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| One of Us |
I was wondering what you guys use to walk through the woods with on your hip? I like to do a bit of hiking with the girlfriend, and usually carry my .357 in case we run across a dog or something, but was thinking of upgrading to a .44 (we ran into a big bear this year, I'm not too worried about them, but I've been thinking about a .44 for a while so figured this would be a good time to get one. Since I'll mostly just be carrying it instead of shooting it a lot I'm thinking about a 4" barrel, but would be open to other suggestions. I mostly picked a .44 because the ammo for anything much larger is a lot more expensive, but I'd take suggestions there, as well. I heal fast and don't scar. | ||
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If I'm not carrying a 44 blackhawk it is a 45 redhawk with 4" barrel. Dont worry too much about barrel length, your encounter with a bear/lion isn't going to be a long range affair. Only thing I would use as heavy a bullet as is controlable in whatever pistol you choose. Might check out a taurus alloy frame 44 special or mag. Lynn | |||
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Nothing wrong with a 4" barrel they shoot very well  _____________________________________________________ A 9mm may expand to a larger diameter, but a 45 ain't going to shrink Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill | |||
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4-inch Redhawk in .454 Casull. "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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I like a stainless 4 5/8" Ruger, but a 4" 629 would be a good alternative. I also frequently carry a 4 5/8" stainless .45 Colt. The .44 SBH:  I'm temporarily out of 629's, but here are the 4 5/8" .45's:   A .41 Mag. would work well, too:  All of these are powerful enough for your Pennsylvania black bears, or anything else encountered. | |||
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Very nice, Ken! "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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Don't need that level of stopping power around here, but a S&W Mountain Gun seems like the solution for you. Heavy cast bullet and you are set. Don't limit your challenges . . . Challenge your limits | |||
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I carry a Model 29 Mt Gun quite a bit hre in Pa.  | |||
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I would agree the .44 Mountain Gun would be perfect. If I had to limit myself to one handgun it would be it. The Scandium .44 would work well but it has to have nasty recoil. I've not fired one. Tanzania in 2006! Had 141 posts on prior forum as citori3. | |||
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| one of us |
Most who own a scandium gun admit it's better with reduced loads . Carry it with 44 special and perhaps carry a few mag loads. | |||
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| One of Us |
Mine is an old chopped 4 5/8" Ruger Flattop 44 Mag. Very light and handy with the original aluminum gripframe and fluted cylinder. | |||
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Mine is an older Redhawk with Pachmayr grips. Never did care for the original Redhawk grip shape. I keep it stoked with 310 gr Lee hard cast like these: http://leeprecision.com/xcart/...DC-C-430-310-RF.html Recoil isn't bad at all, and boy do they hit hard. ============================== "I'd love to be the one to disappoint you when I don't fall down" --Fred Durst | |||
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I actually carry a S&W 500ES with the 2 3/4" barrel. My second choice would be my 629 Mountain Gun. Though I must say the 629 is more painful to shoot. Really tempted to get the 329 Night Guard though. | |||
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Recently acquired a Ruger Bisley Flattop 44sp w/ 4 5/8 barrel. I thought it might be cumbersome to carry around all day while deer/hog hunting. Not at all. W/ a crossdraw holster, it's not a problem and shoots pretty well w/ well published handloads and only minor mods. | |||
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| One of Us |
Difficult for me to see a S&W X-Frame as a "walk about" revolver Here is one compared the a Ruger Redhawk. The Redhawk is a large revolver but the X-Frame is a gargantuan horse pistol  _____________________________________________________ A 9mm may expand to a larger diameter, but a 45 ain't going to shrink Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill | |||
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| Moderator |
Dang, shouldn't you call that a truck pistol instead? Looks like you need more than a horse to haul that bohemoth around!   "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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Mine's not so big:  | |||
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Just throw some brown stuff in the bear's eyes and run the other way.  Swede --------------------------------------------------------- NRA Life Member | |||
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| One of Us |
