Best caliber for camping

[aaronraby1]

smith and wesson 500.

[Droc101]

I love a 357 revolver for camping myself. Nothing to go wrong with it in grimy dusty environments. As for the one in favor of saving the bears by pissing it off with spray, have you ever gone bear hunting? Seen one at a full gait? A grizzly car run at up to 35mph, thats 51 feet a second. The max effective range on a bear pepper spray is 30 feet. I'd rather drop it and have the meat, I'll season it after.

[00cummins4x4]

I carry a .45LC Vaquero with Buffalo Bore 325 gr. 1325 f.p.s. 1267 ft. Lbs is hard for any animal you come across to argue with.

[cmichini]

If you plan to use a caliber less than 44 mag for a bear, make sure you file the front sight off it so it doesn't hurt so much when the bear shoves it up your....

Seriously though, excluding bears, I think GP-100 is a great choice. Like its been said before - powerful, anyone can use, and unless it experiences some sort of rare catastrophic failure it will go bang on every pull.

[Snapping Twig]

This is what I take when I go camping. It's got Trijicon sights for evening issues.



I typically switch out the rounds at night from my hunting load of 265g GCSWC to a more sedate 250g SWC moving somewhere in the neighborhood of 900fps. Less flash, recoil and basically equivalent to a .45 colt.

Here's what the 265g bullets look like.



All lined up, sized and lubed, looking for their cases.

I move them at 1200fps which is EK's favorite velocity - and I can see why.

[racky]

I carry a .45LC Vaquero with Buffalo Bore 325 gr. 1325 f.p.s. 1267 ft. Lbs is hard for any animal you come across to argue with.

that round won't shoot of the new vaqueros

[00cummins4x4]

Nope. New Vaqueros need not apply.

[ruddogg]

If your going to camp , especially on like Estate , I would say AA12 with G18 akimbo /w sleight of hand , cold blooded , steady aim.

LOL - Can't wait for Black Ops to come out next week.

[CALATRAVA]

I personally am a proponent of a multi-layered thought process when camping

1. Practice smart food storage and clean-up using bearboxes, or your vehicles interior
2. Never cook in the place you intend upon sleeping in
3. Do not wear pungent perfumes or colognes
4. Be aware of your surroundings, and any animal sign
5. Let a ranger or a family member know where you are, and when you'll be back
6. Carry a sidearm that you/your wife are familiar with and shoot well for 2-legged social work. (a campsite is an extension of your home, and carrying is permitted in most places, check your local laws to be sure)
7. Carry bear spray ON YOUR PERSON because your handgun is NOT going to stop a bear unless you are very, very lucky...
8. Possibly carry a longgun in your truck/car for more dire circumstances(for example, I'd always have a longgun like a .45-70 or 12ga if I was in grizzly bear country or on a hunt where the kill is stored near camp) but be aware, most situations do not require it, and it's likely won't be able to be carried/used to make it useful.


just some thoughts...

[ruddogg]

^ HAAHAA LOL

[maddoggie13]

357 mag...

[21SF]

If your going to camp , especially on like Estate , I would say AA12 with G18 akimbo /w sleight of hand , cold blooded , steady aim.

Fail!!!

Cant equip two secondary weapons at the same time.

[map]

.357 mag. but that's cus i like wheel guns.

[moleculo]

I have both pistols and revolvers. I use the revolver when hiking/camping. To me it always seems like you get dirt in everything when you're camping. I like a simple, stainless revolver that I know will just work when I pick it up. Also, snake shot is an important consideration, especially in the summer months. I used to carry a S&W 686 .357mag but it was just too damn heavy, especially if you've already got a bunch of other gear that you're carrying on a hike. I changed to a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special. It's lighter, smaller and hits plenty hard enough to knock down anything in SoCal that I'm going to encounter. And it didn't cost a fortune, so I won't cry when it gets banged up in the field.

[drunktank]

From my perspective, buying a semi would be selling myself short due to not being able to really use snake shot (and camping is when I'd want to have it handy the most). I'd also want a .44 magnum over a .41 or 10mm with full house loads if I'm worried about 4 legged critters.

What areas do you go camping? That would really help define your needs.