Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Best defense handgun for the woods?

I've yet to kill a deer with my .357 so I don't mind hauling it into the woods when I'm bird hunting or sniping tree rats etc. You just never know what you're going to come across out in the woods.
The closest I've come to a deer this season was bream fishing and the pistol was in the truck, even though I'd seen several alligators that morning. AHH!
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HI,
I am looking to a 460 Rowland as I have 45 kimber, great gun, but the change would not be much and it would get very close to a 44 mag load,Kev

kwvinf,
I have a 460 Rowland barrel in a stainless Kimber Classic. It does make a pretty nice setup. The 41 mag is a closer comparable but it is a big jump above the 45 ACP at least on paper. Not sure if the difference is going to make or break a deer shot at 50 yards if the ACP is loaded correctly.

They market these kits as drop in. Mine wasn't and I had to send it to
Clark to fit. They did so at no charge and were great. If you get your Rowland setup, we'll have to talk loads. I've been looking to get some more brass. Clark sells it but it's much cheaper in 500 lots through Starline. If you get the Rowland set up maybe we could split 500 rounds of brass.

Good luck!

I remember a few years back a farmer got in lots of trouble for chasing off some trespasser while the farmer was holding a long gun. It was considered an assault or brandishing I suppose. Maybe thats why the Wisconsin hunters didn't have their rifles with them. I say its better to be judged by twelve than carried by six. I have carried a 4" 629 S&W in a shoulder holster for about 24 years. I'm getting used to it.
Its legal for deer to. In case something happens to my rifle I can still hunt. I don't know to much about gun fights but have read Bill Jordans book, "No Second Place Winnner".
I would much rather get off a well aimed shot with a 44 magnum than a magazine full of 9MM but thats my opinion.
I have been to a few bowling pin matches over the years and will always remember a kid with a Glock who emptied a magazine and left five pins standing. Rapid fire works in the Rambo movies but doesn't impress trained personnel much.
I think after shooting someone it would be a little inconvenient to have to go around picking up brass out of the snow. Just my thoughts.
GWN

Still not sure why you would carry a handgun for self defense when you're equipped with a hunting rifle in your hands. Seems to me you have the ideal tool right there at your finger tips or am I missing something?

I thought that a 44 mag has a lot more power and reach.

Conrad

You generally have to set down your rifle when doing a task that requires 2 hands. Your pistol will always be in it's holster and handy.

Conrad

Glock 21 loaded with 13 rounds of 230 grain Black Talon Ammo. Much lighter than any .44 magnum, excellent controllability for multiple hits, packs enough power to be effective under adverse conditions.



Because some Hmong with an SKS might come hunting you and your buddies after a dispute over a deer stand. Ever try to fire a bolt action one handed?

Now the question arises as to what course of fire would be appropriate for woodland ambush scenarios. Recall that the killer in Wisconsin murders opened fire from about 40 yards away. Perhaps we all fear a psychopath with a rifle opening fire 100 yards or more away.

I would suggest targets (bowling pin, interactive or simple combat silhouettes) set up from 40 to 100 yards from the firing line. Courses of fire SHOULD be timed so as to apply some pressure to the shooter.

In keeping with Clint Smith's OTHER mantra of "keep firing until the target goes away" I suspect there would be a whole new appreciation of high cap mags.

Birdwatcher

Those that did the jungles of S.E. Asia are exempt, they already have the experiance!

Unfortunately, I think that this issue is going to become more important in the future. As private land ownership becomes more contentious, and hunting pressure increases while hunting availability decreases, it's inevitable that tensions will increase and tempers will flare. Now any sensible person, upon learning that they were on private land, would just leave without argument. But encounters I've had in Michigan, and horror stories I've heard from friends in Oregon leads me to believe that common sense is as rare as chicken lips.

