Well, snakes won't bother you if you don't step on them, so it shouldn't be an issue, but in theory, yeah -- the Judge is in fact good for that - ideal in fact. Good thing, since that's the ONLY thing that it's really good for. So I'd say a 2" or 4" Judge... Oddly enough, with the Judge, my guess is that the longer the barrel, the worse (bigger) the shot pattern is, and the shorter the barrel, the tighter the pattern would be, since it would have less time to "spin out" in the rifling. So make that 2" judge. That makes me wonder - what if you just removed the barrel from a judge and shot it like that as a snake charmer? Ha.
But, for what it may be worth, I consider 3 guns to be "field handguns"
-Taurus 94 4" .22lr, for when big game hunting - mainly as a coup de grace arm, but also potentially for sniping squirrels while waiting for bigger game. I spose you could shoot back at crazed Hmongs in your stand who open fire with an SKS, if need be.
-Tanfoglio Witness Steel Hunter 6" in 10mm auto. Don't have it yet, but next on the list. Gen. purpose lower 48 carry, when woods methlab engineers and feral dog packs are the concerns. Maybe a random wolf or cougar.
-Redhawk 4.2" .45 colt - Alaska fishin sidearm; solely as backup to pepper spray. Wouldn't want to kill a brownie without a tag unless OC spray fails which ain't likely.
No, I don't carry all 3, nor would I ever carry more than 1. Most of the time, none of the above is the answer. And haven't even gotten to Alaska yet, so the Redhawk is mostly theoretical anyway. If I wasn't hunting and thus had no bow or longarm on me, and I was going on a wilderness excursion where danger might come into play, it'd be the Witness Hunter 10mm in lower 48, or Redhawk with +P .45 colts in AK. Even with a bow, I'd want the Redhawk in most parts of AK.
Oh, one more gun jumps to mind - the KT PMR-30. Ultralight backpacking gun, and not a terrible general purpose choice, espec. if going a looooong ways. But it's not the first choice for most purposes. For that matter, the FiveseveN would be a good long-trek choice.
and even the poisonous ones do far more good than harm.
Agreed.
Veamon: for the snakes that crawl around on the ground (no legs) I think trying to shoot them is wrong headed. WHY? Well by the time to draw and aim your gun the snake could bite you a half dozen times. You are far better off just to step back. When my older brother finally moved down to Dixie we went out for a hike. He was just ambling along not looking where he was going and there was a coral snake (Florida) in the trail. Well I decided I'd watch the snake and watch him and see what happens. He just kept walking along. When he got about 4' from the snake I grabbed his arm and told him he was about to walk over a coral snake. "You aren't in New York City anymore" says I.
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