First of all: I am a Hoosier and have only ventured to Arizona for any amount of time West.  For an active hiker in the areas from Cheyenne WY to Windsor CO,  are there  encounters with big cats and bears?  I know there is data on the internet but I do not always trust what is filtered through tourist/BLM and conservation groups.

When I hit the wilderness I carry a good rifle and a Redhawk with heavy 45 Colt cast lead.  My daughter will not be carrying a heavy lever gun or a big bore revolver... So please do not tell me to give her a 12 gauge and a 500 S&W or a 375 H&H and a 500 Linebaugh..   because it will not happen.

She also sucks with a double action revolver.

She is competent with a DA/SA auto though.  Her EDC is a 380 however.

I was considering sending her with a Sig P229 in 357 Sig with Buffalo Bore 1450fps 125gr FMJ....

Any thoughts, concerns, suggestions, and information would be appreciated.

Thanks

I have lived in CO my whole life, and that has been in the mountains exploring. There is so little risk of bears or lions heavy handguns don't make sense to me. Sure there are stories, but realistically both of those animals want nothing to do with us.

More than anything training on what to do in case of an encounter is better. In other words, don't play dead if a mountain lion is attacking. Besides training, a dog is great. A dog to hike and trail run with is the best defense as well as doing things in groups. Camping food care, etc.

That is not to say that I love a reason to get a G20.

I did forget to say she has a big Pit Bull mixed mutt that goes with her....

I like heavy 10mm but she has shot mine and did not care for it... She is decent with my Sigs though.

A Glock in .357Sig or 10mm would be and are my choice in this type of situation.

I was going to say:

1.  Excellent excuse to buy your daughter a handgun, regardless of bear, lion, etc. threat.
2.  But there is the 2-legged threat.
3.  G20 (SF perhaps for a female [and no offense meant to guys with 20SFs!]).

Like the other guy said, you have more to worry about from 2 legged predators.     Any 9mm will be just fine.  

Lots of people in that area of WY are...Off....

Lived all over, (Including S.Florida and NJ). But the people I met in Cheyenne, had some weird stuff going on.   it's a very odd, but notable thing.    A lot of them were very nice people, but just under the surface, there's a lot of .        

I think it's the incessant wind.    She's going to really learn to hate the winters.   And the fall.    And some of the spring.    

The summer is glorious.   All month long.  

-  to be fair, most of the weirdos are probably transplants.   Same reason FL gets a bad rap.    

Why is she moving there?

lobbyist group job for gun rights activist organization.

I have prepared her well for 2 legged critters.  

This ^^^  She'll be perfectly fine with a dog and/or another hiking companion and any typical carry pistol, no need for the heavy stuff. If she's used to a .380 then she's better off sticking with what she knows and is comfortable with.

9mm with 147s.

Ruger SP101 in 357 mag

as Combat-Jack commented... good reliable double stack polymer 9mm with 147s... I prefer Gen 3 G17 (night sights)

I was unaware there were any sizable gun rights lobbying groups there.   These guys?  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_Gun_Owners  Good luck to her.    

The answer would be a P226/G17/P320 or something that holds lots of ammo and is easy to control during recoil.
I vote a standard capacity 9mm.  10mm 357Sig will not do any better than 9mm other than slow down follow up shots.  The pit bulls sounds good in theory but a bear or mountain lion will only kill the dog giving her time to run away.

While I enjoy carrying my .45 colt revolvers my g19 sees the most trail time up north. I typically carry it with 147fpfmj and am comfortable with it against black bears.

My hound dog does a better job keeping them away though.

Haveing a wml is nice for trips to the pee tree a zero dark thirty too

Lol. Black bears and mountain lions tuck tail and run at the sight of a dog. A mountain lion may jump a single dog after its been treed a while though

https://www.nationalgunrights.org/

National Association For Gun Rights

Exactly. They're out there, but they like to avoid people and dogs.

Is a .45ACP any good on a bear? I usually carry my Springfield Champion when I'm wandering around the Sequoias, There is a local bear roaming by the cabin, haven't seen it but I have seen all the tracks and scat. I figure Angus the cattle dog is probably a better deterant but having a backup to the dog makes me feel better.

