Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Packing gun chosen

Thanks for everybody�s suggestions and comments. It really helped to decide just what I need out of this packin� gun and just what there was to fill that need.
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<br>To be totally honest, the scenarios we envision for the �come what may� handgun are really pretty rare and improbable. Snakes � walk around them. Vicious animals � our dog once thought a badger would make a good playmate � the badger ran away. Bears � the ones that view me as a blue plate special must be in another state. And the day has long gone by when I walk through the woods blasting every furry little critter that crosses my path.
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<br>But, Stuff Does Happen. There are some not so nice folks in the woods these days. Cougars and bears really do exist and in more numbers than generally admitted, especially around these parts. So do coyotes that like to lure unsuspecting dogs to their doom even with the human walking right along with it.
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<br>It is better to have a gun and not need it than need it and not have it. What I really need is a gun powerful enough to handle 98% of the imaginable situations, but still small and light enough to carry easily and out of the way. Even in rural Idaho, big iron strapped to one�s leg invites some consternation from the folks you meet on the trail. Better would be something carried up behind the hip that can be covered with a vest or something. No need to scare the tourists.
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<br>Big calibers just are not needed or really desirable for my purposes. An immutable law of physics is that big bullets produce big recoil. To tame big recoil requires a heavy handgun, however, grip shape can mitigate recoil somewhat as well.
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<br>After careful consideration, I figure what I really need is the same type of thing a cop needs. Something carried far more than actually shot (in the field, that is). A mid size .357 Magnum revolver fits the bill perfectly. Lots of .38�s for practice. You can get every type of factory load or component bullet imaginable, from snake shot to 180 grainers. If I feel the need to pack a heavy load I can load it with factory Federal 180 grain Cast Cores, or maybe a factory loading of the Hornady 180 grain XTP. That will take care of anything I will ever meet in Idaho, even if I actually do one day come across a black bear intent on harming me. If that 1 in a million scenario happens, and further if one actually has a chance to do something before the bear gets one, the one has several better options available, like trying to intimidate the bear, slowly backing off, whatever. If worse comes to absolute worse, a 180 grain .357 is not ideal but it beats the hell out of throwing rocks or choosing which tool on my Leatherman to use. But honest to God, that happens so rarely in Idaho that it is almost a fantasy. I can�t remember the last time the paper mentioned that �Mr. So and So was et by a bar last night�. If I go out for a specific purpose that a .357 can�t handle, I have a fine 5 �� .45 Bisley that will throw a 300 grain RCBS cast at 1300 fps. But again, the gun in question is not a �best for one purpose� piece, but rather that �have it with you at all times just for the hell of it� gun.
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<br>I looked at the GP-100 one last time, and also had the opportunity to look at some older S&W Model 19�s and an old Ruger Security Six. The M19 and Security Six definitely have the edge as lighter and handier pieces. Taking the advice given here, today I ordered a NIB stainless steel 4� Ruger Security Six from a very nice gentleman advertising on GunsAmerica. Expensive little bugger, but still less than a new GP-100. It has the oversize target stocks that fit my hand so well, it only weighs about 35 ounces compared to 40 for the GP-100 and almost 45 oz. for the Bisley. Going to get a Bianchi 5BHL to carry it. The fellow will let me have it on three day examination so if it isn�t what I want it can be returned. Plus, he accepted my personal check! We do things that way in Idaho, nice to know there are folks in other parts of the country that still do as well.
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<br>Again, thanks for all the suggestions and comments. They really helped clarify my thoughts on this.
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<br>P.S. Anybody need a nice pinned and recessed, 6� S&W Model 57 .41 Magnum in about 99.5% condition? I no longer do.
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Jim, I think you will be happy with the Security Six. Mine has traveled many miles with me in the saddle. I have only gone to the mountain gun recently, because of the number of problem bears we have here in CO. (The tree huggers voted in a constitutional amendment to ban spring bear hunts, baits and dogs.)

Jim,
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<br>Well done. I must say you put more thought into a Gun purchase than I do, although I have spent quite a while mulling over the latest one. I think I will end up with a GP-100 in a 4". You know I have actually thought about a 6" stainless and having Dave Clements or someone chop the barrel to 5". Seems like a nice compromise. We'll have to see. Anyway enjoy the new gun. I had a Police Service Six for a few years and if iy had had a 4" or longer barrel I would have kept it. Sean

Jim,
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<br>I'm planning on buying a 4" 357 pretty soon. What made you choose the Security Six over the GP100? Had just about decided on the GP100. How hard is it to find the Security Six's

LSU fan, I chose the Security Six for a couple of reasons, but mostly the weight and the handling characteristics. The Security Six weighs about 35 ounces and the GP-100 weighs 40 ounces. Five ounces doesn�t seem like much but every little bit helps. That weight is also more in the frame area, whereas the GP-100 has more out on the barrel. That can be a good thing as a muzzle heavy revolver is a little easier to hold steady, but the Security Six has a more responsive feel to it and just feels more compact. I really like the grip of the GP-100, and if I were going to be firing a lot of heavy loads that grip might have won the decision, but this revolver will mostly see .38�s or light loaded .357�s. It will be carried a lot and probably not shot very much except on the range.
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<br>I found a bunch of Security Sixes with four or five advertised as new in the box on www.gunsamerica.com Just click on the list for Ruger Double Action Pistols.
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Jim in Idaho: I will be very suprised if you ever regret owning the security six...dvnv

Jim,
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<br>Thanks for the explanation. I'll have to find one around here to take a look at. The GP100 just feels so good to me, it'll be hard to pass up.

Jim,
<br> I've got a security-six that I modified for a packing gun. I put on a pair of speed-six grips, scribed around them, ground the frame to the new contour, then put on a pair of packmeyer round butt grips. had the barrel cut to 3" This makes for an exellent packing gun that handles great.... good shootin, vbshootinrange.

Jim,
<br>The N.I.S. folks I had occaision to train,were issued the Sec.Six.They beat the heck out of them,were lousy at maintaining them,rarely wiped them down in the tropical heat and constant rain,and the things always worked.
<br>Always as accurate as the loose nut behind the butt pad as well.
<br>I remember one in particular that looked like it was dragged behind a jeep for a couple miles.
<br>The NIS agent was new,and played on the intramural softball team the squids had on island.
<br>He not only forgot where he was,but what he was carrying,and slid into second with it...on coral!
<br>The Ruger fared better than his hide.It's most likely still in service,and still not missing a beat.
<br>Ya got a good piece.
<br>I dare you to wear it out!
<br>Have fun trying!
<br>E4E