Single handgun for HD, CC and Hunting...

If you want one gun for three different jobs you either get one that is built to do the toughest of the jobs and compromise on the other two or you get one that is only marginal for at least one of its tasks.

A 4 to 6 inch 357 is a decent woods protection gun that can be used to harvest deer at 50 to 75 yards depending on loading and skill. It is a good self defense round but it will normally penetrate a man sized target. It is adequate for home defense, unless you expect hordes of zombies, though it is likely to penetrate through its target and several walls. That makes it a bit dicey for home defense unless your neighbors are some distance from you.
A 38 Special and 9mm fall into the same range of effectiveness and both are less than I would call ideal for self defense or woods carry. The 9mm has the benefit of more rounds and if you are capable it can be used for camp meat and fending off coyotes and low initiative wolves.
Anything more powerful than the 357 becomes too much gun (I don;t believe I just said that) for use in the tight quarters of urban and suburban life.
I prefer to have a very different gun for home defense but the 357 Ruger is the one I carry in the city or in the woods.
 
I'm changing my answer from a 686+ with a 2.5"-3" barrel to a 686+ with a 4" barrel.

Out of CC, HD, and hunting, hunting is probably the only time you'll ever shoot it (not counting practice). So, it would be a little more difficult to carry, but would be much more practical for hunting.
 
In my case, I would no doubt choose my standard, large-frame, aluminum framed, blued Ruger Blackhawk, 4.62 inch, 45 Colt/acp. It does not conceal easily on my frame but it is my best choice to cover all the bases in the original question. It is probably my favorite handgun.

I have to admit that the guys who are choosing some form of 10mm auto may have the best argument for the question as posed. :)
 
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Not the biggest Glock fan in terms of how they feel in my hand or how they look but one thing is certain they are absolute tanks when it comes to reliability. So I would probably go a Glock 20 or 29 since 10mm is also a very good cartridge for just about everything since it can be loaded light or hot. A Colt Delta Elite would be really nice too though. Or a Sig P220 in 10mm.


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For me that is a little simpler since I don't hunt.

One gun suitable for home defense and CCW. Can it be anything or just something I have? Overall type won't matter, but specific choice, if I had to sell everything I might take some of that money for a higher end example.

It would be almost a flip of the coin between a 3" K-frame or L-frame .357mag, or a larger compact auto pistol in 9mm or .45ACP. For the pistol it would be between a SIG P229 in .40 (no longer owned) or 9mm (don't have one), my CZ P01, a CZ PCR (don't own one), or a Commander sized 1911 (if I keep what I have it is my 1st gen S&W 1911SC, if I bought something new it would be a Les Baer or Wilson).

For bear defense, I could be OK with the auto since, despite all the time I spend camping, I've never once had to use a gun against a bear. I'd feel fine with bear strength pepper spray being my only real option (and there is always the hard cast lead Outdoorsman rounds from Buffalo Bore in most calibers). If I had to pick a gun with bear in mind, my choice is easier since the 3" .357mag is the only real option out of my choices. I'd likely keep my current S&W 65LS, but a 7-shot 686Plus would be tempting.
 
I use a 642 revolver for concealed carry. Other stuff is too big. For home defense and hunting I would prefer a 6" .357.
 
We need to know (1) what you plan to hunt and (2) how much you can reliably conceal and comfortably walk around with all day. It's possible that a few guns will end up in the intersecting zone between those two but this could be a tall order.

On the first topic, it might be worth specifying whether you mean recreational handgun hunting or helping out in an emergency where you end up stranded in the wilderness with your daily carry.
 
If you were to pick a single handgun for Home Defense, Concealed Carry and Hunting, what would it be?
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I'm going to re-answer in the spirit of the question. Since I don't hunt, I'll assume I'm advising someone new to handguns who doesn't have the budget to buy several guns right off but will probably buy more later (or has a wife/husband who will only allow one gun in the house) but wants the gun to be appropriate for as many uses as possible.

I'd suggest a 4" medium frame .357mag revolver, preferably the re-introduced S&W 66, and here is why...

For home defense a .38spl revolver is a terrific choice. Of course, a .357mag can fire .38spl. The 4" barrel gives more practical accuracy than a snub.

For carry, a 4" barrel medium frame revolver may not be ideal, but in an IWB holster it will work. I'd normally prefer an L-frame for the extra round of the 686 Plus, but without other guns to choose from for different situations, shrinking it as much as possible would be idea.

So, why not the 2.75" 66, a prior generation 2.5" or 3", or a 2.5" or 3" L-frame? Because now hunting is in the picture. The extra 1-1.5" of barrel in the 4" barrel will give needed velocity when hunting bigger game, and needed practical (quick) accuracy when hunting smaller game. I'd go .357mag because with heavy loads you can hunt most N.A. large game with it (though some state laws may be in the way), and with downloaded .38spl 148gr wadcutters you can still hunt the smallest of game.