Hardcore backcountry hiker here.......just get her a solid 9mm that she handles well and stoke it with 147gr FMJ. It would probably be impossible to beat a Glock 19 for this role, unless her hand is big enough to handle a Glock 17. Even a Glock 26 with a +1 extension would be a great little hiking gun. I personally carry a G19 in the backcountry, liking its balance of size, weight and capacity a little bit better than I do my G17 or G41.

Bears and lions are not hard to scare off nor are they hard to kill. The dog should take care of almost all the deterrent she'd ever need but a hi-cap 9mm is a good all-around tool in the mountains to go along with a good dog.

It works pretty damn well on Black Bears... I'd stuff it with some Buffalo Bore branded lead hard cast bullets however. A 255 grain LSWHC hitting @ 925 fps is plenty formidable for BB's... You can get them HERE!

Considered one of the P220 10mms?

Other than that, I'd just go with a service-size 9mm, 40, or 45 loaded with good ammo.

Ive always felt comfortable it the woods or the hoods with my G21

This. Other than Army/LDS missionary time sending me elsewhere, I have lived in the mountain west my whole life. I have never felt a need for a handgun outside.

Ive only defensively shot porcipines that were to close to my dog for comfort. He doesnt charge in but he is interested. Its easier to shoot em.

Ive woken up with my dog growling at my side and a blackbear within a few feet which is a pretty startling experience since I dont use a tent. Its happened twice and I can barely aim before they realize im a person and scedadle.

People tend to leave me a lone at trailheads but that is the time and place a women would probably need one the most. A pit and a g19 would solve that problem.

Not to mention, how do you kill all the tasty grouse that land in a tree 15 feet up as you hike by if you dont have a gun?

I don't see much need for a large gun.

On the west side you can stumble into grizzly territory occasionally, but I would just get a "service" round.

Never ended a gun in the wild, but I have been accused of not knowing much about the wild lately so take it with a grain of salt.

Glock 23 .40 would work just fine in this role.

I get what you are saying... I have had more problems with "people" in the woods than I have animals truth be told. But then again, I also have a lot less of a problem pulling a trigger on the former rather than the latter as well. YMMV...

I find the lack of suggestions for a full size .357 revolver disturbing.

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He said she sucks with a double action revolver.



 

+1

I've spent a lot of time in bear and cougar country and I've never been worried about them; it's the two-legged critters that are far more dangerous.

Her biggest problem here in Colorado would be of the 2 legged variety so any kind of semi auto for defense will do the job , We have a lot more homeless people starting to live in the forest, I run into them when riding my 4 wheeler sometimes, I carry a SP 101 4.2" barrel or a Glock G35 or XD 40 SC
Animals will run if they see you, Unless you come upon a bear with cubs or protecting a kill they Are not a problem,  A mountain Lion you will never see, And if they were to attack you a gun probably wouldn't do you any good anyway as you would have your hands full or already be dead, They usually attack from the rear and go for your head, By the time you realize they are there its already to late. Haven't seen one in over 30 yrs living here just run across kills a couple of times, Biggest threat in Colorado is on 2 legs for sure.

I was living in the Torrington area working at Camp Guernsey in Wyoming for a while a few years back.  Never had a problem with bears or mountain lions or even seen any signs of them being around.  Range maggots (aka antelope) were everywhere and the only real threat would be prairie rattlers if you stumbled across one.  I used to go out to walk my IED lanes before the students got there and I was adequately armed with a .38 Special snubbie loaded with snakeshot.  
But I can see where folks that have never been in that area might have preconceived notions about what's out there.  I picked up a student in the 6-pax truck at DIA that missed the plane.  I don't know why the Air Force was deploying an old GS employee downrange but I I don't think she ever set foot off of concrete or had ever been outside of Atlanta.  On the way to base going up I-25, cattle were out on the ranges and she asks, "is dat ah buffalo?"  "Uh, no, those are cattle, black baldies to be more accurate." LOL  
Keep in mind that while Wyoming is pretty decent about gun rights and you can carry most anything you want, Colorado is NOT.  After sandy Hook, Lickenpooper was keen on passing as much gun control as he could to include magazine restrictions.  This is why Magpul held true to their word and moved out of that state.  I avoided Colorado as much as I could when I was in Wyoming but from what I understand, the front range area mainly around the Denver area is a large liberal pot-head majority but the rest of the state is alright.

FPNI with uncanny regularity around here.

