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Originally Posted by Mule Deer
How many of the people who've responded so far have actually shot a black bear, mountain lion or 2-legged varmint with their choice of "hiking revolver"?

Just curious, partly because of all the threads on the the perfect deer/elk/Cape buffalo/mongoose cartridge or bullet.


Good point...but then again I haven't shot a human either. My response was based on the personal recommendations of a guy who runs dogs after bears/lions here in Idaho who has treed and been involved in the killing of probably several hundred of them in the past 25 years...and police officers who have shot two-legged vermin in the line of duty.

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Originally Posted by smithrjd
Tried the 629 4" really got heavy on the hip.


When I backpack (usually 35-45 pound pack) a chest rig is what I use to carry my 3" 629. This summer I used a very cheap and simple Blackhawk IWB nylon holster clipped to the inside of my packs sternum strap. Worked great.

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My favorite hiking revolvers are my S&W AirLites, a M-360 3" .357, or my M-329 4" .44 Mag.

Very pleasant to carry, yet lots of power available should it be needed. Pleasant to shoot with light loads for practice or vermin. Rust is less of a concern than with blue guns.


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No experience shooting bares, katz, or peoples but the SP101 in .357 has been mentioned a couple of times. Since the OP didn't list one....and if he's going to buy one....get the new model with the 4.2 inch barrel. I've been carrying one since early this spring while working on the farm, mainly for gophers and snakes. Great little revolver. Not to heavy to carry in a good holster, heavy enough to shoot mag loads, slim design, great sights, long enough barrel to use the mag loads, sweat resistant finish....

I doubt you have any need for it, but it's a first round pick in the Ultimate Hiking Revolver draft.

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Since the greatest threat will be of the two-legged variety the following link should prove interesting to those who carry a gun for defense.

The person writing the article is works for County Medical Examiner in a morgue in Atlanta. He has first-hand experience examining in detail the affects of bullets on flesh and bone.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/concea...t-performance-different-perspective.html

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Is the Appalachian Trail that dangerous these days? Last time I hiked it was in summer camp with a bunch of other 11 and 12 year old boys. We went about 50 miles through North Carolina and northern Georgia. The most dangerous weapons we carried were cans of Vienna sausage.

I think we were more terrified of the 16 to 18 year old counselors running us ragged and forcing us to do all of their chores than any wild animals. But then, they were definitely a sadistic and malicious bunch of SOB�s.


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We don't have any Mongooses here or Cape Buff but the handgun I carry while hiking without a rifle,will penetrate a Cape Buffalo's shoulders(both) exit and kill the one standing next to it...

Not sure about Mongooses though!

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Before anyone calls BS and things go South..Here is part of it from Rifle Magazine....

Quote
Right off, I would imagine this �debate� is somewhat inspired by the story Brian Pearce did about the .45-70 in Africa, where he used a Cor-Bon 400-grain solid to shoot a Cape buffalo, whereupon the bullet exited the bull and killed a cow buffalo that had gone unnoticed on the other side of the bull. The bull took off, and Brian shot it in the south end where the solid penetrated to the heart, ending the affair in fairly short fashion.


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I have used a Browning Hi-Power in .40 S&W to dispatch wounded deer, pronghorns and hogs. It worked as good as anything else I have tried and made a compact carry package. A Glock .40 would be comparable. My favorite hiking pistol is an S&W Model 66 with 125-grain CorBons. I have used that pistol and load to take several lions over dogs and to finish off wounded animals.

Of the two that you have, I would choose the .44 Special and load it with Hornady 180-grain XTP factory ammo. These rounds shoot very well in my 4-inch S&W. I would not hesitate to use it on lions, bears or for self-defense.


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I would pack a 22 or 22 Mag if hiking the AP. Would work perfect for small game, maybe bring some "snake shot" rounds as well.

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I have carried a Ruger Redhawk 5.5 44 mag while hiking and it did fine, but alittle heavy, lately I have been carrying my Glock 21 SF due to the fact I have had to deal with more of the 2 legged problems than the 4 legged ones! Good luck!

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Originally Posted by siskiyous6

I think the next trail gun I buy will be a Kel-Tec PMR-30 in 22 Magnum. Then I wouldn't have to carry any extra ammo.


Love my new KelTec PMR-30 in .22 mag! I've been carrying it quite a bit for hiking around the ranch while checking fences & hunting arrowheads. it's super light & very accurate. With 2 30 round mags, I feel pretty well armed here in Texas, on private property.

That being said, if I'm bow huntnting in CO or NM, where I might encounter black bears or mountain lions, I like my Glock 20- 10mm w/ 15 rounds of Hornady 200gr XTP's.

In any area where my main concerns are two- legged varmints, I usually have my Glock 32- 357sig. It holds 13+ rounds of Speer Gold Dot 125 gr HP's. I have killed several feral hogs here in TX with it, & it puts them down on the spot!
Texas State Troopers here have used that same ammo for years to put down numerous bad guys. Even while shooting through car doors!

My last choice is my little S&W .38 BodyGaurd Revolver with Factory Lazer.
I mostly carry it around the house or while working out in my garage late at night. It doesn't pull down my jogging shorts, and it's loaded with Speer Gold Dot 125gr +P 38sp ammo.
I always carry a extra speed loader when jogging around our neighborhood at night.


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A good part of comfort is more than sheer weight of the gun. I really like this holster:

http://www.montanaholster.com/

It's not fancy, but sturdy and carries beautifully. I find that I don't even use the belt snap, just let it hang, so to speak. Also, the shoulder rig is usable with other belt-style holsters (I use mine mostly with an old Bianchi flap holster holding a Model 57 S&W). Much more comfortable than either a belt or a typical shoulder holster. I can carry an N frame Smith and Wesson all day with no fatigue (at least from the gun and holster!).

