[Old Pa]

All steel 5" Model 1911 with good night sights, clean breaking 3-4# trigger in .45ACP with six eight-round magazines reliability proven for at least 250 rounds like one of the first generation Kimbers, Wilson, Ed Brown, Rock Island, etc.

 

[Xena]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trains are bad /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd probably go with my 1991A1. It carries fine, always works, is very accurate and fast, and packs a punch.

My choice too. A dam fine gun. But for home protection, not carry. For carry, I like a .38 snubby with +P ammo. I could kick myself for not getting a Colt Mustang when they were in production.

 

[IceClass]

I'm trying to figure out a handgun that would be suitable for camp use.
Probably should be a revolver for deep cold weather reliability and has to have enough kick to drop a bear at close range if need be.
Any suggestions?

 

[grawk]

S&W 629 .44mag or similar, but there isn't really a handgun that will drop a bear at close range. A 12ga with slug might do it, a .475 will probably do it.

 

[Xena]

Nice thing about a .44 mag is you can shoot .44 specials for fun. I don't know if a .357 mag would take down a bear. Probably a black bear. Ruger's .357s are strong and reliable, I had one for years.

 

[grawk]

a .357 definitely wouldnt' take down a bear unless you got lucky.

If you're carrying a handgun for bear, be sure to file off the front sight...














that way, when the bear shoves it in your *** it won't hurt so much.

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceClass /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm trying to figure out a handgun that would be suitable for camp use. Probably should be a revolver for deep cold weather reliability and has to have enough kick to drop a bear at close range if need be. Any suggestions?

Old Model 629 S&W Mountain Gun with 4" pencil barrel. Load 240 grain lead Keith type bullets at about the speed of sound (@1150fps) for most use and 240 grain Hornady XTP JHP or similar for serious use. Companions well with a .44RemMag lever carbine. .44RemMag is not a bear stopper per se, but it's where handgun cartridges meet rifle cartridges for me.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceClass /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm trying to figure out a handgun that would be suitable for camp use. Probably should be a revolver for deep cold weather reliability and has to have enough kick to drop a bear at close range if need be. Any suggestions?

How about the Ruger’s Super Redhawk Alaskan .454 Casull.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Pa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Old Model 629 S&W Mountain Gun with 4" pencil barrel. Load 240 grain lead Keith type bullets at about the speed of sound (@1150fps) for most use and 240 grain Hornady XTP JHP or similar for serious use. Companions well with a .44RemMag lever carbine. .44RemMag is not a bear stopper per se, but it's where handgun cartridges meet rifle cartridges for me.

I own one of these suckers and it is beautiful piece. I sent it to their custom shop for an action job and then to have it magna ported.

[/IMG]

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I own one of these suckers and it is beautiful piece. I sent it to their custom shop for an action job and then to have it magna ported.

Very nice heavy duty kit gun. It's light enough to be just not there for all day in the woods. My used one timed out fine, so I just put a single action trigger return spring in it and boned the main spring a bit. My luck with Magna-Porting on a 10" T/C Contender barrel in .30 Herret and with a Redhawk has not been so good. When I took those Hogue grips off mine to put on Pachmayr Decellerators, there was a blood stain on the frame and in the grip from somebody else's split web.

 

[elmohut]

Only one handgun? 6 inch .357 and a reloader. Usable for just about anything, including small game(redued loads), long range target shooting, deer sized game, home defense.

If bear is a possibility, go with .44.

 

[myinitialsaredac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by applevalleyjoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif HK USP 40...comfortable, lots of bullets, knock-down power for self-defense, and very manageable recoil

Agreed, 40 gives you the confidence that you have more ammo in the mag whilst still making a sizable hole. I feel that the 40's also cycle very quickly compared to the 9 and the 45.

Another line to look at from h&k is the USP Compacts, they are far easier to carry than the full sized USPs.

Go for the 40 though IMO.

Dave

 

[digger945]

I just want to know what it shoots like, if anyone has ever shot it.

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digger945 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just want to know what it shoots like, if anyone has ever shot it.

Back in the early 80's, the distributor for Desert Eagle was local and his reps used to shoot quite often at a range I belonged to. While I never fired a gold one, I shot dozens of rounds through several each .357RemMag and .44RemMag Desert Beagles (the name stuck because they were dogs). Heavy and crude, it was also known as "the world's first crew served handgun". Big awkward grips, gritty creepy triggers, and sights that were hard to pick up visually. The ergos were also bad. They weren't that accurate. Gummed up quickly on loads with flake powders. Not very reliable. Nothing to recommend them as delivery systems for either caliber. Just heavy and expensive. Some movie placements made them popular with non-shooting collectors. Nothing really improved with the additional .50AE caliber.

 

[grawk]

Yah, the desert eagle is an awful handgun. If you want a canon, check out the .475 The Wildey