I'd say look at what's the toughest critter you're possible to encounter... THEN... get an idea for how much weight you're okay with carrying around while you hike up brutal hills during your hunting pursuits. Then decide for yourself how much capacity are you okay with shedding in the pursuit of lightening the load?
For instance, I'm in SoCal, and I believe here a person would be just fine with a 9mm in +P loading with something like LeHigh Xtremes (Fluid Monolithics).
But... like if I lived someplace where people routinely tagged Black Bears in the above 400-450Lbs category, I'd probably feel a lot better with 10mm Auto or .44 Mag Ultralite and I'd want least at 4" barrel to give it a chance to gain decent velocity.
Or.. like if you lived in Arid/Semi-Arid Habitat's such as Mojave desert, a .380acp would be fine as a sidearm since MtnLion would be about the largest possible threat.
For instance, I'm in SoCal, and I believe here a person would be just fine with a 9mm in +P loading with something like LeHigh Xtremes (Fluid Monolithics).
But... like if I lived someplace where people routinely tagged Black Bears in the above 400-450Lbs category, I'd probably feel a lot better with 10mm Auto or .44 Mag Ultralite and I'd want least at 4" barrel to give it a chance to gain decent velocity.
Or.. like if you lived in Arid/Semi-Arid Habitat's such as Mojave desert, a .380acp would be fine as a sidearm since MtnLion would be about the largest possible threat.


