Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska GP 100 44 Spl or Alaskan 44 Mag

I like the little GP. Thinking with +P loads it's not far enough behind the magnum to matter.
Would be carrying it on the trapline, around the cabin, and while fishing.
The GP is a bit lighter than the Alaskan frame and would be that much less weight to lug around.

Yea or Nay

Nay... useless on the trapline as anything but self defense... use your weight allotment for things with many more functions.

Had you included "just because I want" i would be all in with getting it!

Well.... there's an attraction there, I admit that

I'm still good with a Glock 20 for most things alaskan so far. Or a nice light 22 pistol. When it comes to general purpose handguns

GP100 44 special weighs 36 oz. Compared to a Super Redhawk (which should come with a caisson) it is lighter. However, a S&W Mountain Gun in 44 mag weighs 36 oz. and a Taurus TI Tracke 41 mag weighs 24 oz.

Model 69 Smith

add that .....that Taurus doubles as a paper weight, a boat anchor or a odd shaped throwing rock !

Judman: S&W 69 weighs 34.4 oz so you lose 1 round and save 1.6 oz compared to a Mountain Gun. A S&W 329 AirLite PD 44 mag weighs 25 oz. Almost the same weight as a Taurus TI Tracker with better quality but more cost.

I haven't heard anyone mention GP100 in a LONG time.... not that it means anything.

329 would be my first choice if we are talking bears. A 22 pistol would be my first choice for just having with you.

I rarely recommend the S&W 329PD, because shooting full house 44 mag loads out of them is an experience most people don't go out of their way for, but in your case I think it fits the bill perfectly. Its comfortable to shoot with 44 spc, very light, and if there is lots of bear activity in the area you can fill that cylinder with buffalo bore hardcast 300gr.

I like mine. Taurus shouldn’t even be mentioned.

I carry a GP100 .357 mag with 180 gr buffalo bore hardcasts when I'm at my cabin in Montana. It's not Alaska, obviously, and it's more of a black bear/mountain lion risk than grizzlies or wolves, so it's probably apples and oranges for this question. But I shoot that GP100 so accurately and that's why I carry it, probably the handgun I shoot best.

...and that brings me to the BB Hard Cast Heavies in the 357.

Why not.? Seems the shootability is there (I top out at 45 Colt 300gr loads in the Blackhawk), and they penetrate deep, real deep. So would not the GP100 in 357 running heavy and hard make a good option for those times my rifle isn't handy over my shoulder, say like cutting and splitting firewood.?

I'm not going to carry all the time, just those monents when the rifle isn't on me.

Hard recoiling revolvers are tough to shoot well multiple times. For us at least. Assume the high possibility of a miss or two in the heat of things or possibly a warning shot... we have one 329PD here and one up there, and while I do carry them at tiems, the Glock 20 gives a lot of all worlds. Its a deer killing SOB too so far for us. Pigs. Javelina, etc... you name it, none have gone more than about 20 or 30 yards.

We even have a 500 smith access to up there, but maybe for hunting yes, for a bear protection gun no way.

As to heavy loads in the 329, I shoot 270 hard cast handloads, I forget the charge but as few of them as I'll ever likely shoot, its no matter... I've shot handful to know they hurt and that they penetrate and that they hit close enough to point of aim to get it done if need be.

The 329PD for the most part, I never know I have on the belt FWIW

I use either a Glock 20 or a 4.2” redhawk 44mag.

I don’t really like those ruger alaskan revolvers.

Also check out Garrett cartridge Ammo.

I don't care for the weight and bulk of the Alaskan either...

The Glock is cool, but in all honesty I prefer wheels.

So, I want to run as little bulk as possible, have a little sight radius, and be able to shoot the hard and heavies once and awhile.
Getting into 44' and 45's creats bulk, so this is why I am now asking about the 357 running heavy hard casts from something like the GP 100.

I figure I can shoot the 357 better than the larger bores, get back on target faster with it (maybe), and if it'll dig, it might be the cartridge for me.

Is there any question of the performance of the 357 running Buffalo Bore/Garret heavies (180gr at 1375).???

I'd not have any personal issues with 357 and heavy, say 180 or so. Will the specific gun hold it? Don't know that answer. But I'd not loose any sleep if thats what i had to work with.

TI version in 357 mag too is a possible depending on how weight conscious you are. Ruger revolvers always seemed heavy for what they are vs Smith, but then again if I wanted to shoot it day in and day out I'd expect the lighter smiths' to wear out sooner.

Phil killed that juvenile? brown bear with a 9mm.....

BTW RE wheelgun, I get that totally, but the trigger on our Glocks reminds me a lot of my wheelgun triggers, fwiw, but if its reliability you are worried about I understand that also. Make sure your wheel gun reloads are crimped well. I've seen the 329 of my nephews locked up tight when his dad didn't crimp enough...

When I felt like carrying a handgun while in AK, it was a Glock 22 with hardcast 180's. It was seldom that I carried a handgun, trapping/tromping was always a rifle.

A 357 isn't a bad option for all-season, multi-purpose use. (I generally run a light revolver in winter, heavier in summer, simply because colder season means a pot gun; warmer, a defensive purpose.)

So, a 357 and Specials in winter, heavy, hard loads when the need for possible defense comes around and you solve, in a way, the need for a 22 and a 44.