All in all, it is just the most versatile of platforms for a one gun for everything gun. If you were to hunt but only small game I'd go to a 2.5-3" revolver (better for carry), if only large game then I'd switch to the .44mag L-frame S&W 69 or .44mag Taurus Tracker loaded with .44spl for carry and HD and magnums for hunting (more effective for large game, and legal in all states). But with the variety of different loads that can reliably work, a revolver is the most versatile for a one gun for everything gun if you hunt.
 
Simple answer... going to be hard to conceal something you can reliably and ethically hunt with (depending what you're hunting, I've shot squirrels with a 9mm before :D )

So I would recommend this, with a trench coat to conceal carry, hahaha
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I'll go with the 3" stainless J-frame in .38 Special (60-4). It's actually what I have in the nightstand for home defense. With a good belt it's not a problem to carry. It's accurate enough for hunting these little Florida deer and we've seen what .38 Special does to an 800-lb wild hog.
 
You'll get tired of CCing a glock 20 pretty quickly. I did. I think you really need 2 pistols, one for CC/home defense and another hunting, but realistically not one pistol.
 
Elmer

In a revolver, I'm thinking that Elmer may have been on the right path. One of the round butt, N-frames, .44 mag, or .45 Colt, with the Mtn Gun treatment. A 4" barrel, slim profiled as in the Mtn Gun line. For CC minimalist grips, swappable for bigger ones for hunting or competition. Stainless steel to resist blood and sweat. Then I'd darken it with one of the coating shops. I'd dehorn the rear sights a bit or look after market for something sleeker and tougher than the standard factory target rear. In a .44 mag, I'd consider .44 Spls for SD, for hunting deer, hogs, size game, the magnums. The single action trigger will allow good field shooting. The DA is fast enough if practiced, for SD. An option on this theme might be one of the newer 5-shot, L-Frame .44s (M69?).

In an auto?. Glock, G20. Lighter, slimmer, tough, just enough power to hunt the critters listed. Lots of ammo in hand. Not a .44 certainly, but the equal of the .357 for sure power wise. I hate the triggers, and the factory sights aren't much either. Likely improve on both with aftermarket.

If I had to choose. Probably the Glock. But I wouldn't tell Elmer
 
Picking one gun for those three roles will likely cause at least one of three things to happen...

-not carry it due to weigh (people say they don't mind a heavy gun, but many get tired of it and stop carrying it)
-hunt with an ineffective handgun, possible wounding animals instead of killing them (that actually pisses me off... just saying; not just talking about caliber, but something smaller is harder to shoot)
-be uncomfortable with your home defense pistol (either too large of a caliber, no way to mount a light, or just a cumbersome weapon in that role)

I would at least break it down to two firearms, but three would be best. Find something comfortable, yet small/light enough to carry... J-frame, single stack 9mm or .380, etc.

If you wanted to combine the hunting and home defense, go with a Glock 20. 10mm is a very good hunting cartridge, and will get the job done in regards to defense... plus, you have a tail for a light.

If you can squeeze another gun, I'd get a revolver for hunting and a shotgun for home defense. Or a full size 9mm/.40/.45 for home defense and a bolt action for hunting.

One gun for multiple role like that usually requires a compromise in at least one role... sometimes all roles. I think most shooters have tried it, and got crappy results.
 
For those purposes, that pretty much makes it 357 or 10mm depending which platform you prefer. So for me my Kimber 10mm has performed each of these roles in 10mm. It is a wonderfully accurate target gun, I have taken deer with it, and have carried CCW.
 
If you were to pick a single handgun for Home Defense, Concealed Carry and Hunting, what would it be?
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The only pistol whose cartridge carries the variables in bullet-weight/styles and energy levels to handle all those tasks, and then some, is the 10mm Glock 20.

The G20 allows you to swap in a 6" or longer tube for hunting, but it's stock 4.6" barrel gives you better ballistics (fps/fpe) than the more compact G29 with its 3.8" barrel.

While not as concealable as the G29 for CCW, the G20 will carry better than the 6.2" G40 for that purpose. The G40 makes for an awesome dedicated "outdoor" and hunting gun, but it's simply too big to be practical for concealed OWB/IWB carry.

Now if open-carry is legal in your state, that's different. Then you could O.C. the G40 "cowboy"-style in a hip holster.

But for practical day-to-day CCW, and to retain the ballistic benefit of the 10mm cartridge, the G20 is a good compromise between the G40 and G29.
 
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