I have carried a S&W Model 18, 4" .22 mag in a shoulder holster when deer hunting in VT. I used it mostly to give the coup-de-grace on a downed deer that was still alive but needed a finishing shot to put it down for good. I didn't like using the rifle for that shot, and many times I was hunting with a muzzle loader and didn't want to reload. One time I had to use the hand gun to ward of some aggressive coyotes (or wild dogs, not sure which) that surrounded me when I was walking out of the woods at dusk.