Woods Carry 357 Search

[413Maxwedge]

Im in SE PA, an hour north of Philadelphia and we have coyotes. I see a lot more of them than racoons. I'm constantly surprised when people tell me about "a weird skinny dog that looked like a small wolf" watching them from the tree line. I tell them it's a coyot and they say "Coyote??? they live in Texas". Yeah right. Keep a close eye on your babies ladies.
When the Wife and I first got married we rented a farm house surrounded by fields (Feed corn/Soybean) and I'd see them ion the edges of our property when I left for work. We lost 2 cats and several chickens.

I'm not in favor of hunting predators (bear, wolf, big cats) but to the point of this thread, if I'm out in the woods and something with a snarl and fangs approaches, or is suprised by me, I'd rather be armed. As a former garbage truck driver (5 years) I've been bitten and menaced by many "small" dogs that I wish I could have fired a round at the dirt to scare away.

A Staffordshire Terrier weighs 35# and is considered a small dog.

 

[Murdock]

I will concur that coyotes are not usually considered dangerous to people. Neither are black bears or moose. Usually.

 

[Beju]

Coyotes are more adaptable than wolves, so behavior may vary widely by location and size.

I'm in Chicago, and we've definitely got coyotes now, unlike when I was growing up. In the city, coyotes attacking dogs or people is extremely rare (I couldn't find a single case in the city or adjacent suburb), but that's not the case in exurbs and rural areas. I think the city just has a lot more rats, rabbits, squirrels, and garbage for them to get their fill of.

Coyote defense is a factor in me carrying, but that's mostly because I have small dogs and children. Even then, I'd rather start with pepper spray to reduce risk to others. Our coyotes aren't especially big (I'd guess 30-45 lbs), but I'm sure that they bite a lot harder than most dogs of that size that aren't pit bulls.

 

[Dave Lively]

I'm liking this thread. I'm going on a family vacation to North Georgia next month and everyone wants to go hiking and mountain bike riding in the woods, along creeks and RR tracks. I've never been to GA before but understand they have hogs, Black bear and large cats.

I always pocket carry my M&P 340 J-frame for SD but now I'm considering bringing one of my 3" or 2.5" L-frames for animal defense. I could easily carry my 386PD in a large fanny pack while biking or climbing. * I have OWB pancake holsters but don't want to draw a lot of attention in a small tourist town*.

TLDR: Carry what you feel comfortable with but don't worry too much about the animals here. North Georgia is not Montana or Alaska.

In 30 years of hiking in north Georgia I have seen some black bears, wild boar/feral pigs but have never seen or heard of anyone else seeing a big cat. The occasional bobcat is as big as they get and I have only seen pictures of them on trail cameras. I have heard a couple reports of but never seen packs of stray or loose dogs

All the black bears I have seen run off immediately, even the ones with cubs. Most of the pigs do too but I once stumbled on to a sow nursing her piglets as a I came around a sharp bend on the trail so she was only 15 feet away. They scrambled to their feet, ran off to the left, changed their minds and mama pig stood on the trail between me and her offspring and made grunting noises until the piglets finished crossing to the right. Probably more of a bluff than a threat but I gave her the benefit of the doubt.

The only time I see wildlife is when I am quietly hiking by myself. If you are with other people and talking or riding a mountain bike the odds of even seeing a bear or pig let alone being threatened by one is very, very low. On the more remote trails I carry a P365 but on the more crowded ones I often don't even bother with that. I do see the occasional OWB holster on the trail. It might draw some attention in town by your fellow tourists if they notice but most wont and the local residents wont care. To me nothing says "that guy is carrying" like a man with a fanny pack.

I don't hike as much as I used to but have worn out 4 pairs of hiking boots since I moved here. If the woods here were full of dangerous animals I would have seen more of them.

 

[Shoebox1.1]

Here’s your woods gun. New 27-9. I’m so happy with this thing! Shoots POa/POI today with my AA7 handloads 158 swc. It’s proved itself so good it’s going to Frank Glenn this week for action job! I can’t wait!

 

[gdpolk]

My favorite woods gun is my 4" Model 69. I love it so much that I decided I needed a 4" L frame Mountain Gun in 357mag as well.

Light weight sounds great on paper but with a proper holster and belt the M69 goes almost completely unnoticed on the body and having a LITTLE extra weight helps with a steady offhand presentation and faster follow up shots. I've used the scandium 44 and 357 options and have always felt they were a bit light in the hand for full power loads, especially in the 44.

I'm curious after my 686 Mountain Gun comes in if it'll take the place of my M69 or not.

 

[Autonomous]

Most woods carry focus is on the gun and why not? It's fun to hear people's ideas and preferences.

My first woods gun was a 4" N frame I carried on my mountain bike in an Uncle Mike's fanny pack holster. That holster has been beat on and it shows. Not at all fast draw but it protected the gun through wrecks, brambles and adventures. A very good choice for that application.

I like the Kenai chest rig from GunfightersINC. Not cheap but well made without any shortcuts.
UDAP has a molded bear spray holster that, IMO, has a faster draw than a textile holster.
Don't discount the potential of a noise maker. The Storm brand whistle is 'you have to hear it to believe it' loud.

 

[Bobbysixkiller]

I like to carry my 681 4 inch in a ww2 style tanker. With 158 gr lrn over 6 grains of unique.