I'm surrounded by wolves, grizzlies, and cougars, and I can tell you now I'd much rather have a defender shotgun or my hunting rifle by my side. The only time you have to worry about the bears, other than in camp, is when you're sneaking through the timber, and most guys I know carry their rifles in their hands rather than on their shoulders for than anyways. I have seriously considered buying a defender shotgun or a snub nosed .44 for hiking around in the mountains out of hunting season, though. That is a whole different story, because we all know pepper spray only works part of the time, and its not going to even phase a bear that really wants you. Case in point, a guy here went through two cans on a bear either last year or the year before, and the bear only left after the guy's buddy showed up to help him ward the bear away. Some of my cousins have little kids, so it would be good to carry a weapon while I'm fishing with them in the mountains for mountain lions too.