I'm not a hunter much less a hiker. When a young fella new to handguns asked me about ammo for his new 40 caliber handgun it was easy to explain the practice/plinking ammo versus personal protection ammo.

But then he asked what would be best in the handgun if he was out scouting out new hunting spots or checking his tree stand and had something like a coyote come up. Of course he was thinking the personal protection hollow points are "better" but I told him I wasn't sure on that one. In the end I thought the solid point practice ammo might be a better choice for that but I recommended researching the topic on forums like this or with friends who hunt.

So, what would be better for critter encounters out in the woods with a 40 caliber handgun? The topic of a bear did not come up but even that, hollow point versus solid?

A good hollow-point defensive round is fine for any threat short of a bear. If bears are a concern, any FMJ at 1000+ FPS should be fine for the smaller varieties. But 44 magnum with hard cast lead is better.

I don't own any 40 cal handguns, but I do carry a 41 Mag in the field. I have JSP rounds for hunting (made for that purpose), and I have LSWC for most everything else. The LSWC will cut a decent path through just about anything here in Texas (coyotes, pigs, deer, and rabid zombies).

I also could be found carrying either a 22 or 38 spl with snake shot for leg-free critters.

I don't know how much help my answer will be, but it works for me.

Have fun in the woods, and don't worry about Sasquatch too much

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On the Oak Savannah

Unless he is some sort of a wild animal whisperer, a coyote probably won't approach him. They do occasionally do that in metro areas where they have lost their fear of people. But in the wild, you will see them, but not approaching, unless you are out calling them. No reason to shoot them as they won't and don't normally attack. Cougars and black bears are much more likely to stalk your camp. Bears will blunder right in, especially if they think you are gone. I'd want something somewhat larger than a 40 if that happens. But you use what you have. When I'm out and about in the woods, I usually carry a 44 3" and my first round up is a shotshell for Joe no shoulders.

I don't own a 40, but my 41 Magnum comes closest. Before my accident, I was looking to handgun hunt with my 41, and did a lot of research. What I found was that most advocated a solid, SWC type bullet with the widest metplat (flat point) possible. The logic was that the larger the metplat, the higher the degree of induced shock. The logic continued that the SWC design would cut a clean wound channel that would not close after the bullet passed. In combination, the cut wound channel and the higher level of shock would contribute to a faster kill. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to personally test the theory.

Now, if the young man's 40 was a semi-auto, his best option would most likely be a good hollow point, that has a reputation for rapid expansion, constructed well enough to hold together, and retain enough energy for deep penetration.

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Judge control not gun control!

News report of a rabid Coyote shot in the "Burbs of the Burgh" just this past week...........6th reported case of rabies in Allegheny Co. so far this year.

I'vs shot 2 "suspected" rabid/defiantly sick animals; a coon and a groundhog..... in 40 years of roaming the Laurel Highlands of Pa.

Coyotes are/shouldn't be that big...... 25-40lbs...... though with the infusion of Wolf dna.... reports of 60 lb wolf like Coyotes are becoming more common in the NE.

Folks hunt Coyote's with .22 magnum rifles...... so I'd go hollowpoint in 9mm +P.38 or .40........................

While I don't venture out into the woods much these day I do admit to listening to Coast to Coast with George Noory and love his Sasquatch segments. And yea, drifting my own thread...

Out in the woods you have the same rules as on a city street when it comes to what is behind the target, where will the round go, what happens if the round passes through the target.

When I am out working on a little patch of land I have, the handgun is for defense. Hogs, snakes, poachers ...
So for me JHP is the rule

Underwood and Buffalo Bore both make a heavy for caliber hardcast rounds designed for woods carry. They are supposed to be cast so hard that they are okay in Glocks. Have no personal experience with them.

No pistol is enough. That being said, just about anything from 357 up will suffice (including MOST black bears). I've take coyotes and bobcats with 22 WMRs. I prefer a 45 Colt or a 10mm but wouldn't feel undergunned with my 357 Sig or 40 S & W unless I thought I might run into griz or moose.

Fair statement - no handgun is actually sufficient, even X frame calibers. The fact that you can kill almost anything with a well placed shot from a .22 doesn't change the fact that if you're in bear country you're going to need a large caliber, high impact bullet. Hollow points or hard cast lead, against the big critters you need big bullets. And accuracy, but that's for another thread.

My immediate reaction, however, is that despite the high capacity magazine involved, revolvers are more appropriate for the woods just on the reliability factor alone. After that we can discuss bullets.

In Arizona when out on the desert rattlesnakes are a real threat. I carry a 357 revolver and the 1st 2 rounds are snake loads and the other 4 are jacked HPs.
Jim

Having spend many days in the last 55 years walking the mountains and plains from Alaska to Arizona. I normally carry a pre war Colt Woodsman. I have encountered many bears, a few were grizzlies, and been chased by a number of cow moose. I never felt too concerned with any 4 legged critter. It is those 2 legged predators that worry me. They are FAR worse than local fauna, are more devious, and smarter.

By the time you are shooting bear with a .40 S&W, bullet selection is the least of your worries.

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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?

You have to load for the largest credible threat. The OP is in WI. Maybe a black bear?

Coyotes would be no problem for the basic .40 S&W 180 grain JHP. That might work for a bear, depending on where you hit it. Study animal anatomy!

I'd probably carry a FMJ bullet for bear in .40 S&W. But the quicker opening JHP is better for coyotes.

