Help for choosing S&W for protect/hunting

M

Monty S

Inactive
Hi all,

I am German, living in Africa. So I never was privileged to own handguns. Here I have at least a hunting rifle in 30-06.

The thrill is that I have to fly money transports and the company applied for permissin to carry a revolver.

For very personal reasons I want a S&W. Due to extended forests down here it should be suitable for hunting in case we go down (survival, not regularly).

Wha would you expiereced folks suggest?

I thougt of a 686, 5'' barrel, 1/2 lug, 7 rounds or of a 620. Any reason to stay with 6 rounds zylinders? Barrel length? Every comment is appreciated.

Thanks

Monty
 
Hey Monty. What you listed would be a good choice. Carry some 180gr. Partition Gold loads with you if you go down, and standard carry load for transports. Can you carry a shotgun? Slugs would be ideal for both scenarios.
 
Hi Mathew,
No, I do not own a shotgun. In addition, there is not much space in our Cessna. I am glad the company supports a wheelgun!
Thanks
Monty
 
My only qualms with what you are suggesting is that the 5" or longer barrels may be uncomfortable to carry. But they would tend to give you better accuracy and better performance than a 3" or 4" barrel, which tends to offset. Tough call on the barrel length. I would be comfortable with either a 6 or 7 round cylinder, either one would do.

One other thought: What part of Africa will you be frequenting? What sorts of hazards might you need to be protecting yourself from? I would say that since there are parts of Africa that have some large, dangerous wildlife that you might want to upsize the caliber to a .44 magnum or better, for better stopping power. If it were my choice, that is what I'd do. If you do want to stay with the .357, I'd go with the ammo suggestions that Matthew gives, or maybe use a heavy, 180 gr hard lead semi-wadcutter as the hunting/wildlife protection load.
 
Well, I am in Central Africa. There are wood elephants or may be gorillas. I would not like to shoot at elephants even with a .44mag and if I shoot a gorilla I will be killed by the goverment people afterwards. If they dont get me WCS or WWF will do the job!
Mostly, the gun will be for protection than for hunting. So I like to stay with .357.
Thanks for the ammo advice!
Monty
 
All I can say is that here in the Southeast US, the main backwoods threats are of the 2 legged variety, or are black bears, feral hogs and feral dogs. In my opinion, the .357 mag is plenty against the 2 legged variety and the feral dogs. The .357 is adequate against the feral hogs, but more is better. The .357 is marginal against the bears, thankfully they aren't all that common here in Ga. Oh, and snakes, but for the most part if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. There is abundant small game, and the main large game species is the whitetail deer for which the .357 is more than adequate. So, at least around here, the .357 is a good backwoods choice. If you have anything larger and tougher than black bears to worry about, you need to upgrade.
 
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