That said, the most important aspect of carrying a handgun is the ability to hit something with it. Long ago, I found myself living in a bad neighborhood and owning only an S&W model 10. The key was to be confident enough in my ability so as to not feel unarmed. After several hundred rounds of practice, I felt that I was proficient enough that the fact that it was "only" a .38spl wasn't a hindrance.

In the woods, portability and magazine capacity may be factors, but the ability to hit what you aim at is probably the most important.

Also don't forget they were wearing blaze orange, and the shooter was in camo. This puts the shooter at a distinct advantage.

wasn't it Jeff Copper who said ..
"the first with the most wins" well maybe not his real quote but close :-) ..

my woods carry is a charter arms 44 bulldog .. light hiking.
and hunting sidearm is a Gary Reeder Custom ,, Alaska survivalist ... ( ruger redhawk cut to 3" in 45 colt)
using 325grn Buffalo bore heavy thumper (ouch) ...

but all in all .. a hit with a 22lr beats a miss with anything ..
so carry what you can hit with .. and practice practice practice ..

H_Talon

Yeah - we all know the first rule of gunfighting is "have a gun", but I wonder if we should change the first rule to "have some fight". Seems to me that a group of guys who run towards the shooting unarmed and wearing blaze-orange, when they could do otherwise, are bringing nothing -no fight - at all. They just supplied this guy with more targets.

As with every other situation, the most important weapons are your mind and your will. Beyond that, I don't think the choice of handgun will make a whole lot of difference.

Stop and think about it, the first thing they were thinking was ACCIDENT, not malice of for thought!

I am one of the lucky ones, I always expect the worst, thus am never dissapointed!

Not sure I would totally agree with this. A .357 can take a deer down without too much trouble out to about 30 yards, possibly farther if you have the skill. I know a couple of the local county sheriff deputies pretty well, and they used to pack a 9mm as their sidearm. The primary use of their sidearm in these parts is to dispatch deer that have been wounded by automobiles. Using the 9mm, standing between 10 yards and point blank, they rarely finished the deer off with one shot, even with head shots it would sometimes take a couple pops to finish the job.
They switched over to carrying a .40 (as have most LEA) and rarely do they need more than one shot now to do the job. Most .357 rounds have a bit more pop to them than .40. Not saying this is empirical evidence, but it seems to me that every little bit helps.

Personally, I carry a .357, practice with it quite a bit, and I'm confident that if the need arose it would be enough for my needs. I wouldn't want to go up against an SKS with it, but then again I don't step foot in the woods during deer season without a rifle either.

I always carry a pistol in the hills, wether I have a rifle or not, as it is good grizzly country in my neighborhood. The Ruger 45 Colt SA with 325 gr loads should work fine for anything I need to defend from.

I'm NOT a believer in the high firepower theory of "defense". I think Cooper made a good comment in his "high capacity is great, if you miss a lot" statement. Only hits count. It takes longer to shoot 10, or 20, or 30 misses before finally hitting (if you ever do with shooting like that), than to shoot carefully and hit right off.

Reliability, accuray, and power are on my list of wants on a "defensive" gun.

That pretty well describes my skill level with a handgun.
My best bet would be to fire enough to keep the bad guy ducking while I ran like hell.
Then when I came back with a rifle................. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Malamute - How lame!!!

Those of us who can hit with most shots think 15 hits from one magazine beats the heck out of 6 hits from a revolver.

There is a difference between having a lot of ammo, and being a poor shot. One notes Msrs Cooper and Smith are carrying 7 round mags with a backup.

And, one never knows how many and what type of threat will appear in the woods. Down scoping your ability to respond to multiple threats based on some preconception of how your one or two hits MIGHT effect the outcome of the fight is questionable.

I don't know of a single soldier who purposely goes into a possible combat situation with less than a full battle pack, "because I'm a good shot."

It does not matter how good of a shot you are if there are 8 viable threats, and you have a sixshooter. They win.

IMHO

Snowdog, Cooper didn't tell it all, how about mostly hits and few misses? This means mpre energy transfer, sn the street I prefer 16 rounds to 7 any night. -- no