Is the kit gun dead?

No, Kit guns are not a thing of the past, at least in some areas of the USA. L-KillKenny is correct, most folks seem intent on making anything less than a .357 Mag as a Kit gun, appear as ineffective and weak.

In Maine, I know many people who carry a handgun on camping/fishing/hiking trips "just in case". Not having run into any Grizzly bears in Maine (yet....LOL!), I have found that I am content w/ either my Interarms Walther PPK/S and 2 mags, or my Beretta 84FS and a single 13 shot mag, loaded with Cor-Bon .380 ACPs. Both are lightweight, handy, accurate and dependable, and with a well placed shot or two in a vital area, will drop any small game, varmint or predator in this region.

If I was in Grizz country, or even close; a 12 Ga pump w/slugs would be my "Kit gun".

Up here, our Black Bears are very timid most of the time, although there are a few reports of them attacking folks, it is often a mother protecting her cubs, not out stalking humans. I am MUCH more concerned about rabid foxes, raccoons, coyotes, and "Wackos" on 2 legs than Black Bears.
 
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kit gun

I carry my PT22 when fishing, and screwing off. Bigger guns are extensions of manhood, in the same way some men have to have expensive sports cars and monster trucks.
 
I carry my PT22 when fishing, and screwing off. Bigger guns are extensions of manhood, in the same way some men have to have expensive sports cars and monster trucks.
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So...you're saying I like S&W K frame .22's because I have a little winkie? :eek: You been talking to my ex wives?
 
Kit Guns?

They are not a thing of the past and are still pretty expensive when you can actually find one.
I have a Smith model 34 (.22LR) with 4" barrel and love it. But my "real" kit gun that I usually take with me on camping trips, etc. is a S&W model 51 (.22 magnum) with 4" barrel. I don't know if you can officially call it a kit gun (being it is a .22 mag) but it is just about the same size as the model 34. They are still very popular and don't stay on Gunbroker.com very long when put up for auction.
 
Great thread. Contributors have done an excellent job of representing the Kit Gun concept, which was quite popular during the 60's-70's, in photos posted here. High Standard even got into the game with several variations on their Sentinel model. Believe I had one dubbed the 'Camp Gun' or some such, but unlike most original HS handguns, mine was not accurate.

These days my kit/camp gun duties are filled quite handily by light cast bullet loads for whatever centerfire handgun I would have been carrying anyhow.
 
Kit Guns

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I still carry the model 34 in the woods. The 43 I sold a few years ago.
 
I had one a Ruger Single-Six. I now carry a Ruger SP101 3" 357. I will carry my Walter P22 as it is light accurate enough and fun to shoot. I'd like a S&W classic looking 22, but I think they are too pricey. I've had mixed results with Taurus. I might pick up a little 22 from them, but get scared off reading threads on them.
 
I think typical thinking has shifted from the older concept of "kit gun" - a compact .22 used for getting food - to "woods gun", which is typically something in .357 or larger, presumably used for 2 & 4 legged defense.

I like the Kit Gun idea; you could knab yourself quite a bit of small game with a cheap box of .22 ammo, and the gun itself is quite easy to carry. You could do the same with a magnum woods gun, but it seems pretty overblown for that. And loud. If packing a woods gun, I'd be much less likely to shoot the thing unless I were being attacked or starving.

There are still some longarm kit guns out there, right? The Marlin Papoose? The AR-7?
 
Here's my set.......

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The 4" SP101 is a frequent fishing companion lately. Since some of the public fishing areas here are on game lands covered by NCWRC rules we can't carry above a .22LR as a sidearm during closed seasons on big game. So, once I get to the fishing grounds I put the .357 in a case and the .22LR in the same holster. Works out well......
 
Sorry - no photo - but my Model 63 is definitely not dead. It is, however, a safe queen (more or less). I searched at gun shows for years trying to find one but finally found a new one at one of the last local small gun shops in my area perhaps 15 years ago. My difficulty in finding one is one of the reasons for its safe queen status. :)
 
While I understand the concept of the kit gun I just can't bring myself to carry a .22 as my sole armament. The closest I can come is when I carry my old 2" M&P .38 with wadcutters when bummin in the woods on my property. I always have a small .22 auto in my pocket but that serves as back-up. Just paranoid I guess.
 
When and where I grew up, almost everybody had a "Kit Gun", even if they didn't call it that. It was a basic tool for farmers, ranchers and folks who did things outdoors a good deal.

It was almost always a RF, usually a revolver of some sort, and could usually be found in a tacklebox, jacket or overalls pocket, on a trouser belt, hanging from the seat of a tractor or an a nail in the barn.

It might've not been the perfect tool for a particular task, but it would serve at least tolerably well for most of the tasks that might normally come up, and it was generally considered in much the same way as a hammer or screwdriver: just one of those basic tools everyone should have around somewhere.

I've still got a couple myself: An older Taurus M94, 4" stainless and a blue New Model Bearcat. The one my grandfather had was an ancient H&R Sportsman (pre-M99) that was kept on a nail in the feed locker out in his barn.
 
it's still a valid concept.

A 22LR or 22 magnum is ideal for random plinking, shooting small game for the stewpot, dispatching snakes, and signaling if you get lost. And the ammo is cheap and lightweight.

As to defense against humans, it's not the best choice if you actually have to shoot someone... but it's better than a rock. And most encounters won't go beyond the "Oh, s**t, he's got a gun!" stage anyway. Even if you are required to shoot, even that little 22LR will re-align somebody's priorities in a hurry... "I've been shot" takes precedence over "give me your wallet" any day of the week.

Kit guns are cool.

--Shannon
 
while not a true kit gun, being a 6" K-frame, i love my model 17. i want to retire it, but can't. the wife and boy love shooting it too much. it's definitely a good choice for tromping around in the woods here in illinois.

would love to add a 34 to the collection!
 
I had an S&W 43 for a while; one of the many guns I sold, without now remembering why, and of course regretting in retrospect. Maybe it was because I got a M63?

Anyway, as I saw it, it was ideal for carrying around and general plinking; ammo costs were negligible, and no one was much afraid of encountering raving psychopaths in the woods. Just a fun piece.

I have a pair of first model Colt Woodsmen, 4 1/2 and 6" tubes. They were pretty much the archetypal kit guns, I think, and still beautiful pistols, if on the heavy side. Built to last.

I have a little trouble with the thought that you need a 44 magnum in the woods, at least this side of the Mississippi. But your mileage may vary.

FWIW, I love 22s, for the entertainment value, and keep a safe full just for enjoyment. Lots more fun than blasting away with a hand-cannon, IMO.
 
I try to carry my Ruger Mark II bull barrel as much as possible. I love having a .22 pistol and it's fun to hunt small game with it using open sights. Good marksmanship practice.

When I'm alone in the deeper woods though I prefer my .357 Mag 4" 686 for a variety of reasons. I don't usually think much about it when I'm fishing, most of the places I fish are pretty well populated. I just carry my normal ccw gun, my XD9 Service usually. I suppose if I was fishing some remote place in AK I'd want a 10mm G20 or something.

I really love carrying the .22 sidearm though, it's such a great tool and I notice a lot of old timers favor it. I know a guy from Montana who has a Ruger Single Six with a really long barrel. That's pretty much all he packs around when we're in the sticks.
 
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