Woods gun question(s)
- Thread starter hubris
- Start date
- Status
I have always used 44 SBH as my choice of handgun. Last year I bought a 327 Single 7 with a 4.62" barrel and decided this was going to be my woods/trail gun. Okay, well 1000 rounds later the Single 7 is up for sale. I took 1 of my SBHs cut the barrel to 4.62" removed the Dragoon grip frame and replaced it with a aluminum grip frame and some Herretts grips..... NICE, I mean NICE. Should have done it years ago. It is all I need for New Mexico and anywhere else for that matter.
Bamaranger makes a good point...the .357 is a great choice nowadays. For us old school guys (who grew up with a Scoutmaster that brought along a cherished .22 S&W on each camping trip & taught us the rudiments of handgun safety), there is a longing for those safer days in the woods...druggies & thugs hadn't taken over the state & federal forests. Hell, you could tramp most any where you felt like, exploring with no thought to deadly consequences. Ah, the innocence of those early post war years.
But back to the thread...a .357 is a good choice (at least in the lower 48) and you can plink to your heart's content with low velocity WC's if the mood strikes or defend against man or beast with the hotter loads. In my humble opinion, it's a fool who ventures forth, unarmed, into the back woods or many city streets today.
YMMV, Rod
Last edited:
Woods gun. Virtually all my woods time is spent in the uplands in and around North Mt. in PA. Black Bear are there for sure though I have never seen one while walking in the woods or hunting for Ruffed Grouse.
I have three guns that I use as woods guns. Which one i choose depends on what I am doing. All are .22s. If I am hunting birds and carrying a shotgun, the gun is a S&W 317 Airlite snubbie.
If I am hiking, for the most part the choice has been an FN FiveSeven. Lately, i have taken to carrying a KelTec PMR-30 in .22 magnum. These last two have 20:rounds or more on board. If i plan on plinking, then I carry two magazines.
Pete
I have three guns that I use as woods guns. Which one i choose depends on what I am doing. All are .22s. If I am hunting birds and carrying a shotgun, the gun is a S&W 317 Airlite snubbie.
If I am hiking, for the most part the choice has been an FN FiveSeven. Lately, i have taken to carrying a KelTec PMR-30 in .22 magnum. These last two have 20:rounds or more on board. If i plan on plinking, then I carry two magazines.
Pete
stinkeypete
New member
SBH, I am looking seriously at Single Sevens... What didn’t you like about yours?
(I vary between a Bearcat, Single Six .22 and an Ithaca model 37 during pheasant season!)
I love the lighter little bearcat but shoot the single six better... longer sight radius but a little heavier.
Blackhawk stays home except for deer season..44 magnum is hell on pine cones... doesn’t leave anything left to cook up!
(I vary between a Bearcat, Single Six .22 and an Ithaca model 37 during pheasant season!)
I love the lighter little bearcat but shoot the single six better... longer sight radius but a little heavier.
Blackhawk stays home except for deer season..44 magnum is hell on pine cones... doesn’t leave anything left to cook up!
Last edited:
The gun and the caliber are great. It is the 3rd stainless gun that I have owned and the 3rd to be sold. I do not like stainless guns. The weight and balance are fine and the cartridge is okay to reload for. I just like my blue SBHs better and I like the 44 cartridge better. The weight difference is about the same between the Single 7 and my "custom" SBH but the balance of the SBH suits me more. Good luck on them pine cones.
The over-sized, pants-drooping DEs, Wildeys and AutoMags are far heavier than needed in an autoloader intended for woods or boonies-carry.
The 5- or 6-shot Magnum boat-anchors are worse: low-capacity, slow-to-reload, along with concussive blast and heavy recoil when that first round goes off from the 2.5" or 3" barrels on the big-bore 'snubbies' currently being marketed as 'trail guns' or 'for Alaskan carry,' as when you're up there fishing for salmon off a river bank.
Speaking of Alaska, here's what one AK native has to say on the subject:
10mm for Bear Protection:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BriBGiDdiVk&t=306s
Last edited:
In the Southern USA there are two NEW predators that are slowly creeping northwards...
Boa's & Pythons.
They're getting acclimated to our weather. They are learning. They are moving.
Able to take on bears, alligators, Panthers, and humans, sometimes winning.
Yet another reason to have another 10mm on tap
So I bought a Tanfoglio Witness for...Reasons!
Boa's & Pythons.
They're getting acclimated to our weather. They are learning. They are moving.
Able to take on bears, alligators, Panthers, and humans, sometimes winning.
Yet another reason to have another 10mm on tap
So I bought a Tanfoglio Witness for...Reasons!
Last edited:
Since I like to play where the bitey/scratchy things live, I bought a 329pd about 10 years ago. Put the rounds in to learn how to shoot it. I carry it loaded with 270grWFN@1150fps. I know what it will do.
