John,
I do tend to fish in VERY remote areas where encounters could be more likely and obviously more dangerous. My ending thought on this is: I own, I can, there just MAY be a need, so WHY NOT?
I do also carry the UDAP canister which, if there were circumstance and time , I would use first.
This is my new "fail safe" combo. The S&W 629 44 mag and the Nacho seasoning
And I almost forgot THIS encounter of a tiger and snow leopard, thankfully they were asleep
Mark
PS: My vest also contains a whistle with compass ( Cracker Jack prize but...)