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I'll be hiking a piece of the Virginia AT in October. I don't plan on carrying a firearm even though I usually have one handy. Virginia and Georgia don't have a reciprocal carry agreement. For some unknown reason the Constitution only applies in your home state or those that decide that your home state has done enough checking on you to allow you to protect yourself. Evidently Georgia and Virginia don't see eye to eye when it comes to carry permits.



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Originally Posted by Mathsr
I'll be hiking a piece of the Virginia AT in October. I don't plan on carrying a firearm even though I usually have one handy. Virginia and Georgia don't have a reciprocal carry agreement. For some unknown reason the Constitution only applies in your home state or those that decide that your home state has done enough checking on you to allow you to protect yourself. Evidently Georgia and Virginia don't see eye to eye when it comes to carry permits.



You will find that you can carry your handgun openly in Virginia, no permit of any kind.

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That was a question that just occurred to me. Thanks for answering it before I had the chance to ask! So as I understand it even though I am from out of state, it is legal to open carry in Virginia. I guess in areas where I would not want to open carry I would need to have the firearm inaccessible and unloaded so that it would not be considered a concealed weapon. I have never worried much about four legged critters or two legged critters either for that matter, but me having a firearm would offer some comfort to others that will be with me. (They know that I can out run them and there wouldn't be as much need to do so if I was armed.) Thanks again for the information.


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I have not made my recommendation yet, but would recommend a lighterweight double action 357 Mag from Colt, Ruger, or S&W with 2 to 4 inch barrel.

I have killed a 250 pound black bear with a 4 inch S&W model 66 with 158 gn SJHP factory loaded Magtech ammo.

In the summer I load "Shot" Ball "Shot" Ball Ball Ball in the cylinder and have them loaded to fire in that order. I figure that a snake up close would need shot quick; a toothy critter should yield enough warning to cycle past the first "Shot" capsule or if that close the shot to it's face should help deter long enough to get a ball in it as a stopper. In fall/winter, I load straight ball ammo, i.e. 158 gn SJHP.



Originally Posted by Mule Deer
How many of the people who've responded so far have actually shot a black bear, mountain lion or 2-legged varmint with their choice of "hiking revolver"?

Just curious, partly because of all the threads on the the perfect deer/elk/Cape buffalo/mongoose cartridge or bullet.


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I can give you my opinions, which is based on some experience and actual observations for those who are wondering if I have any. Admittedly I have no experience on bear and cougar with a revolver. I would say just carry whichever is lightest and that you shoot well. If you want to buy another gun, so be it, it's a good excuse. As far as loads go, you will be much much more likely to need the gun on a human so I would go with an expanding type bullet like an XTP that can work on other critters as well if needed. Yes I have seen many people shot with expanding bullets, FMJ bullets and lead bullets from handguns, rifles and shotguns so I do have some experience. The expanding bullets have almost always done a better job of stopping a person because of more trauma, humans need comparatively little in the way of penetration like big game will.

I have seen many people who have been shot with many weapons, usually handguns, and have been in the middle of and actually witnessed a handful of shootings. Luckily I was armed with 00 buck for the most intense, very close range one. If I would have had just a handgun, I would have probably ended up very hurt or killed, even though he would have still likely been killed had I shot him many times with a handgun, he would not have been stopped by any handgun like the shotgun stopped him, which saved my butt.

Handguns are not death rays like on television and in fact in actual shootings, a human shot one time in the torso with a handgun has I believe (I am going from memory from a gunshot wound class from 3 years ago) a 97 percent chance of living. Additional rounds on target increase the chance of killing the subject exponentially. Remember, stopping power and killing power are two different things. Yes big bore revolvers with heavy cast bullets are very good killers even for very large animals, they however lack the high velocity that causes massive trauma that is usually what stops. This does not inclued a proper central nervous system shot, which will almost always stop even with a handgun, almost.

You have to take into account the motivation and state of the animal you are up against. Lucky for us, the vast majority of people who are shot will fall to the ground screaming with even a minor injury to an extremity, because humans are soft. This is where the high percentage of one shot stops comes from associated with the rating of handgun loads in actual shootings. Many of these people were still not killed, just stopped. If you take a motivated, demented, high, mental or deranged subject or just one who is dedicated to the cause, we have a different subject all together. In this case anything short of a central nervous system shot will do nothing until they bleed out or are broken down by hitting pelvis, major bones or other parts of their frame, which will drop them but still not always stop them as they will crawl or fight from the ground if they are dedicated enough.

All this said, I am definately not saying I'm an expert, just my experiences. Carry what you are most comfortable with and if in the unfortunate and unlikely chance that you have to shoot, shoot until your gun is empty or until someone is on the ground and no longer a threat.

We all have our opinions, some are based on experience, too many are based on internet forums. There are many answers on here for you to choose from. The most important thing is to have fun on your hike.

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Best hiking gun IN THE WORLD! (LCR 22LR)

[Linked Image]

Second best hiking gun IN THE WORLD! (S&W 396, note the holster)

[Linked Image]

Travis


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As a person who grew up hunting and exploring in the foothills of Appalachia, and packed different handguns over the years, were I to choose a revolver as the OP stated, the 3" version of the S&W 360 would be my ideal choice. (Another poster posted a picture of one earlier in this thread.)

Full disclosure, I haven't had to actually use one on black bear, cougars, or the two-legged varmits, but I'm pretty sure a lightweight 3" .357 would work just fine. wink

I have no idea what all states the Trail goes through, and someone mentioned NJ, which reminds me of this Ayoob story: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob105.html
about a lady carrying hollowpoints in NJ who nearly went to prison over the concealed weapon which was legal for her in CT, but not NJ. However, she got off lightly and was "only" fined $1000 per cartridge for carrying HP's.

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