It became my security blanket when laying my head down to sleep at night. 31oz loaded. That revolver has traveled a lot of trail miles with me.
It became my security blanket when laying my head down to sleep at night. 31oz loaded. That revolver has traveled a lot of trail miles with me.
Cosmodragoon
New member
In a lot of places, a 4-5" 686 or GP100 in .357 magnum is probably plenty of gun. A polymer-framed high-capacity semi-auto in 10mm would be great. Heck, a .357 Sig with hardcast or copper solids could work in a lot of cases. All of those options offer reasonable power and can be reasonably carried.
I wouldn't commit to carrying anything bigger or heavier without a specific risk that demanded it for a particular outdoor area. The biggest threats I'm likely to face are people, followed distantly by black bears, moose, coyotes, snakes, etc. There have been days when I was already carrying a full-sized gun in .40 S&W and decided to go for a walk in the woods. Did I stop and say "is this 165-grain Critical Defense going to be enough"? No. I just enjoyed my walk.
I wouldn't commit to carrying anything bigger or heavier without a specific risk that demanded it for a particular outdoor area. The biggest threats I'm likely to face are people, followed distantly by black bears, moose, coyotes, snakes, etc. There have been days when I was already carrying a full-sized gun in .40 S&W and decided to go for a walk in the woods. Did I stop and say "is this 165-grain Critical Defense going to be enough"? No. I just enjoyed my walk.
Always a great discussion when this subject comes up.
My “woods” used to be S&W 629 Mountain gun, great hand gun. My grandson really liked it and needed a home defense weapon for him and his ne bride, so we know here this story goes.
Not much need for a .44M here in Indiana,so it shot mainly.44 spl. I’ve always had a love fair with single action, so my choices were unlimited
Long story short, I settled on. .357M Ruger Montado. Easy to pack, reliable and shoots a good all around caliber. Not many bears in Indiana, but Coyotes and wild dogs can be worse.
Just my 2 cents woth and that’s about what it’s worth!
My “woods” used to be S&W 629 Mountain gun, great hand gun. My grandson really liked it and needed a home defense weapon for him and his ne bride, so we know here this story goes.
Not much need for a .44M here in Indiana,so it shot mainly.44 spl. I’ve always had a love fair with single action, so my choices were unlimited
Long story short, I settled on. .357M Ruger Montado. Easy to pack, reliable and shoots a good all around caliber. Not many bears in Indiana, but Coyotes and wild dogs can be worse.
Just my 2 cents woth and that’s about what it’s worth!
big al hunter
New member
Going by the statistics on firearms used in defense on large predators it seams that anything from 9 mm up is effective enough. So I usually carry at least my 9mm. But I usually have my Ruger Redhawk in 44 mag with me. Not because I worry about being attacked, but because it is the lightest gun I have that is legal to dispatch big game animals with when hunting.
I suppose I should be more concerned about carrying an EpiPen, as it is statistically 24 times more likely I will die from a bee sting than a bear.
. But I don't really worry about either, as the possibility is so small. I do however buckle my seatbelt every time I get in a car. Because it is 24,000 times more likely that I will die from a car accident on my way to the woods than by a bear attack.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't carry with the intention of defense from large predators. It just isn't high on my list of reasons for caliber or action type. When I finally get the cash for my next handgun acquisition it will likely be a 6" Ruger GP100 in 357 mag. That will probably become my new favorite "woods gun".
As to action choice....I usually choose an auto for easier concealment. I usually choose a revolver for added power and range due to my intended use being hunting. I occasionally hunt with only a handgun, so the range is a factor more important than round capacity or weight of the gun. My preferred cartridge for handgun hunting is 454 Casull. Mine is a Ruger Super Redhawk with a scope. It gets my effective range in the neighborhood of 100 yards. Which happens to be close to the longest distance I am likely to see my quarry while hunting in the woods of Washington.
I suppose I should be more concerned about carrying an EpiPen, as it is statistically 24 times more likely I will die from a bee sting than a bear.
. But I don't really worry about either, as the possibility is so small. I do however buckle my seatbelt every time I get in a car. Because it is 24,000 times more likely that I will die from a car accident on my way to the woods than by a bear attack.I'm not saying that we shouldn't carry with the intention of defense from large predators. It just isn't high on my list of reasons for caliber or action type. When I finally get the cash for my next handgun acquisition it will likely be a 6" Ruger GP100 in 357 mag. That will probably become my new favorite "woods gun".
