I would recommend a reasonably priced .22 revolver. The bullets are so cheap that you can shoot all day for just a few bucks and while I don't recommend it for a defense weapon, it is useful for protections against wild dogs, coyotes, and similiar varmits. Even for personal defense, I wouldn't want to be shot with one, even if it doesn't have the knockdown punch of a 38 or 357.

I'd suggest a 9mm Glock. Reasonable price, good reliability, and fairly accurate. Also a clip loaded weapon is easier to reload than a revolver.

Any cheap revolver or a spendy semi-auto for reliability. The calibre will depend on your physical prowess...a .22 is weak, but far better than a .45 if you can't hold on to the recoil of the more powerful guns...spend some time at the local shooting range, rent some different kinds to try out, and settle on whatever the biggest one is that you can comfortably control...then decide if you want the cheap reliability of a revolver in that calibre, of if you have the bux0rz for a higher capacity semi-auto that is of excellent quality. <edit due to a very valid comment posted shortly after I answered> *************RUN AWAY FROM CHEAP SEMI-AUTOS*****************</edit> unless you have a good throwing arm to knock out assailants by throwing the gun at them when it jams.

I'll post my answer here that I posted elsewhere: Almost any .22 pistol will serve you well for this, both revolver and semiauto. Personally, I'm partial to the .22 magnum round and I have an AMT .22 magnum semiauto pistol with a 6 inch barrel that I carry while I'm fishing/hunting/hiking for just the reasons you mention. It's slim, it's light, it's VERY accurate, and it has all the power I need as an all-purpose target/varmit/self-defense round. The gun is still available new and you can check it out at these links: http://www.gunblast.com/Paco_22AutoMag.htm http://www.highstandard.com/ Ruger makes a .22 revolver whic comes with two cylinders chambered for the .22LR or the .22 magnum. It is a single action pistol, but still a fine one. You can use the .22LR cylinder for the ultimate economy in inexpensive target shooting and swap cylinders for the .22 magnum when you need something more powerful. http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAFamily There are a variety of other pistols, of course, like those chambered for the .380 or 9mm. There are many different makes and models of these which should suit your needs, but would be more expensive to shoot than a .22 would be. Check out the magazine stands for the annual Gun Buyer's Guide. This is a catalog style magazine which lists all kinds of makes and models of handguns, rifles, and shotguns. There are pictures, descriptions, and the SRP listings for each. (Which I've always found to be a little on the high side of what you can guy a new one for.) And here's a picture of my favorite little pistol (mentioned above): . .