Which Handgun For Any Circumstance?

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dgludwig

New member
Just for fun, say you were going to be exiled alone to a dark, uninhabited (by humans, at least) Guam-size island for an unknown period of time. Also unknown is what kind of creatures there are that might be living on this Island of Gloom, nor how many there are of them. You might need to kill them to eat or kill them to keep them from eating you. You are able to take all the gear you think you might need to survive on the Island of Gloom, so long as you can carry it all on your person. You can take one firearm and it has to be a handgun. One caliber only (no auxilary cylinders or .22rf conversion kits for autos permitted). No spare parts allowed and no gunsmithing services available. This handgun has to be tough enough to endure potentially hard usage without breaking; powerful enough to take down beasts of unknown size and temperament and compact enough to not be a burden on treks of unknown durations. Oh, and you're limited to five pounds of ammunition, not counting magazines or speedloaders.

Revolver (sa/da?) or semi-auto (sa/da/dao?)-be brand specific. What barrel length? What finish on it? Which sights? Blackpowder or smokeless? What cartridge? Which bullet(s)? What kind of holster? A lanyard (finally :)) have a legitimate use? Any other inputs?

It'd be not only interesting to know what handgun you'd choose but also why you chose it. This is an effort to go a little past the "if you could only have one handgun" exercise a lot of us like to play. This one handgun has to do it all and do it all well in terms of durability, reliability, power and portability. For those that want to "play", I suspect there will be a common type and form to emerge in time that most will agree on. I think I know what that might be but I'll keep it to myself for now. :)
 
I'll play along!

Ruger GP100 stainless .357 Magnum with 5" barrel and Uncle Mike's Sidekick holster with .38 Special and .357 Magnums loaded in speedloaders

I cannot think of a stronger, more reliable revolver [perhaps an Anaconda ;)]. The stainless steel construction along with the Kydex holster would be ideal in a saltwater marine enviroment with high-humidity and corrosive salt in the air

Would probably end up deaf from shooting .357s without ear protection..LoL
 
I'll play ...

S&W .357 mag / 6" barrel - probably an N frame - model 27 or 28....would do everything I need it to do.

Accuracy at relatively longer ranges / smooth trigger - useful inside of 15 feet if necessary. Durable, easy to maintain .... 158gr JHP bullets in a .357mag is about as close to a do everything round as I can imagine....
 
This is one of the easiest questions asked. The 357 magnum is by no doubt the BEST all around caliber for all things. Hunting, people, defense, offense, varmints, etc... It can take down deer and larger; wild pigs, protection against coyote or other bad things, and of course people. The only reason people have gone away for the 357 magnum is because some time in their life, someone conned them into believing that you had to have a Semi-Auto pistol, because you HAD TO HAVE more than 6 rounds. There is no doubt for me that if there was some law that said you were only allowed 1 handgun and a 2nd or more wasn't allowed under any circumstance, I would sell my sig p220, my kimber, my dan wesson, and everything else; and keep my S&W Model 13-1 357 magnum.

Plus, beyond all the other reasons I mentioned, at 2am when you are still half asleep when someone breaks in, a 357 magnum revolver is simply a better gun for home defense than a semi-auto. When your brain isn't working at 100%, a revolver allows you to concentrate entirely on the threat and not the pistol. Don't have to worry about chambering if needed, safeties, ejection problems, etc... Some people think they can automatically handle these situations. At 2am when half dead to the world, they have no idea what they think they can do. While the vast majority of my guns are semi's; 45, 9mm, 380, 32,.... my number one home defense, in the bedroom, is the S&W Model 13-1 357 magnum revolver.

Plus, if you were on this so called island or situation, with the 357 magnum revolver, you've automatically doubled your chances of getting ammo if needed. You can also shoot 38spl. So, you can have a gun as weak as a 380, all the way up to the hottest 357 magnum which will do more than ANY traditional semi-auto out there.
 
Agree completely with the 357 revolver. Either make mentioned would do the trick.
In the 5# of ammo I would like to include full power 357 loads for the most fearsome of beasts, lighter 38 Spcl loads for smaller, edible creatures, and even some shot cartridges to collect birds, etc for food.
 
I'd go with a stainless GP100, too. But make mine a four-inch. Easier to carry than a longer barrel, and still accurate enough.
 
I'll play this game, too.

Maybe an FN Five-seveN or the soon to come Kel-Tec PMR-30. When it comes right down to it, 5lbs of ammo isn't very much at all. In your "stranded on a deserted island" scenario and imposed restraints, I guess I'll have to weigh the power of caliber versus the limited supply allowed and opt for a smaller round.
 
This will quickly become a very boring thread with everyone answering a .357!

Of course, a nice Gp100 in 4" barrel would be right up there on my list. I really do need to add one of these to my personal collection soon.

Just to mix it up, I am going to say a Ruger 4" GP11 or 5" Blackhawk in .327 Mag. With a 7 or 8 round capacity, it makes up for the lack of initial stopping power with easy follow-up shots, while still having ample power for a wide range of targets. With the ability to handle 5 cartridges, ammo scavenging is boosted, especially with .32's prevelance in history (in case there are any old abandoned things to dig through.) One last bonus, the ammo is smaller and lighter than .357's, allowing for more rounds, which can be of any power level from weak .32 S&W to .327 +p magnums.


Alternatively, a good .45colt revolver. Just about any SAA style gun, or a few select DA's such as Redhawk or 625Mountain Gun.
 
Obviously the revolver is the better choice. No magazines or brass to lose in the brush. Simple and reliable. DA/SA is up to the individual user, I think.

