Mohave, 6 rounds is enough. In fact it’s probably more then enough but the issue hinges on ability to use them.
I started carrying a handgun when I was 12 and for the vast majority of my time since I have carried handguns, as a Marine, as a Sheriff’s Deputy, as a body guard, as a Consultant to allied forces, as a hunter and outdoorsman and also just because I like to shoot. And because of that length of time and ammo shot I have become quite skilled in the use of handguns.
If we ever get to meet face to face I’ll tell you about the only time I ever needed more ammo, but I ran out for my rifle first and then for my 1911. And having only 7 round in each of my 3 pistol mags was not the problem. Running out 100% for every gun in reach was the problem.
Now I am the very first man to say you never have too much ammo, but having lived through the real-deal on several occasions I can also tell you that mag capacity in a handgun is never bad but not as large an advantage as one may think, simply because only hits count. You can never fire fast enough to make up for bad hit or misses. That’s why I said many posts ago, the issue is about shooting skill more then it is about raw power of mag capacity. Having 14 rounds in the gun and needed 1 or 2 is ok. Firing 14 misses and still needing a good hit is not ok. But in every case it’s 98% about the skill of the fighter and 2% about what he or she fights with.
As a side note; I have killed a lot of horses and cattle with handguns in my life, and also I have killed 11 elk, 14 antelope, 5 bears (all black bears, no grizzlies) and more deer then I can count, but that total is probably over 50. deer. All of the above game and nearly all my cattle and horse kills were 1 round each, except for 1 white tail deer I shot 2 times with a 45 ACP. The 1st would have done it but I didn’t know it at the time and because it was still standing I fired a 2nd round.
Large mag capacity is an excellent thing to have when fighting human enemies because many times there is more then 1 of them attacking you. But I feel 100% OK with 5 round in my 454 Casull or 6 rounds in my 357s, my 41s 44s and my 45s and in my 66 years of actually using handguns in the field, other then that one time I mentioned above, I have never needed even the 6 in the gun to do what I needed to do. Skill is the key. Your Redhawk is as good as you can get.
I’d never talk you out of a full-power 10 either, but if you shoot well you already have one of the best tools for the job ever made. I like to recommend 10s, not be because of capacity but because for the level of power you get from them, their kick is quite light as compared to a full power 44. So learning to shoot a 10MM auto well is easier then it is to learn to use a full powered 44 magnum well.
But if you already shoot the 44 well, you are not going to find many guns that will beat it.
(Unless you carry a rifle or carbine, or shotgun loaded with slugs)
Black bears and Grizzlies both are omnivores, but it must never be forgotten they are APEX predators. And dropping yoru guard is foolish. Most times by far, the bear doesn’t want to maul a human. Most times, but not all times.
A small bear, let say 150 pounds looks cute and non threatening to most people because of the way they move and act, but that can change in about 1/4 of a second. We should not go around in fear, but coming to believe they are totally safe is idiotic. If you came up on a 150 pound Rottweiler you did not know, would you do anything to provoke it or challenge it’s ground?
Well if we would not do it with a 150 pound dog why on earth would anyone do it with a 150 pound bear? Bears are stronger and faster then many dogs and can bite harder, and besides all that dogs don’t have large cat-like claws to grip you with.
Being cautious is not being paranoid at all. It’s being smart.
Here in Western Wyoming we have something we call the “Dinner bell effect”. Because hunting season means shots fired and dead animals are large (big deer and elk and moose) it’s not common to bring out your kills in 1 piece. Going back for a second pack full of meat is often necessary and sometimes a 3rd and a 4th trip. Bears know shots mean a gut pile and sometimes a carcass. So shooting to scare them away just flat doesn’t work around here. Police whistles will sometimes and so will those little air horns that sound so loud. Sometimes those do work, but shot have to opposite effect in many cases . Never try to scare a bear off around here with gun shots. It’s worthless if you are lucky.
If you are unlucky it can make the problem worse.
Firearms are a last resort. It means you made a mistake or were very unlucky. After hundreds of bear encounters, staying safe is bunch of learned behaviors.
You’ll be near some of the best kayaking waters in the west coast of the USA. Should be fun. Be careful about the political climate there however. In some ways it may be as bad as some of the places you have been in the past. Things around that area are quite different then they were 12-20 years ago. Sit-Reps and local intel are part and parcel when deployed overseas, but inside the USA such things fall outside policy guidelines as a rule because there was no need for most of our history. It was unnecessary.
That’s not necessarily true anymore.
There is nothing dangerous about the political climate of western WA. My family has been there since 1889. I just returned from Seattle and celebrating my Dad’s 100th birthday. They have traffic problems but it is still a great place.
