I carry a variety of handguns in the north Georgia mountains. The main predators here include black bears, mountain lions, and snaggle tooth banjo pickers. My #629 gets more toting time than the #58, #657 MG, and #1006...but the #1006 is a close second. Plenty of power and lots faster to reload than any of the revolvers. You did not mention a semi-auto, but a Glock 29 10mm would be a very good compromise on size, weight, and power.