Here's another topic to ponder, goes kinda hand in hand with the
"Would You Venture Into............" post below.

Heavy discussion is dedicated to "back up guns" on just about every, if not every gun forum on the internet. Has anyone here ever had to use a back up gun when in the field in order to save your own hide. Use can be for anything from two legged predators up to the biggest, baddest bear. I agree that bears can be a problem, but the chance is slim, I would think that back up gun useage would be for other "threats" as not everyone hikes, hunts, camps and spends time in areas where bears are.

Yes I have with the 1200# bull.Unless you are carrying for bear or large other things, your backup will be your everyday carry or walking around gun. I was carrying a KelTec p11 with Corebond ammo. It was my constant companion and shows the wear from constant use and practice,it has never failed me. I do not remember drawing ,it was just in my hand .When you need it you need it bad and you had better have practiced because there is no time to say what do i do now.It comes down to muscle memory and practice.

Close but no in the woods.

I had a similar experience as Junebug. My 14 year old grand daughter and I had a an irate 900 lb. steer charge us as we stood in the corral. I drew my 1911 and put a 230 gr hollow point into his forehead then put 3 more into his head for security. Dropped him 10 ft. in from of us, I can still picture that red fiberoptic front sight on his forehead till this day.

Bullets are cheap. I highly commend you for paying the insurance with the three more!!!!!!!!!!!!! Grand children are precious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only had to use my 'backup" once in 20 years. It was during urban carry and on a two legged critter. The sight of the 1911 apparently was enough to change their plans. Glad it was on me.

well let me tell you, there was this squirrel once when I was hunting them with my TC 22lr, it was perched and looking straight at me, chirping his head off at me while I was trying to sit quietly and get's his bigger brother come to the other side of the tree. He was so close at 15 feet he angered me so I yanked the M29 and heavy SWC and turned him into a bloody, furry sock with holes at each end. Such a mess it was! That's one time I had to mull my M29 in anger!

I was charged by a wounded cat once

In one of the stranger hunts I've ever been on, I got charged by a coyote. Well, one of our kittens followed me deer hunting that morning and was sitting beside me, and the coyotes around here know pets are usually easy pickings. The coyote covered a hundred yards in only a few moments running straight toward us and stopped at about 50 yards away when I turned my Weatherby toward it. A 130 grain 270 bullet nearly blew it apart.

True, I was in comparatively little danger, but there's no way I was letting a coyote get close to one of our pets. Defense of a third party, I guess?

I'd had one of my dogs bitten by a Copper head (best guess) and really put a hurt on her. She was bitten in the back leg. My sister (who is also my vet, and lets her brother bring dogs to her kitchen on Sundays) said that a nose or front paw bit indicates the dog messing with the snake, but a back leg bite the dog was just walking past and got bit.

Work of advice, don't bite my dogs, I get upset.

A week or two later I was out in the rather over grown part of the garden picking the last of the years red raspberries. Thicket might be a good word to describe the area. Anyway, I've got a full tray of raspberries in one hand, and I see this sizable copper head right at my feet.

I read lots of posts about folks who carry rat or snake shot for snakes. Seems that is 'the' reason to carry a wheel gun. I'm here to tell you, a little concentration on the front site and some trigger control and a 147gr jacketed hollow point 9mm will blow the butt off an copper head. I went and got a rake and went looking for the bitey end of him. He was curled up and ready for round two. This was no wimp of a snake. Another jhp on the nose took the fight out of him though.

db

Yep, 9/2014. Black bear, WV. Shot at 289 yds. with XP. Ran a little and laid behind large log. Got to 10 feet of log and he raised up, growled, and came at me. A 325 gr. X in my .475 Linebaugh showed him the errors of his ways...at 5 feet!

Last hunt I was on was in Talkeetna,AK. 9 grizzly encounters in 2 days, all of them personal, 2 ended in dead bears. You bet your butt I carry backup. 2 came crashing right through camp. The rifle won't be in your hands while your stirring beans or pouring coffee, but the .454 was on the hip.

Exactly

My buddy was traveling through a rural area and felt the call of nature. Stopped at an out of the way gas station to powder his nose and a large unsavory character enters the restroom 30 seconds after him. He stood there sizing my buddy up when he realized something was up. My bud calmly reached down with the hand that wasn't occupied and calmly unholstered his 1911 and let it "clank" on the top of the urinal. That dude scooted out real quick like.

They learn quick when you speak with authority!

a pair of slugs in the watch pocket of my jeans when im bird hunting is as close as i come to back up.

Yuck, I would think that would get a bit slimy.

ya but ya never go without something to eat