Even here, though, I feel like I rarely read about elk hunting trips that turned into a wolf hunt. And I've read exactly zero first hand encounters where a sidearm was the difference between getting eaten or not.
Honestly, I carry less for the four legged, and more for the two legged variety. Definitely a time or two, you come across a minivan on a road your truck barely has any business on and leaves you wondering what they are growing on that hillside, and what they might do to keep you from finding out.