Agreed.

Having carried a loaded sidearm most of my adult life, and having been trained and licensed and such by several U.S. States to do so, both personally and professionally, I find it somewhat offensive for someone with neither experience nor qualification to label me "irresponsible."

Whatever your preferences may be, you don't have to venture into the woods or the urban jungle or what have you, with me. But I do. And my wife does. And we both carry guns. Because predators come in all forms, both four- and two-legged, and I am NOT repeat NOT going to rely on what I THINK they will do as a guarantee of my safety.

What I WILL rely upon is my own sense, my own judgment, and my own marksmanship to ensure that my wife and I come through whatever confrontation unscathed.

Anything else is idle speculation at best, wishful thinking at worst. This attitude is not location-specific. It is a mindset bred from experience in the real world dealing with real bad guys. I've had far fewer dangerous experiences in the woods, but in my book the rules of engagement are exactly the same for predators, only the equipment changes.

It may make you uncomfortable, but my wife and I find it perfectly acceptable to be responsible for our own safety.

On a slightly different note, I was looking to purchase a Mountain Revolver a while back, shying away from the full-house .44 Mag loadings but instead going with the .44 Special loadings that have ballistics similar to the .45acp. But I've never actually carried/fired one. How does the Mountain Revolver handle with full house 240-grain JHP's? Do you use Hogue or Pachy's with recoil reducing features or do you take the recoil straight in the wrist?

The other advantage to using the .44 Magnum as your basis round is that you can get a decent lever-action rifle in the same caliber. Having never traveled in BIG bear country (The US Forest in Northern California with their Grizzlys is about the closest I've come), and my choice at the time was (I realize how ignorant this sounds but it's all I had at the time) a Colt 1911 with warmly-loaded 230-grain JHP's, I often wondered what the choice would be of the Alaskan guides who are up where the bears are truly dangerous as their preference in a rifle/pistol combo.

Will the 1911 do the theoretical job of stopping a full-grown bear attack? Has anyone seen any documentation on it? Or was I deluding myself into believing the .45acp adequate for bear duty?

Panz