Two coyotes attacked and killed a folk singer (Taylor Mitchell) in a Canadian park a few years ago, and they 're getting bolder all over. But I'd be at least as concerned about feral domestic dogs.

My strolls across down the fence lines of my farm will normally find me carrying my old model 15 loaded with my favorite hand load of a Lyman 358156 backed with 5.0 grains of Unique. Does about everything I need. However, I have been known to carry a model 27 with the same bullet and a healthy dose of 2400.

I'm not sure I totally agree with this. I'd pit my dog's intelligence against many 2 legged predators.

I've shot any number of steers, heifers, wild game hit by cars, a horse, and a Ford Bronco with .41 magnum 210 grain JHP and a teaspoon or so of 2400.

Every one was a one shot stop.

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Eccentric old coot

I am pretty sure our old beagle had the wife and I both outsmarted.

Would you use the same round to stop a Chevy Tahoe as you would use on a Ford Bronco?

I see a lot of "well in 41 mag I use this" etc but OP asked about loads for a 40. We can make the recommendation to use a different caliber but we can't assume the person OP is talking about has the funding.

For out in the country where bears are present I would say use FMJs in a 180 grain loading

As with any wild critter, use caution in dealing with coyotes.

Special Report: On Coyote Attacks and the Death of Canadian Folk Singer Taylor Mitchell | Field & Stream

For most critter protection short of grizzly/brown bear, feral hogs, or moose, the same JHP ammunition that you would use for two-legged critters should be adequate.

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

Yes. "Gunner, HEAT, moving truck!" or, in the case of the Ford, "Gunner, HEAT, truck!"

https://thechive.files.wordpress.com...rip=info&w=920

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

Dang it! I miss Art Bell overnight

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On the Oak Savannah

Groo here
Back to the OP,,,
As we are talking the 40 "short & weak", my advice would be the
heaviest flat nose FMJ or hard cast that will feed as close to 100% as possible.
One mag full up to be swapped when in the "wilderness"
Then swap back to SD loads when back.
Remember , the threat will be human [ in winter with heavy coats]
or animals that do not fear man.[ Sick , wild dogs, pigs , cattle etc]
This means the worst case should be looked at.

Is this an example of " over thinking " ?

With so many ammo choices available an overly thoughtful person could spend a month trying to decide what to load his gun with.
Just load it and go hiking....it don't matter. It really doesn't.

Had a coyote step out of the woods onto the trail I was on one day while squirrel hunting. It took a few steps towards me and stopped when it was about 15 feet away and it just stood there staring at me. I raised my shotgun and was going to blast it when I decided to see what it was going to do. It turned around and slowly walked away down the trail. It turned around several times as it walked away to see if I was following it. I saw no reason to shoot it and let it go on it's way.

Not a subject I know much about, but I did find this to be an interesting perspective...

"Seems everytime someone mentions backpacking or heading into any woods for whatever reason the advice handgun wise is always a single action 454 or 44 magnum, or double action 44 mag or 45 colt. The prime reason being bears, cougars, wolves rabid wombats etc... Now of course I'm not saying animals don't attack, they do, but it's very, very rare and not always but often preceeded by a great amount of stupidity on the victims part before an attack occurs anyway.

Just some thoughts:

Meth labs are being pushed deeper and deeper into the wilderness by law enforcment. Methamphetamine makes users very paranoid and dangerous. Some big cooks use a number of armed addicts to circle the parameter of the cook for protection....

With the border crackdown since 9-11 marijuana growing patches in our area seem to be increasing. Since the property forfiture laws went into effect growing in national parks or state land seems to be in vouge. Booby trapping the area around grows is still common. When your laying wounded from their little "shotshell" landmines as they come to harvest, calling 911 will likely not be on thier minds.

Anybody think Ted Kazinski (sp?) was the only paranoid schezophrenic hiding out in the woods. Even in my small town their's a rather odd fellow who would head out into the woods with a rifle when "they" were after him. After a 2 month stay at a psychiatric hospital that surely "cured" him he's back out and off his meds again..

Remember Platt and Mattix from the famouse FBI shootout? They got one of there guns and car from a fellow out in the middle of nowhere target shooting. They shot him and left him the swamp for dead.

Could not find the numbers real quick but do a search on "murder and national park" and I bet it makes bear maulings look as common as Rosy O'Donnell for NRA president nominations.

Considering the possible increased range of an encounter, no 911 for a considerable time if trouble occurs, possible multiple attackers in a drug lab sitaution, and in a scenario that "retreat" could actually turn in into nothing more than an extended running gun battle I'll take my G-17 with three highcaps over a 5 shot single action anyday."

This as well.... How to Pick the Right Sidearm for Backup Bear Protection | Outdoor Life


....

Just remember to lead the target with that HEAT round, because it sure isn't Willie Pete or WHORL!

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Judge control not gun control!

In the early '00s I was backpacking in one of my favorite places in the Central Colorado Rockies. I met a couple men fishing. One was a retired National Park Ranger and the other a State Forest Ranger. We talked firearms and the NPR said he had been issued a Ruger .40S&W with Federal Hydrashok and found that worked very well when his buddy found himself up a tree with a black bear gnawing his leg. Couple shots, dead bear.

I had a 629 with my 240-gr hard-cast handloads and was surprised at his answer. He felt he was well armed with the .40S&W.

They are trucks, and the Stryker MGS has an automatic lead function in the ballistic computer which wouldn't be required for the Ford.

And, since they are trucks, APFSDS-T is unnecessary.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

Hard cast 180 solids for bear or Coyote .

Eddie

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun