Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Your hiking pistol?

I assume many others here get their exercise by walking in the woods/sticks. Just wondering...

What do you carry?
What kinds of critters are you carrying for?

Often I just carry my pocket pistol, LCP MAX when hiking, but sometimes I'm hiking in places where I could encounter different things. Really no big game where I hike, just rattlers, jack rabbits, cotton tails, the occasional coyote...and of course, two legged varmints. When I hike places where there is small game, I tend to carry one of my revolvers, often a .22, sometimes a .38/.357. My little Llama mini-1911 finds its way into my pocket at times also.

It depends on where I'm hiking. I'll carry my 4" M-63 22lr if it's an area I most likely won't run into dopeheads. Otherwise I carry my 4" M-65 357.

Uberti/Taylor's .45 Colt. Comfort factor.

Kimber K6 .357 3 inch with warm 38 lead hollowpoints


skunks , coons , and such , occasionally put a scare in a coyote

I've tried several different ones over the years, each with hope that it would be the "ultimate" hiking gun. Black bears are extremely rare and would be the biggest thing I could encounter. It would be people that would be the biggest threat.

I decided that I felt under gunned with a rimfire, unless I'm going out with the intent to do some shooting for fun along the way. I tried my 3" S&W 60 that I thought would be perfect, but then decided it only holds 5 rounds and if I have to strap on a holster, I might as well carry something a little bigger. In the end, I tend to find an aluminum frame 1911 in a pancake holster rides tight to my body (I don't accidentally brush it with my arms), I hardly notice it there, but if needed, I can hit pretty well with it and it packs a punch. That seems to be what I like for now. But it's subject to change.

It's supposed to be my Colt 1911 .45 but I rarely want the weight on my hip so it ends up being either my Taurus snubbie. 38 or my Glock 42 .380

.45 in a modified M7 holster. It's out of the way of all my pack straps.

Usually one of the 32H&R revolvers, big enough and small enough for what I'm likely to encounter.

Beretta 21 Bobcat 22lr is my pocket rocket, and in a holster it's glock 22 and 23 models.

Lately I picked up an Tisas poly framed 9mm and it has adjustable target sights and uses Sig P226 mags. Sub $300 pistol and so far it just works.

If there's an revolver to pack I go to my Ruger GP100.

Once, a long time ago I was packing an old 5906 and it very well may have saved me from being an statistic.

1911 45 in a Pilot’s chest rig

Don’t do much if any hiking anymore, but if “shed hunting”…..I guess it’ll be my 460 XVR! memtb

Most of my hiking is for hunting, so I have a real gun as well. My backup is my LCP2 .22. 10oz and 10 rounds.

If just walking, either my 3” M60 or CZ75. Have the tanker rig from Simply Rugged, but haven’t tried it yet.

5" 629

Ruger Blackhawk in 41 magnum. Bears both blacks and griz are out there as well as some moose.

Glock 10mm (29sf) alien gear chest rig.

Whatever I carry it is usually in an HPG Kit Bag. The HPG bag lets me pack water in a flat sided soft Platypus water bottle, a Clif bar, my phone, a tourniquet & Israeli bandage, compass, Zebralight, and whatever else I feel I might need on that day. I have revolvers and auto's from .22LR to .41 Magnum and plenty in between. The gun most often carried is a Glock 20 Gen3 SF 10mm stoked with 200 gr. XTP hollow points at 1250 fps or 220 gr. hardcast flat points at 1200 fps. Black bears and hogs are the biggest potential threat, there are a few mountain lions but I have never seen one of those. The MDC has verified a lion/s has killed five elk in my hunting area so lion/s are around. They are busy being lions, sneaky bastages. Bears and hogs, especially hogs, are fairly common. Bumping into a sow with a litter or a cranky old boar is something that can and does happen. And of course there are coyotes, fox and bobcats but unless rabid I don't see them as an issue. The 10mm can handle those situations if I do my part. If walking the local town trail a 2.0 M&P 4" 9mm Compact is most often the gun in the bag. That or a Glock 19. Both are the same size in the bag and hold the same ammo on board. I shoot one as well as the other though I like the 2.0 M&P better for whatever reasons. Fifteen rounds of +P HST 124 or 147 gr. hollow points would dissuade nefarious crackhead types or overly ambitious vicious canines.

S&W 6946 in a Hill People Snubbie Rig. Not likely anything bigger than people where I go.

Probably most often a 38 special loaded with 158swcs over 5.5gr of Unique. It’s most often my 2” M15 but sometimes a 38/44 Outdoorsman and rarely a 2” M36.

If I’m not carrying a 38 odds are it’ll be my 5” 625. I like that I can put it on and drop a pair of moon clips in my shorts pocket and be pretty well prepared. 200gr SWCs have always worked great on pigs and snakes, I’m confident they’ll work on just about whatever else I may run across around here.

Rarely but when the mood strikes I’ve been known to pack a 1911 or a HiPower and every now and again my 1006 10mm. If I set out after small game I take my 16-4 in 32mag.

When I lived in bear country I packed a 44 magnum of some description more often than not.

I live in a target rich environment with a multitude of varmints that I’m likely to run across while out fishing, arrowhead hunting, or mushrooming. But unfortunately I also live in a meth head rich area as well so while I’m usually loaded and ready to take on a herd of pigs or take a potshot at a coyote I’m really dedicated about carrying due to the chance of two legged varmints.

XD-M 10mm in a factory plastic belt holster. It gets nearly all the outdoor chores, and is generally pretty filthy. I hit it with compressed air and a toothbrush sometimes. Always goes bang so far, and I like having 15rnds of 10mm on hand, without a ton of weight.

If I feel I need a gun, a Smith 357 .41 mag, a “pre-mountain gun “ 629-2, or a Glock 20…..usually. If I don’t think I need a serious gun, a Smith 317.