Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Kit guns

This.

German Walther PP in .22. Great little gun for south TX pig outings. Fun to shoot, too.
Bob

I've got a 4.5" SR-22 that is nice and light (18ounces) and holds 10 rounds. It's a little bulky, but not weighty. Fun little gun, and "accurate enough" to do what I ask of it. I've got the Smith M&P Compact, too, but the sight radius hurts my abilities with it.

The one I have matching the classic kit gun format is a Taurus 941 4", .22 Mag.

I've also carried a S&W 645 Mountain Gun (.45 Colt) a Colt Delta and a Glock 20 (both 10mm) to fill the niche.

My newest "kit gun" is a Model 69 4 1/4" with .44 Specials loaded.

I use a Ruger LCP 22.

It weighs 11 oz and I carry 3 mags for 30 rnds.

I am not a stellar marksman by any means but, after learning the trigger, standing on my hind legs, I can hit my 6” plate at 50y w/ fair enough frequency that the smaller 25y plates are too easy. I can even ring a 14.5” steel plate out at 100y about 25% of the time. The limitation is my vision.

On paper, it is not stellar in that my best groups are only 1” at 10y. In practicality, that hits robins, on demand, out to 30y. That is in a ridiculously lightweight and small semiauto that is EASY TO SHOOT WELL.

It runs like a sewing machine w/ CCI Blazers but is most accurate w/ CCI Standard Vel (& CCI Shorts, fed singly).

Even when I am carrying something else like an AR or another handgun, the LCP 22 is on me also for the ride.

I am surprised the LCP 22 does not get more attention. It’s performance vs form factor is astounding.

https://youtu.be/nBeXYrnvPYI

For several reasons I am never out of reach of a.40 cal or bigger handgun; but that sounds light enough to go along and accurate enough to be interesting.

S&W Model 60-something in .38; Ruger SP101 4-inch in .32 H&R. If I need something with more oomph than one of those, I'm carrying either an S&W Model 5906 9mm or a Ruger Security Six 4-inch .357. I would not consider either of the latter two a kit gun.

This one's a dandy.

DF

Flat loading gate early Single Six with ebony grips is pretty handy.

DF

I grew up reading gun magazines 45 years ago as a kid. The images I saw and had burned into my brain were of revolvers for outdoorsman, and the quintessential kit gun was the S&W 63. I finally got one last year. I really didn’t want to pay the $$ they wanted for a used 4” model, so I settled for a brand new 3” version for a few less $ and am happy.

I also always liked the idea of a compact lightweight .38 with wad cutters and had wanted the adjustable sight 3” model 60 since they first brought them out. So I got one of those too- although mine is capable of using the .357 magnum too.

And although it doesn’t fit my mental image of an “outdoorsman’s gun“, my 22/45 Lite would work great too, and with my suppressor, I could shoot for hours and not bother anyone else. (It’s not in the picture.)

Mine's a SW317 with 3" barrel. It's not on par with the SW41 in terms of accuracy...not even close, but close enough to take grouse during elk hunts or load with shot and take out mice in the shed. With CB round it's pretty quiet too. Weights less like 13 ounces. It's usually in the truck or pack.

I cannot think of a cartridge that is better for a "kit" gun than the 9mm Parabellum. Recoil is low, noise is comparatively low. Energy and killing power with appropriate projectiles is good for many different applications. I have killed fox squirrels, gray squirrels, cottontails and jackrabbits with the parabellum. I have heard of other cool heads who used the cartridge to effect on animals much higher on the food chain. While the 22 LR is good for many things, it doesn't reach that far.

My everyday gun is the G45. My "kit" gun would likely be the G43x, with Shield Arms 15 round mags, metal mag release and Ameriglo sights. Add a Ghost connector to the factory trigger and I am very happy with the little autoloader.

Well, if ya gonna go centerfire, how about a little .380. Shoots real good with my 90 gr Horn XTP handloads. And put it in a pig skin lined El Paso flap holster.

Of course, you'd need carved rosewood grips. Surprisingly accurate. It'll fool ya.

DF

I carried the three screw OM Ruger more miles than I can remember when I was trapping full time every winter. It accounted for a lot of rabbits, grouse and since moving to Alaska a fair number of snowshoes and ptarmigan. Truly part of my kit back in my trapping days. It finished off a few truckloads of trapped coyotes.

The Mountain Gun in 41 magnum I think qualifies as a kit gun. The kind of gun you want with you when you're packing meat, fishing, or bumming around outside in the last frontier. Could be a 44 or 45 Colt and be just as much a kit gun. Packable, suitable power for the expected use and very shootable.

The 5.5 inch Bisley 45 Colt and Flattop 44 Special ought to qualify as a kit gun for the same reasons.

Last but not least is the most recent addition. I never thought I'd be a Glock fan but after carrying a model 22 for years as a duty gun, I've come to, if not like the Glock, to at least thoroughly respect them. When the 44 came out I ordered one. I am somewhat impressed. Way lighter than my old Single Six and while this group is only the first two magazines through the gun, it shows promise. My postal scale comes out right at one pound. Hard not to like a 22 that light. The group was shot a 10 yards offhand. I can see this becoming a part of my kit when I go afield and want a 22 close at hand.

Yep. Very pleased with mine.

I don't have a kit gun in the classic sense of a small 22 revolver.

A couple I have that might be pressed into service in that role,

Kahr CW9


Ruger LCRx 357

Bearcat

No savvy "kit gun".

Never have actually just tossed a gun into a container or had no plan for its use.

I always took it to mean a small revolver you might put in your pack with the rest of your 'kit'. Not intended to be a primary weapon. More like something you had along, aside from your rifle, that is not on your belt, getting in the way of your pack straps or waist belt.

To me a kit gun has always been a handgun that is essential or at least handy for the activity at hand. Like some of the other tools one would need in the same activity, knife, hatchet, pack, tackle etc. When I was trapping full time there were certain things that were with me every day and essential to the activity. The Single Six was among those things. Same with packing meat or hiking or any other outdoor activity. My "kit" are those things that I deem to be necessary to the activity and most times a handgun of one kind or another is part of that kit. A kit doesn't have to be something packed away. In my case I consider those things I carry on me as part of my kit. If that makes sense.