Prefer a carbine or a short barreled shotgun in that situation. Force multiplier. A Handgun is last resort or as Colonel Cooper used to say; "You use a handgun to fight your way to a rifle"!GregH
You bet. A handgun if fine, but if I'm close enough to grab your rifle, I can grab your pistol, too. A quick thumb-break, and I own your pistol, and most likely, you. But if you grab my rifle, I've got another end to whip your obama with, so I can't see the tactical disadvantage of the long gun. And I'm not talking about a 26" barreled H&R single shot. A short, self defense shotgun or rifle. A carbine.
Colonel Cooper was an expert at pistol marksmanship, shooting, and tactical applications in all disciplines. He is THE American Standard to which all tactical pistol training is taught. He is a Marine, enlisted PRIOR to Pearl Harbor, and only retired by death in this world. He consided a handgun, despite his love of a good, large-bore, semi-auto, a stop-gap weapon. He believed the carbine to be the proper tactical weapon, and it was proven to him in combat in the Pacific Isles against Japanese entrenched soldiers. Nothing like live-fire to perfect shooting and survival tactics.
Close quarters, a long gun gives you a physical advantage, if you know how to use it. A handgun is fine. Many law enforcement agencies use them, as that's the most practical tool for their job. But what do those same officers carry in a rack above their seats? What do the SWAT and SORT teams use? What do Marine's use? No offense to those who prefer to carry a handgun, but I don't think they are tactically superior to a carbine. For self defense in a society that is afraid of publically displayed firearms, a hand gun is ideal for concealability and firepower. A great tool, but not the ultimate tool.
And BIG, that sounds more like a "Chitty" experience, to me!! :-laf Black bears don't really make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. But meet a big brownie or Grizz face up on a trail... . Oh, hell no!! It's like staring down the devil. They're big, they're deadly, and they know it!! Not many things I back down from, but I backed away slowly, in a very defensive posture!! All I had was my . 45 ACP, but you can bet it was drawn and centered!! Luckily, the bear just didn't give a dang that I was there. He'd already eaten a few tourists in the park, I guess. He walked up to where I had been standing, smelled the ground, and lumbered off through the trees. Didn't even look over his shoulder at me. That was in Yellowstone, just above the rockfaces below Mt. Washburn?, IIRC. I was hiking the area above the lake, just taking my mental vacation for the year... ... So much for sleeping that night!!!
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):-laf
