I would bring the .357 S&W. I am from the school of thought where it is better to be safe than sorry. I know that the last thing I want to be doing instead of shooting the mountain lion thats chewing on my skull is wondering why in the hell I didn't bring my .357 on the hunt with me. It doesn't weigh you down that much, and if you need it you will be glad that you have it. That is just my opinion. I know that I am bringing my .357 bear hunting with me this year, and it also goes on all of my wild boar hunts. I believe it was the movie "Tombstone" where they all laughed at the one armed man for having three guns. His response was, "I'm not gonna get killed for a lack of shooting back" and thats just my thought too when it comes to a back up weapon! Some people will laugh, but I may even bring a small sword with me as well. I'm not going down without a fight!