I live in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming, and have spent much of my life in the wilderness from here on north: climbing, packing, paddling. I am probably one of the few here who has actually had to kill a charging bear in self defense

Here's what I've learned: like the man said, you are generally safe enough. You add to your safety with knowledge, awareness, and common sense.

I think pepper spray is more effective, much of the time, than firearms. By "effective" I mean you get to part ways with the bear with an intact hide. I went backpacking two years ago in the Great Bear Wilderness, which is part of the Bob Marshall. Alone. Can of bear spray in a chest harness. No way I'm carrying a gun AND a pack, my loaded Model 29 weighs like 3.5 lbs.

Dogs. I've encountered aggressive grizzlies twice with a dog. BOTH times the bear charged the dog, not me. In case you're wondering, I wouldn't own a dog that couldn't outrun a bear.

Other animals can help. Several times I've seen llamas run bears off with an alarm call. My wife commonly encounters grizzlies in the fall around here on horseback. They seem to avoid acting aggressively to people on horseback. Better have a solid horse, though.

I've carried various firearms at various times for bears. I am skeptical of handguns, both because of power factor and the ability to make hits. On paddling trips in the NWT, Yukon, and Alaska I settled on a 12 GA. Pump gun loaded with OO Buck up front, then slugs. Mossberg, because the safety works for me (lefty). Pump gun can be carried safely in a canoe with a loaded tube and empty chamber, but fast to use. When bear spray came out, I carried that. But I would carry the shotgun as well when I scouted rapids, and kept it in camp. You can't let a bear destroy your camp when your are hundreds of miles from anywhere.

One easy way to add to your safety that I never see mentioned: ALWAYS watch the wind. you are most likely to surpise a bear travelling INTO the wind- he can't smell you. If the wind is strong he is less likely to hear you. ALWAYS know the wind in the woods.

Lions, meh. In my experience, you have about the same chance of having an aggressive encounter with a cat as getting struck by lightning. I was paid for a couple of winters to track wild carnivores in Wyoming and Montana- snowmachine and skis. I would track cougars for miles whenever I found their sign, into the night. I never SAW one during that job, and I went looking for them.

I had an encounter with a mountain lion down in the San Juans while elk hunting (archery).  I did pack a pistol but my holster broke and it was stuffed in my pack.  About 2 in the afternoon my hunting buddies and I were spread out around a pond taking a nap because nothing was moving.  I got up to stretch and heard something behind me.  I thought it was one of the other guys coming in from the other side of the lake.  I turned around and a mountain lion was looking at me from about 5 feet away.  I grabbed for a broadhead just to have something sharp in my hand, I wasn't even planning on using the bow... and I hissed at the lion like it was a housecat doing something bad.  Its eyes got real big and it hightailed it off to my right and was gone.  This all happened quite fast, I didn't even get the arrow out of the quiver before it was gone.  If I did have my pistol in its holster I probably wouldn't have had time to draw it either.  

I don't know if the lion smelled something and was stalking me, or if it was just kind of wandering down the path minding its own business.  I do think it was pretty surprised to find a big dude there and it didn't waste any time getting the hell out of there.


However, this encounter did confirm my feelings about always carrying in the woods.  It was my first elk trip, and I debated about bringing the pistol at all, lots of walking and any weight you can shave off is helpful... I honestly thought it was possible I might see a black bear, but I really didn't think I would see a lion, and definitely not up close.  While I'm not saying it is common, I'm still gonna carry from now on.  FWIW my woods gun for CO is a Springfield XDM 3.8 .45 with underwood 255 grain +P hardcast FP.  

Sketchy weirdos and belligerent moose are more of an issue than the shy black bear.  Mountain lions are different. They wont attack large people, or groups, but it depends on the size of the individual, because sometimes they will attack small women, kids and less formidable dogs.  It's good shes got a Pit bull.  I recommend 9mm to backup the canine.

I saw a lot of mountain lion sign in the woods last hunting season.  Idk if they are as prevalent on that side of the Rockies as over here in SW Montana.  Cat poop can be ID'd by the strange shape, curly-cues and question marks, as well the tawny fur embedded within.  Cat tracks are distinctively huge and broad, short front to back with no claw marks.  Any carcasses in the area would also be a good reason not to hike a particular trail.  I hope this helps.