I have some shot shells for my .44, and that is what I would carry if hiking or had other reason to be in the areas where an encounter was more possible.

As a side note, I remember someone a few years back posting that they carried shot in their defensive revolver for what I considered horrible reasons (didn't want to do the necessary damage an assailant, in short). A friend's agency just had an incident in which a deputy was shot with 9mm snake shot - it was not debilitating at all. Offender's pistol malfed and he then surrendered.

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NHI, 10-8.