[ARCHIVED THREAD] - backpacking gun (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/5/2008 12:14:52 PM EDT
| if you were going backpacking for two weeks through colorado...what gun would you bring? I am not going to be shooting it for fun, its to have if I need it. I am thinking a short 12 gauge shotgun or a .357 revolver. what would you guys bring and why? |
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i hiked the APT carring an .44 mag
yea it weighed a ton but knowing it was there was reasurring esply when i found out that some local killedsomeone close if not on the trail when i hiked in the rockys i carried a .357 and stashed a mav 88 with a pistol grip and loaded wih slugs and some buckshot |
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i had to put the bear story i found in here....... good stuff.. Fourteen-foot grizzly killed in Alaska By D.A. Ray, outdoor correspondent The Sun Deer hunting is one of the major seasons in Oklahoma. What would you do if you were doing just that and a huge bear charges you? An employee of the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska recently faced just that scenario. Although it was not bear season in the Last Frontier State, he was justified in killing the bear in self defense. He was out deer hunting when a large grizzly bear charged him from about 50 yards away. The guy emptied his 7mm Magnum semi-automatic rifle into the bear, and it dropped a few feet from him. The big bear was still alive so he reloaded and shot it several times in the head. The big bear was just over one thousand six hundred pounds. It stood 12 feet, six inches high at the shoulder and 14 feet to the top of his head. It is the largest grizzly bear ever recorded in the world. Just imagine an animal of these proportions charging straight at you with nothing but hate and destruction in its very being. The Alaska Fish and Wildlife Commission did not let the U.S. Forest Service employee keep the bear as a trophy. It will be stuffed, mounted, and placed on display at the Anchorage airport to remind tourists of the risks involved when in the wild. Hunters who hunt bears in Alaska are also very familiar with the fee associated with taking a trophy bear in addition to the cost of a hunting license. The last price I heard ran in the $3000 range. The really bizarre part of the story started when the bear was examined by the United States Forest Service. Based on the contents of the bear's stomach, it was established that the bear had killed at least two humans in the 72 hours before its demise which included a missing hiker. The U.S. Forest Service, backtracking from where the bear had originated, found the hiker's 38 caliber pistol emptied. Not far from the pistol were the remains of the hiker. The other body has not been found. Although the hiker fired six shots and managed to hit the bear with four of those shots (the Service ultimately found four 38 caliber slugs along with twelve 7mm slugs inside the bear's body), it only wounded the bear and probably angered it immediately. The bear killed the hiker an estimated two days prior to the bear's own death by the gun of the Forest Service worker. Think about this: If you are an average size man; you would be level with the bear's navel when he stood upright. The bear would look you in the eye when it walked on all fours! To give additional perspective, consider that this particular bear, standing on its hind legs, could walk up to an average single story house and look over the roof. It could walk up to a two story house and look in the bedroom windows. Think about what was running through the mind of the U.S. Forest worker when this huge thing was charging. I have been fortunate enough to go to Alaska about a half dozen times. This trip is always exciting and offers spectacular fishing, scenery, and crisp air. On my first trip to Craig, Alaska, the guide gave me a 44 Magnum pistol and told me that black bears were numerous in the area and to only shoot if one was on top of me. Well, a four hundred pounder showed up across the stream from me and let me tell you, that was an eye opener. Thankfully, the bear was more interested in the salmon than he was of me. After seeing the story on the 14-foot grizzly, hunters, hikers, and fishermen will be more aware of the potential dangers traveling the wilderness in Alaska. Although I am sure an encounter with a bear this size is very rare, encounters happen just the same  |
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Id take a 12 inch black powder pistol gripped shotgun if it was me.
