What to carry while camping or hiking.

When camping or hiking, selecting a carry load is a totally different animal (pun intended) than when selecting a home defense round. Outdoors we have four legged creatures that can be stronger than us and harder to hit. We also have lots of open space to absorb a missed shot. When it comes to four leggers, penetration is key, and While a rifle would be the best selection, they are hard to carry and not practical while hiking. For this circumstance I would use an entirely different load than that used for personal defense. Large cats and feral dogs can be surprisingly resilient, and many of them also travel in packs. When defending yourself against a four legged animal, you want to drop it with as few shots as possible, therefore having more ammo to worry about the rest of the pack if need be. For this, penetration is crucial. Make sure you have a good penetrating round such as, Full metal jacket rounds, Lead semi wad cutter, standard target shooting wad cutters, Round-nose etc. These rounds fly straight and penetrate deep giving you a better chance of survival and escape to safety. Hollow points are not typically recommended for wild animals as they may not penetrate deep enough to hit a vital organ. Knock them down? Sure. Piss them off? You bet. This could be very bad. (Although there are some special hollow points such as Hornady XTP that are made for hunting as well as personal defense.) Remember placement is key, so practice with these rounds as well as your defensive loads when you have some trigger time.

Knowing where you are going and what type of animal threat there could be, and preparing for such is by far the best defense. Once you know that, choose the appropriate firearm for the trip. If you find yourself up against a brown bear with anything less than a FMJ 357 magnum, just turn around and try to calmly walk away. Shooting a bear with a measly .38 special hollow point or frangible glaser will only piss him off. You would probably have better luck climbing a tree and trying to knock it out with the butt of the revolver than killing it with a .38 or lesser. For bear country you would want a deep penetration round in 357 magnum, 41 magnum, 454 casull, 460, 480 Ruger, 500SW or even better, friends who have elephant guns. Know your surroundings and what you might encounter and be prepared.

That being said, guns are not a miracle tool. They will not roast a marsh mellow, and certainly will not change a flat tire. Of course a 380ACP is better than nothing, but when it comes to wild animals, if you don't have the tools, don't attempt the repair. And also, NEVER forget the chocolate and gram crackers. In my experience that could be even worse than a run in with Smokey the Bear.

Camping and Hunting Ammo

Full Metal Jacket | Lead Round Nose | Jacketed Soft Point - These rounds are designed to penetrate deep and will be best suited to protect yourself against a four legger. Shooting a bear with a hollow point is not going to be effective. What we need to stop an animal this size and strong is deep penetration. What we need to is to cause remote damage or hydrostatic shock. Hydrostatic shock is when the pressure and energy of the bullet effects a remote area other than the area penetrated by the bullet. For example a bear is shot in the shoulder, but the pressure and energy from the bullet is so great it renders damage to the brain of the animal. Magnum loads are capable of causing brain damage without even striking the brain. When an animal is shot with such a round, they will usually die from hydrostatic shock before they bleed to death. Sometimes within 10-15 seconds. 357 Magnum, 41 Magnum, 44 Magnum, 454 Casull, 460 SW, 480 Ruger and 500 SW rounds are all capable of causing hydrostatic shock and great protection weapons against any four legger. While camping we should load rounds that penetrate deeper and are more likley to strike a vital organ. Or better a magnum round that is capable of inflicting hydrostatic shock.