As to action choice....I usually choose an auto for easier concealment. I usually choose a revolver for added power and range due to my intended use being hunting. I occasionally hunt with only a handgun, so the range is a factor more important than round capacity or weight of the gun. My preferred cartridge for handgun hunting is 454 Casull. Mine is a Ruger Super Redhawk with a scope. It gets my effective range in the neighborhood of 100 yards. Which happens to be close to the longest distance I am likely to see my quarry while hunting in the woods of Washington.
stinkeypete
New member
I get frustrated because it seems I just can't communicate...
People in my State do not get eaten by predators on a regular basis. As Al says, a metric poopload more get stung by bees. Come deer season, we will lose about 10 every year to heart attacks.
I go for a walk with the dog in the woods about 4-5 times a week. We take a Bearcat and shoot pinecones just about every week because it's fun to plink and a .22 isn't so loud as to annoy people.
My woods gun is just for the fun of it.
Alaska, whole other story.
People in my State do not get eaten by predators on a regular basis. As Al says, a metric poopload more get stung by bees. Come deer season, we will lose about 10 every year to heart attacks.
I go for a walk with the dog in the woods about 4-5 times a week. We take a Bearcat and shoot pinecones just about every week because it's fun to plink and a .22 isn't so loud as to annoy people.
My woods gun is just for the fun of it.
Alaska, whole other story.
Yep. Good point of clarification. The requirements of a “woods gun” are going to vary depending on the person, the activity in the woods, and the locale.
I’m a fan of the Desert Eagle (I currently own three of them), but it would not be my first choice for hiking around. The weight issue has been discussed already, and I will add that they can be carried comfortably. Something like a chest rig that spreads out the weight can make a world of difference. There are also aluminum framed “lightweight” models that, while still hefty, are significantly lighter than the steel framed models.
But if carrying for protection against critters or people, it is possible one may need to draw and shoot one-handed, as the other hand may be occupied, fending off a critter with teeth. If you carry the DE with an empty chamber, you need both hands free to cycle the big slide. If you carry cocked & locked, you need to have double-jointed ape-like thumbs to actually disengage the safety. One could carry with he hammer down on a live chamber (not recommended) but thumbing back the hammer is even less ergonomic than disengaging the safety.
For the record, I often hike with a suppressed .22 pistol. I can plink without alarming others in the area, and it’s just right in the event I get attacked by a drug-crazed squirrel.
The last time I hiked in “bear country”, I carried a Colt 10mm. It’s a good balance between size, weight, power, shootability, and concealability.
Depends on location. Some are fine with .22's and that's okay if there are no dangerous creatures about. For most in the lower 48, revolver wise a .357 or 44 would serve very well, for a semi auto a .40 or .45 would work nicely. If in Alaska, or if your woods happen to be in the African plains, .44 Mag minimum but bigger if possible. I like the 454 but a 480, 475L, 500 JRH or 500L would be good choices. I have nothing against the 500 S&W but in general the guns are rather large and I'm not convinced they're a necessity more than they are a novelty.
armednfree
New member
Not that I know anything about the subject of protection in big bear country, but what's wrong with the 480 Ruger in a Blackhawk? A cast 370 grain bullet at a stated 1500 fps seem pretty impressive.
big al hunter
New member
There's nothing wrong with the 480. It's just an in between cartridge....not as powerful as the 454 and a little more than the 44 mag. It is perfect for someone wanting more than 44, but don't want the recoil of 454. I almost got one. But I have the 44 and 454, don't need the in between for anything.
I think it would be more popular if it had been on the market for a few years before the 454.
I think it would be more popular if it had been on the market for a few years before the 454.
armednfree
New member
I was thinking more of a balance between power and handling. More of the second shot rather than the first.
big al hunter
New member
I haven't shot a 480, but my understanding is that it recoils more than 44 mag. I have let friends shoot my 44 mag that only shot 1 round and absolutely refused to touch my 454. Both are 7 1/2 inch stainless, Redhawk and Super Redhawk.
Not every person can manage the recoil of the 480. If you hand load it can be loaded down, but then you might as well have the added versatility of 44 mag/special and more available ammo choices.
The 480 would be perfect if you like the 44 recoil but want just a little more.
But if you want more versatility a 454 can shoot 45 Colt too.
Or just get one of each and sell what you don't like....wish I had that kind of funding.
What I guess is most important to note is: there isn't anything that lives in North America that any of the mentioned cartridges can't handle. Shoot what you like, it'll work.
Not every person can manage the recoil of the 480. If you hand load it can be loaded down, but then you might as well have the added versatility of 44 mag/special and more available ammo choices.
The 480 would be perfect if you like the 44 recoil but want just a little more.
But if you want more versatility a 454 can shoot 45 Colt too.
Or just get one of each and sell what you don't like....wish I had that kind of funding.
What I guess is most important to note is: there isn't anything that lives in North America that any of the mentioned cartridges can't handle. Shoot what you like, it'll work.
- Status