Handgun for Backpacking

[ebolamonkey]

this thread is making me want a glock 20 or 29 for the same purpose. what to do?!

[Bill Steele]

Also as far as mountain lions go, if one wants to attack and kill you it will whether you have a gun in your backpack or not. The general rule with mountain lions is if you see one it won't attack you. If one wants to attack you won't know until it does.

Not exactly accurate: http://naturalunseenhazards.wordpres...fected-12-peo/

But I agree with the sentiment on CA bears, not a threat.

G29SF for concealed carry, G20SF (or Gen4 I you are lucky enough to have one) if you can spare the space on your hip.

[norcalcyclist]

All depends...in CA I feel comfortable with 357mags from this Airweight:



If I think I'll come across any brown bears...or hiking in WY/ID/MT or AK, I prefer to have 44mags, and like this:

[SloChicken]

hmmn, airweight 44mag huh?

Now that is a contradiction, isn't it!

Cool revolver! To look at, that is!

As for the convo.

In CA, my .357 revolver is plenty

In WY/MT, I carry a .454 casull on a chest rig and either my M1A or a 12gauge for camp/overnight stuff.
Hunting up there I carry an appropriate long gun, usu my 30-06

Right firearm for the situation and all that.

As for the bear spray. It may work, and so do bells, but my backup will definitely be lead and not spray.

[Euphoria526]

Too bad it says 'air light'.

I'd think in CA a .40/.45/357 should be enough. Ive encountered 2 Blackbears near Yosemite on an organizing hiking/camping trip, sniffing out food. We got up and chased em out being loud and throwing rocks at there feet (not trying to hit them). This was years before I was I to firearms. They came back coutiosly a few more times and we did the same thing. No gun needed for that. And I %100 agree that situational awareness and being observent of your surroundings will save your ash. Period.

[norcalcyclist]

Too bad it says 'air light'.

I'd think in CA a .40/.45/357 should be enough. Ive encountered 2 Blackbears near Yosemite on an organizing hiking/camping trip, sniffing out food. We got up and chased em out being loud and throwing rocks at there feet (not trying to hit them). This was years before I was I to firearms. They came back coutiosly a few more times and we did the same thing. No gun needed for that. And I %100 agree that situational awareness and being observent of your surroundings will save your ash. Period.

Part of the problem up in northern CA is that we have bears with "attitudes"

Seriously, once a bear becomes a "problem" in Yosemite or Kings Canyon, they are tranq'ed and relocated to a less populated wilderness. Unfortunately, like parolees being dropped in Shasta Co, problem bears get dropped off in the Trinity Alps Wilderness. So the typical chasing doesn't work, as most of these are used to people and like human food.

Just my $0.02 after living up here for almost 25 yrs.

[Euphoria526]

Part of the problem up in northern CA is that we have bears with "attitudes"

Seriously, once a bear becomes a "problem" in Yosemite or Kings Canyon, they are tranq'ed and relocated to a less populated wilderness. Unfortunately, like parolees being dropped in Shasta Co, problem bears get dropped off in the Trinity Alps Wilderness. So the typical chasing doesn't work, as most of these are used to people and like human food.

Just my $0.02 after living up here for almost 25 yrs.

makes sense, i was unaware of that. but i was just sharing my personal experience. those who live around the areas should be more cautious. makes sense if there used to human interaction. honestly id rather have my 9 then bear spray. but id rather have spray then nothing lol

[Coolcom]

What are the rules for carrying while hiking/camping in CA anyway?

[zonzin]

I don't worry about bears so much,, it's the 2 legged predators that concern me. I carry my FN Five Seven when backpacking or mountain biking. Very light, in some states I can use the 20 round mag in it and it is still stupid light. fun gun to pack with.

[SloChicken]

[Chefantone]

SloChicken, that's probably the funniest thing I've read in a while. Thanks!

[Cypriss32]

Im looking for a Taurus tracker 41 mag with a 4" barrel. For me that's about as good as it gets for a back country carry gun.

[SkiDevil]

Hi everyone, first post on this forum.

I'm looking for ideas/discussions about a good handgun for backpacking. I think that the primary concerns for this gun is that it should be lightweight, and it should have a versatile round that might give you a chance against things you might encounter while hiking.

I've hiked enough that bear encounters aren't exactly surprising anymore. I've never felt scared, and every single time I've seen a bear, we both just continued about our business. However, I'm also fully cognizant of the fact that if the bear decided to do something, I'd most likely be totally at its mercy.

Secondly, there's also the idea that, while backpacking, you're likely several hours, if not days, from any sort of police protection, so your safety is really in your own hands. If I encountered any unsavory individuals, I'd rather not defend myself with my dining spork.

That said, I've thought about getting a Ruger LCR in .357 Mag, or an S&W 360PD. Both of those are also dreadfully expensive revolvers. I've also considered a semi-auto with a usual pistol round, but that might make the bear encounter worse if push came to shove.

Any ideas?

When I hike in the local Southern California mountains I prefer and I typically carry a .45 ACP semi-auto pistol. I think one of the standard duty type rounds could be effective for outdoors use and defense. Although, I would still lean towards the following calibers: .357 mag., .45 ACP, .40 SW, and 10mm.

There was a gunwriter named Chuck Karwan who wrote about this subject. He spoke of a Professional Hunter who carried a 1911 in .45 in Africa for defense against both animals and against men.

The logic was that it was better to carry a pistol with the capability for fast follow-up shots. The prefered loading was a non-expanding FMJ or cast type bullet. Mr. Karwan's choice was the Glock 10mm with hot FMJ rounds.

I think the concern of bears is legitimate but I would be more concerned with running into a mountain lion or some random criminal in the woods.

Finally, I have encountered a bear on two occasions and in both instances the bear left the area without incident. If you were fishing or hunting in an area populated with large bears then I would be more concerned about the potential hazard of an aggressive bear.

p.s. Corbon and Buffalo Bore ammunition companies sell high pressure ammo for a variety of calibers.

[jerryg1776]

If you want something light weight I would get a s&w 327. If you are really worried about bears I would get a 629pc carry comp

I have one of those! That being said for hiking I usually carry a snubby barreled S&W Model 19. I would love a snobby model 66 in stainless. I usually have 1 pr 2 snake shot up front and the rest are large heavy grain jhp's. I keep wanting to sell that thing but so far I just can't make myself do it. I would love a really lightweight 44 mag.