Piece for Hiking

[leprechaun]

Looking for advice on a carry piece for the backcountry. I have probably hiked 3500 or so miles in the past few years, encountered many bears, but typically don't carry more than a 2-3" knife.

I have begun hiking with a small dog in wolf/cougar/bear territory and have considered getting a piece to carry. I am thinking it needs to be light enough that I am not thinking about it the whole time I'm going up the mountain.

Recently sold a G19. Maybe I'll try to buy that back. Just kinda curious what folks recommend.

Thanks

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[RVTECH]

I have begun hiking with a small dog in wolf/cougar/bear territory

What is the specific location of this 'territory' ?

 

[leprechaun]

northeast OR

 

[mrblond]

If you are worried about bears and such, id go 10mm in whatever piece you may want. Personally, I use a Glock 20

 

[leprechaun]

If you are worried about bears and such, id go 10mm in whatever piece you may want. Personally, I use a Glock 20

Not really worried about bears... hell maybe I'm not worried at all, probably just looking for an excuse to get a pistol!

 

[mrblond]

In that case, i would recommend a nice Wilson Combat or a Nighthawk 1911

 

[Camelfilter]

FN 5.7.

Very light & plenty of capacity.

20rds standard magazine.

Easy follow up shots. Actually takes a little getting used to not overcompensate.

Can carry an extra magazine or 2 plus an extra box of 50rds, at about the same weight as 48rds of 9mm in magazines. So 90rd to 110rds vs 48.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Everyone should own a 5-shot .38.

Here's an excellent thread on mountain lions oh my! lol

Mountain Lion Defensive Pistol

 

[Joe13]

Gonna get 100 answers.

I'm a .357 fan myself.

 

[Bill Siegle]

Ruger makes the LCR in 38 and 357mag that are easy on the hip. I prefer the 3inch barreled 38special myself for hiking. With the right ammo it would serve you well.

 

[The Heretic]

Something lightweight so you are not tempted to leave it behind.

My two favorites for simple backcountry carry are revolvers - either my S&W 329PD in .44 magnum, or my S&W model 43 kit gun in .22 LR

Both are lightweight. The .22 has the advantage of being able to carry 50 rounds of lightweight ammo in little space. The .44 magnum has the advantage of being very versatile - being able to handle anything from a rabbit to a brown bear.

 

[coyote223]

S&W 329PD in a good chest holster.

 

[FullMetalJerk]

.25AUTO. It's all about shot placement. And you can carry 50 of 'em in a fanny pack.

 

[Joe13]

Or go with something for every occation, a 12ga shotgun

 

[ZS27]

I dont go into the woods with anything less than a 375 Holland & Holland.

ya never know when sasquatch will try and rob you





on a more serious note the the right loaded 9mm or anything bigger will serve you fine around here

 

[cpy911]

.357 with bear medicine for the win.

 

[Connor Murphy]

Something lightweight so you are not tempted to leave it behind.

My two favorites for simple backcountry carry are revolvers - either my S&W 329PD in .44 magnum, or my S&W model 43 kit gun in .22 LR

Both are lightweight. The .22 has the advantage of being able to carry 50 rounds of lightweight ammo in little space. The .44 magnum has the advantage of being very versatile - being able to handle anything from a rabbit to a brown bear.

I pity the killer rabbit that runs across you and that 329.

 

[Fast Eddie]

I'm in the .357mag camp too, great woods caliber, get enough barrel that you can shoot confidently with it, get hard cast ammo for the woods.

I have carried a 9mm, and a .45 ACP in the woods. Make sure they are zingers.

I want to add .40S&W, .357Sig, 10mm, .44mag .454 Cassul, .45lc, .460S&W and .500$&W to my collection so I have a few more wood guns too. ;-p

 

[jrd541280]

In n.e. oregun? Probably a really loud whistle. If brown and her group stay in, all you're gonna be able to have and there will be a run on them.


MandP Shield with good hollow points.

 

[The Heretic]

I pity the killer rabbit that runs across you and that 329.

Lightweight (165gr or lighter) hard cast lead wadcutter (with gascheck) or FMJ over a light load of Trail Boss. Goes right through without expanding.

You can cast your own using zinc alloy. Zinc is much lighter and harder than lead. You might also be able to find cast bullet molds lighter than 160-165 grains, or you might be able to find sabots for .357 bullets in .429 outer diameter, in which case you could use bullets down to 90 grains or so. If you find a source of .355-357/.429 sabots please let us know.

I have some cast bullet loads from when I was in college - I forget the weight, but they were very accurate in my DW revolver. They were GC SWC (I think 240 gr.) hard cast, over 6 to 8 grains of bullseye, with dacron filler on top of the powder to hold it in place. I don't recall chronographing them, but I would bet they are about 800 fps. Now that I have some Trail Boss I will try to work up some light bullet hard cast loads or maybe FMJ FP loads.

The difference between a .357 and a .429 bullet is just 0.072" or 7 hundredths of an inch - not even a tenth of an inch - so kept to a low velocity, with a non-expanding bullet, the .429 bullet doesn't do that much more damage in a small critter like a rabbit (although I would admit I have yet to shoot a rabbit with a .44).