a 44 mag. Shoots good. Pretty heavy for my spot here but i carry it when in the mountains.

But really, most of the time its a 3" 357 on my hip. Dont trust a 22 after shooting a feral pit bullish type dog and it didnt stop him. Luckily it turned him but it may not have.

I don't leave the house without my 1911 45