What gun am I looking for?

[hillman]

Thought I would ask the experts. For my next purchase I am looking for a pistol primarily for camping and hiking. Preferably a revolver, .357 or .44, but also small enough to conceal if I choose to. I am a big guy and have no trouble concealing a full size 1911. I haven't had a 357 since I was 15 so I am not familiar with what models might fit this bill and what might be readily available in Mass. So, what gun am I looking for?

 

[ColdDayInHell]

You could get a compact 1911 but it depends on how much you want to conceal. A .357 is pretty hard to conceal for me IMHO but it could work for you. If I went camping I'd want a big caliber and lots of rounds. Like a semi-auto in 9mm or .40. I'm sure you'll be able to pick a great gun from the NES posts to follow. Good luck.

A Glock 21 could suit you well. 13 rounds of .45 ACP if you can get preban mags but 10 founds of .45, forget about it.

 

[Rmccar4318]

Ruger Alaskan either .44 or .454, they work for me!!

 

[mac1911]

how about a S&W 640 snubby or a older air weight model. pretty easy to conceal no fun to shoot full power 357s for more than a dozen rounds though, at least for me.

 

[el duderino]

Solo camp/hike or with people? if youre with people then a .22 will be sufficient.

 

[Scarecrow]

Taurus tracker 627. 7 shot 357 mag, the one I fired had a 6 inch barrel and was easily sub 1 inch groups at 25 feet and sub 5 inch at 75 feet. YMMV, obviously

 

[Tape Measure Pickle Wheel]

I'd say a Ruger Alaskan .44/.454 or a Ruger SP101 .357

Solo camp/hike or with people? if youre with people then a .22 will be sufficient.

Awesome

 

[Kicker96FS]

Sig P239 in .357. Conceals nice and has the stopping power you are looking for.

 

[Radio]

The J-Frame S&W 640 is the obvious choice but a L-Frame 686 would be nice as well and can be found in 7 shot variety giving you a couple of extra rounds.

 

[Master Shooter]

I dunno about a revolver. A high-capacity pistol would be better suited for a bear.

I'd suggest something in .45 or .40, with FMJ ammunition. A glock would be great. Full-size if you don't care about concealment will give you a LOT of ammo on an accurate and reliable platform that a bear/moose won't live to stand through.

 

[peshooter]

Where are you camping and what sort of hiking are you doing?

Remember that your brain is still the most important thing you will bring.

Don't plan to get yourself out of any real trouble with a gun. You aren't going to go rambo on a gang of armed pot-growing criminals with your 6-shot revolver, and do everything you can do to avoid an aggressive bear situation in the first place... Really shouldn't be too hard 99.9% of the time in the northeast. Be familiar with how bears behave and how to tell whether a bear thinks you're food or thinks you're a threat it needs to deal with, and how you should react in either situation.

Even if you have that large caliber rifle in your hands, it's no guarantee of safety. In one study that was done that examined 269 bear attacks on hunters armed with guns, 56% of the hunters were injured or worse. Guess it's pretty hard to hit a bear charging at you at 30mph, especially when you're not fully prepared for it and the adrenaline is on full blast.


I don't mean to stir up a flame war over whether you should carry in the woods or not - it's a personal thing and it also depends a lot on where you're going and what you're doing. But I thought I would add that among my friends there is about 10,000 miles of combined hiking experience all over the USA (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, etc). None of them ever carried a gun, though they carried bear spray in some areas.

I don't carry a gun in the woods, but if I was going to I would probably get one of those sweet j-frame S&W 357's with the scandium frame... This isn't Alaska, and 2-legged critters are much more likely to be a problem than 4-legged ones. (well, that's not entirely true: There's a reasonable chance a black bear comes through your campsite at night hoping to steal your food, but the odds of being attacked by one are still very slim. Only 63 fatal black bear attacks in the past 110 years...)

 

[PATRON]

S&W 500

 

[hillman]

Thank you all for the replies. I believe I have found a nice Ruger SP101 for sale on the classifieds here that will fit the bill. I normally carry a Sig Sauer 1911 when we camp but it tends to get super dirty if it rains, hence wanting a stainless revolver.