Since I seem to run into more spooky humans than spooky animals when out in the hills, I prefer a double action to single. A few years ago I picked up a S&W 657 Mountain Gun and have been pleased with it. But just recently I came up with a Model 29 with a 3 inch barrel and really like the shorter barrel...drop it in a hip pocket and go. Cheap 210 grain Remington JHPs over Unique to 240 grain full house loads, I think I have it covered. | |||
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| Moderator |
I have a Lew Horton Model 29 with a 3-inch barrel too, and it is a nice, compact package. For defense against two-legged predators I use 225 grain XPBs.  "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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That 44SBH is sweet!!!! | |||
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+1 on the Mountain gun- SSR | |||
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I'm happy with the 329pd. Definitely one of the nicer 44mag to carry around all day. No reason for it to sit in the safe. Recoil isn't a problem for those who can pull on their big girl panties.  S&W329pd Information Well, at least have an OK day  | |||
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I generally just carry a 10mm 1911 loaded heavy (200gr hard casts from Double Tap) for hiking in CT. I bought a 5" .460S&W mag X-frame for hiking in VT and made it about 2mi with it on my hip before I realized what a monster it is in terms of size. I've since realized how over gunned I was with that cannon. I've handled quite a few mountain guns and fell in love with their size and fit to my hand. Then I got my hands wrapped around a Ruger SA with (I believe) a 4 5/8" barrel and I'm again torn. A stiffly loaded .41, .44, or .45 should be more than enough for bruins in the Northeast. | |||
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Beautiful Revolvers gentlemen! "Let me start off with two words: Made in America" | |||
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What sight blade do you have on those? Are they availible to purchase? | |||
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Another +1 for the MG. | |||
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I'm surprised at how many of you carry single action revolvers, that valadates me quite a bit. I work in bear country every day of the week from May till Nov. I carry a super blackhawk .44 mag with a 5&1/2" barrel. Sometimes I carry my F.A. .454 but for some reason I'm just partial to the Ruger. I agree the S&W MT gun .44 would be a better choice they seem to be a perfect balance of power light weight and controlabilety but I carry the blackhawk in a harness rig since I wear it all day every day and it feels fine at the end of the day. Actully unless you plan on comeing up here I would feel fine around your black bears with the .357. DRSS NRA life AK Master Guide 124 | |||
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Add me to the Mt Gun list...4" SW 29 mt gun / 310gr wfngc at 1100fps. | |||
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I've carried a bunch of different 3" & 4" 29's and 629's and by far my favorite is the 4" 329. More fun to carry than shoot, but its tolerable with magnums. For my puroses I'm using k-frame Hogues. I also set it up for moon clips and got rid of that silly V-notch for a white outline square blade. | |||
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| Moderator |
Happy New Year, Kyler -- and welcome back! "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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I really like my .44 S&W 629 - 5" full underlug.  | |||
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| Moderator |
Very nice!! Welcome to the forum! "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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| One of Us |
I love 5" barreled S&W's N-Frames _____________________________________________________ A 9mm may expand to a larger diameter, but a 45 ain't going to shrink Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill | |||
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I do too - 6" just seemed to long for a carry gun, and I just thought that those with 4" or shorter barrels just weren't enough - that 5" with full under-lug just looks good I think. It took some time to find one that was "pre" lock, but once I did I snapped it right up. Gunbroker.com has been good to me. | |||
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Where did you get the Alum speed loaders | |||
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| One of Us |
I got them from this site: http://www.5starfirearms.com/50cal.html They're a little expensive, but where else are you going to get 500S&W speed loaders? | |||
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| Moderator |
Good point, LOL! "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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| One of Us |
Another vote for the mountain S&W. It is my carry weapon, though mine is in .41. A gun pretty much for all occasions. | |||
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| One of Us |
Did you shorten the frame? If not, then yea it is big _____________________________________________________ A 9mm may expand to a larger diameter, but a 45 ain't going to shrink Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill | |||
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