Tom, thanks for your well thought out reply. Don't fret, I am not sure where I was going either. I guess the bottom line on firearms in a wilderness survival situation is that most likely it will be used for nothing more than taking game for food. With that in mind, one should set out to find the most suitable weapon considering size and usefulness. One choice would be a .357 revolver and a supply of hot ammo plus a supply of shot shells. I've never tried the shot shells but I would think the range would be limited on ground animals. Maybe further on winged creatures. I have to believe that .357 hollow point hot loads would be adequate on a 200 pound bear. What it would do to Bigfoot is another story. Problem is, with most pistols and revolvers, every time you fire it you announce your presence and location to an unknown audience. Maybe just for game a .22 revolver with sub-sonic bullets would suffice if you are a decent shot. Who knows? When I was a kid in the last century, we used to put baby bottle nipples over the barrel of a .22 and we "imagined" that it silenced the bang somewhat. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Boone