Thanks for posting this, good discussion. I carried a little .22 auto for a while, but I decided the extra weight wasnt worth it. Virginia has a pretty good CCW law, and I think most people assume everyone is packing, and that leads to a more polite group in the field. I have never felt uncomfortable from any two legged threat. And, of course, we dont have any grizz or lions, and we dont have any poisonous water snakes in this part of Va. My main safety concern is from a dog attack. I am thinking of picking up a small canister of UDAP, Cabelas has the 0.4oz sizes on sale, maybe I will pick up a can. It would probably give me a false sense of security, but it may keep me from having to wear out my fly rod on a dog....