Is the kit gun dead?

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plom

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It seem like people doesn't speak so much of what was called "kit gun" some years ago. Back then it was comon to bring a 22 cal pistol or revolver it seem now that 22 LR is not "good enough" anymore for this task.
Any of you are using "kit guns" while on fishing or camping trip?
What do you guys use and why?
 
I've never heard the term, but if I were bringing a handgun for self defense purposes (whether vs. man or beast), I'd want something much more potent than a .22LR. If it were for small game hunting, I'd bring a rifle instead.
 
Kit guns are alive and well, as they say, but they don't get the attention they used to because they are no longer the niche item they once were. Now there is such a large selection of accurate, light-weight .22 handguns out there that it just doesn't raise the interest it used to. Couple that with the decline of hunting and fishing and the kit gun isn't the hot item of discussion it used to be.
 
I haven't heard that term in many years. I still have an old S&W 63 with 4" tube. It used to occupy space in my tackle box and duffle bag during hunting season. Carried shot shell for fishing to dispatch snakes, shorts for the alligator gars, hollow points for the nutrea rats. The little gun now has a nice space in the safe.
 
Any of you are using "kit guns" while on fishing or camping trip?
What do you guys use and why?
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I hadn't really thought of it as a kit gun, but I suppose that I use it as such anyway, when camping. I tote along my trusty 4" 686 loaded up with 180 gr LWFN hardcast handloads. Mostly as a last ditch defense against unwanted 4 legged guests, should it ever come to that. Something about having a bear in the tent doesn't set all that well with me or SWMBO. When I'm fishing (not camping), I just carry my usual CCW. Keltec PF-9.
 
I have a .22 revolver (Taurus 94 5") but my fishing gun is a Ruger SP101 3" .357.

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Kit-guns are still popular.S&W re-introduced the s/s model 63 kit-gun a year or so ago but with a 5" bbl instead of the original 4".The older blued/nickled model 34/22 kit-gun (2" or 4") is not only a popular shooter but collectors grab them up quickly.Some people buy Tarus model 94 revolvers saving some money vs. buying the original item.tom.

OOPS! Forgot to mention airweight and .22 Magnum versions as well.tom.
 
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I own a S&W mod 34 kit gun in .22lr, 4" bbl. nickel plated. It is absolutely beautiful but I don't carry it into the woods as it was intended. Just too damned pretty.
 
I had a smith kit gun years ago and it was a well made, nice, small plinker. Perfect for camping or walking in the woods.

Now my go to woods/camping gun is a buckmark - either a 4" micro or a 5.5" camper model.
 
Here's the kicker on the 43 above. It was given to me by my father who is the head of an estate of a friend. I was also given quite a few rarer guns. The above is one of them.

jlwman ,that is the cleanest 43 I've ever seen.tom.
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Number 1. If you look at the second pic you can see a faint scratch in the pin holding in the barrel.

Numver 2. The grips are aftermarket. When the grips were put on the screw didn't get tightened enough (this is what I assume anyway) and everytime the gun was fired the grips rubbed against the bluing underneath. If I remove the grips, a good hunk of the bluing has been rubbed off. It's a really smooth grayish shilver look. I would have put the original grips back on, but the missing blue kept me from doing so.

Actually I was just playing with my kit gun and it looks like if I put the original grips back on and order a set of Tyler T-Grips that the only exposed metal without bluing on it would be where the serial number is located.
 
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Kit guns are still made (and S&W still calls them "kit guns"). However, the problem is the cost- they cost just as much as the equivalent frame size .38spl. I'd love to buy one of the things, but I just have a hard time justifying $600+ for the S&W.
 
>>I'd love to buy one of the things, but I just have a hard time justifying $600+ for the S&W.<<

Then you're better off buying a nice used Model 63 or the like.
 
The kit gun is a long ways from dead. They just are not cool. Which means in the internet world they don't get talked about much. On the internet, it takes a min of a .357 to do anything but punch paper.

Also has to do with the more gun control laws today. A gun in the tackle box will get you in hand cuffs in much of the US. Iowa included.
 
I've got a couple of guns that fit the "kit" gun bill but my Ruger Bearcat is the "perfect gun when I don't want to carry a gun" gun. It does get carried quite a bit when I'm fishing and hunting.

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(The Single-Six is my wife's. I suppose it would work also.)

The H&R 650 might be a little too big to be a proper "kit gun" but it would work. Of course they're not made anymore, but there are probably a bunch of them still floating around. In an Uncle Mikes nylon holster, it should be a good all weather, go anywhere gun.

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Here's mine. It's even named "Camper." It's got a 4" barrel but it's still very, very portable. It's an accurate sucker, too.

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