While some will go with the GP100, 686 or an N-Frame, I'd probably stick with a Model 66. It's durable enough to last and is light enough to carry all day. The only question is a six vs. four in barrel. I'd probably opt for the 6-inch for all the velocity I can get.

I'd also want a large survival type knife (or two) to make into a spear. That will work for hunting animals you can get close to and save ammo.

For 5-lbs of ammo, with 158gr bullets, you're not going to be carrying more than about 180 rounds. For 125gr you can get about 225 rounds. If your "game" animals turn out to be decent sized - small pigs - you might feed yourself for 3 days at a time with one shot.

The N-Frames and L-frames run around 40oz which will get tiresome to carry all the time. For the weight savings, I'd make it up in Deet because in the tropics you're more likely to get "eaten" by mosquitos and bugs than large critters.
 
I would go with the 9mm myself.


The HK MP5 is the weapon of choice for anti-terrorist teams. It is more complex in design and expensive than comparable submachine guns, however the MP5 is a highly accurate weapon and ideal for close combat situations. The MP5 can fire 800 rounds per second or 13 rounds per second with its SEAR.

The Heckler and Koch MP5 rifle is an unusual submachine gun (SMG). In most SMG's, a bolt travels forward inside, strips a round from the magazine and fires. This movement alters the balance of the rifle making it less accurate. The MP5 fires from a closed and locked bolt using the same blowback action as the popular HK G3 rifle. The advantage of this systems is that the HK MP5 is more accurate and safer to operate than other SMG's.

The MP5 fires the 9-mm Parabellum cartridge. Although, less effective than the .45 bullet, in a short range shoot out it is extremely lethal. It's advantages are more 9 mm ammo can be stored in the magazine and also be used as a pistol
Marine Force Reconnaissance units, Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Teams and Military Police Special Response Teams have used the MP-5 submachine gun until 1999 .

Now what do you think guy ????:rolleyes::cool:
 
The only reason people have gone away for the 357 magnum is because some time in their life, someone conned them into believing that you had to have a Semi-Auto pistol, because you HAD TO HAVE more than 6 rounds.
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You lose if you were counting on me.

I don't own a single centerfire semi-auto pistol, and I don't own a .357 mag, either. I carried and shot a .357 mag for many years, 'till I discovered the .45 Colt. The blast of a .357 mag is worse than any other handgun cartridge I've ever shot, and I don't always have hearing protection with me when I need a handgun; nor do I always have time to put plugs in, even if I do have them.

I carry a .38 special pretty much always, but I wear a .45 Colt when I may need something more than that (which is anytime I'm out in the hills or desert).

I have a few to choose from, but to answer the original question, I'd take a Ruger Vaquero (large frame) in .45 Colt.

Powerful enough to handle whatever I need to shoot with a handgun, fixed sights that won't come loose or break, and the moving parts are fairly simple to understand in case something needs fixed.

I've carried it a lot of years, over a lot of miles and it hasn't let me down. No reason to think it would perform any different on an island.

Oh, and it's stainless too. Saltwater, salty air and such on islands, you know.
 
Now what do you think guy ????
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I think you'd use all your ammo in about 30 seconds and then be left with a funny looking club.




It would be difficult, I think, to justify an auto over a revolver in this situation. You could make a pretty good case for bringing a small, hand held loading press. After all, if you only needed 50 cases, instead of 225 or so then you'd be saving a good amount of weight for bullets, powder and primers. I don't know what a 357mag case weighs but my 357sig cases weigh about 72gr each. That would equate to a weight saving of 1.8 pounds. That's a lot of bullets, primers and powder, comparatively.
 
Ammo all gone?

Thank you Peetzakilla for your fine 30 seconds. There was no mention of cannibals, even then you would be in the Crock-Pot shortly after your 30 seconds were up...
 
7" taurus tracker in .22lr. stainless if possible. when i run out of ammo, i have a deadly club

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reason, in a survival situation, i'm gonna be more concerned with hunting and feeding myself, than fighting off humans or huge grizzly bears. and if i am attacked, i can fend for myself in hurting my attacker to the point it no longer wants to attack me anymore
 
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I'm going for a .22 revolver,,,

Mainly because there's a whole lot more cartridges in 5 lbs of .22,,,
I might even specify .22 shorts with an 8" to 10" Ruger Single Six revolver.

All my father would allow me to have as a kid,,,
Was a single-shot rifle and .22 shorts.

A well placed shot behind the ear,,,
Brought down the first deer I ever saw taken.

My Dad made the shot, not me.

I know it will take coons, possum, dogs, and anything smaller,,,
I don't want to run out of ammunition too quickly,,,
More bullets equates to more potential food.

As a very young lad of 8 or 9 years old,,,
I read an article written by a hunter/sportswriter.

The editor(s) of a magazine (Field & Stream maybe) showed up at his home.

They gave him a challenge that he had 30 minutes to assemble what he could from his home and immediately go to the backwoods and survive for 4 weeks.

He could take anything he already had in his possession,,,
But could not buy so much as a book of matches.

Long story short, his ammunition supply just happened to be low,,,
The most valuable thing he took was a half-brick of .22 short.

It's the idea of more is better even if it's smaller that sunk in to me.

In a real survival situation I doubt I would last very long anyways,,,
But if I had to try, rather than load up with my big guns,,,
I would take my two best .22 single-shot rifles,,,
and my 2 best .22 revolvers,,,
and lots of ammo.

Laying on my belly I can hit a 4" circle at 100 yards,,,
I would hope I could hit something edible in the ear at 50 yards.
 
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