Easy to pack and you can put a different load in each barrel for different reasons. Would be a little slow on a follow up shot if needed but you do have two shots immediately. Its short light and easilly handled. |
S&W 329PH .44 Mag Airlite 
Ok has some bite S&W Model 25 .45 Colt Mountain Gun 
Little heavy S&W 3" 396 Mountain Lite .44 Special. It weighs 35 ozs, 
If you can find one - this is it. I can vouch, easy to shoot, light, easily packed, and I like .44 Special. Revolvers are dead simple. This ones big enough to get a good grip on. CCI Gold Dot 200gr at @ 1000 fps or plenty of Good handloads. You can even get cheap Blazer for practice if you dont want to reload. One of the few guns I regret selling. Any of the compact .357s wouldn't be bad either. I'd even take a S&W 65.Or a Delta Elite 10mm (full power ammo). Aint much Griz in Colorado anymore - if any. Plenty for Cougar and interlopers. Luck Alac |
| I would carry my G20 10mm or possibly my titanium 44 mag revolver. Most likely the G20 due to the higher # of bullets available. No way would I carry a rifle or shotgun for any long distance. Too cumbersome. Unless you are in a war or are trying to be not eaten by polar bears or an Alaskan grizzly, my G20 should be more than enough. |
As most have already stated: Revolver, .357mag at the least! Now, backpacking so weight is a concern. S&W has you covered. Here is a S&W 386Mountain Lite 7-shot Scandium/Titanium 18.5oz revolver with a 3 1/8" barrel. It is perfect! It is proven that you need atleast a 3" barrel to get HP to reliably expand and this gun weighs less than a canteen and can be CCWed fairly easily. It has been MY backpacking gun for 5+ years.
Don't mind the gold  I keep it in this case in my safe so it doesn't get kicked around.
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Take the .357 if that's the biggest you have. When I go out into the Rocky Mountains, I never carry anything smaller than a .44 Magnum.
Grizzlies are a little tougher than most of these 10mm guys understand. Having seen them in action, I don't believe its enough to reliably bring them down and I'm not interested in carrying a gun that will be effective against *most* predators. |
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Take the .357 if that's the biggest you have. When I go out into the Rocky Mountains, I never carry anything smaller than a .44 Magnum. Grizzlies are a little tougher than most of these 10mm guys understand. Having seen them in action, I don't believe its enough to reliably bring them down and I'm not interested in carrying a gun that will be effective against *most* predators. This is true and we have them here in WA. I seldom go to that area of the state anymore though. |
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Smith & Wesson 325PD. Light and powerful enough to get the job done. They can still be found though S&W discontinued this particular setup. Also: Model 329PD Alaska Backpacker If weight is not an issue: Any 3" S&W 629 both great choices.. I always thought that this would be a great "carry a lot, shoot a little" hiking gun. 
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I went with a S&W 340 M&P. 13oz 5 shot 357. Light enough that you will not leave it behind. We used it to follow up a bear shot poorly with an arrow this year. It worked.
FWIW, I sold my XD45 because I found myself leaving it behind due to weight on wilderness trips. |
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Smith & Wesson 325PD. Light and powerful enough to get the job done. They can still be found though S&W discontinued this particular setup. Also: Model 329PD Alaska Backpacker If weight is not an issue: Any 3" S&W 629 both great choices.. I always thought that this would be a great "carry a lot, shoot a little" hiking gun. http://gunblast.com/images/SW329PD/DSC00569.jpg This. |
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Living in Colorado myself, I take this 6.8 goodness w/me anytime I head out of the city. http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s312/jlhetrick/DSC00853.jpg Glock 21 otherwise So, you go on overnight backpack trips with this? |
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Living in Colorado myself, I take this 6.8 goodness w/me anytime I head out of the city. http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s312/jlhetrick/DSC00853.jpg Glock 21 otherwise So, you go on overnight backpack trips with this? I would in a heart beat. It's not difficult to carry a rifle with you while hiking. I do almost daily. Think of all the soldiers who have hiked for miles with a heavy M1 Garand... Couple months ago I went on an 11 mile overnight hike and had my Glock 29 on my hip and my AR15 in my hands the whole time. It did not bother me a bit. Next time I'll probably bring my AR10. |