Show us your Guns!

[Oldsarge]

And who's looking over your shoulder. I always shoot better with a coach . . .

 

[flyfishark]

My wife has a Smith and Wesson 329PD--the scandium-titanium 44 mag revolver. She wears a 6.5 glove, the the grip fits her perfectly. (she shoots 44 specials, not mags at this point). She loves the gun. I shoot a S&W 686 357 Mag--both are 4" barrels, and we wouldn't trade them. We got rid of our Kimbers 45s because of the maintenence required every 800 rounds. My wife uses a gun purse--the perfect way to carry. The short barrels (I have a 2" 38 Specal) are fine if you're used to shooting, but my wife had one and the damned thing ate her hand. She's sticking with the 4" barrel.

 

[Viola]

Pics, please, flyfishark. Of the guns and of the purse.

 

[Doublegun]

I am 6'2", a solid 240, been shooting for 40+ years and there is no way I would shoot a scandium 44 recreationally. I have a 44 mag S&W with a 3" barrel and Hogue grips and the recoil is not bad at all. However, that same gun with the scandium frame is a monster. If I were backpacking in bear country I would prefer to carry the scandium frame but they are definitly not every day shooters of for a newbie.

 

[jkingrph]

I am 6'2", a solid 240, been shooting for 40+ years and there is no way I would shoot a scandium 44 recreationally. I have a 44 mag S&W with a 3" barrel and Hogue grips and the recoil is not bad at all. However, that same gun with the scandium frame is a monster. If I were backpacking in bear country I would prefer to carry the scandium frame but they are definitly not every day shooters of for a newbie.

That is a pretty good philosophy for any scandium frame gun, except for bear country, 38 and 357 a bit lacking in power.

 

[DeaconKC]

Viola, I did this for another forum a while back. It might be helpful to you.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/64369-Gentleman-s-Essentials-Unloading-a-Handgun

 

[Story]

Found elsewhere, posting here and leaving a trail for the original photographer.

Myah, see?

 

[Oldsarge]

Oh, film noir or what? Beautiful, Story, just beautiful.

 

[Kirk H.]

Picked up a pre 1947 M&P snubnose today. I love these old K-frame Snubys.

 

[Renault]

Picked up a pre 1947 M&P snubnose today. I love these old K-frame Snubys.

:eusa_clap
Hey Kirk! Nice catch! I'll keep a clear eye out for you one of them Tyler-T's! Never know whne I'll run across one of 'em!

Renault

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

As I happen to live in bear country :eeek:,....does anyone have recommendations as to a good bear defense gun? .357 or .44 magnum??,.or perhaps .45 or .50?,...I'm talking monster 600 lb. + grizzly bears here, and ONE shot.

I am 6'2", a solid 240, been shooting for 40+ years and there is no way I would shoot a scandium 44 recreationally. I have a 44 mag S&W with a 3" barrel and Hogue grips and the recoil is not bad at all. However, that same gun with the scandium frame is a monster. If I were backpacking in bear country I would prefer to carry the scandium frame but they are definitly not every day shooters of for a newbie.

 

[Rathdown]

As I happen to live in bear country :eeek:,....does anyone have recommendations as to a good bear defense gun? .357 or .44 magnum??,.or perhaps .45 or .50?,...I'm talking monster 600 lb. + grizzly bears here, and ONE shot.

No handgun will deliver a reliable ONE SHOT kill against a Grizzly Bear, regardless of caliber. The minimum I would consider for use against black bear would be a .357 Magnum with a 148 grain semi-jacketed soft point bullet, and at that I would expect to need three shots to stop (or seriously slow down) a bear. Even a .44 Magnum loaded with soft nose bullets would still be less than optimal, but probably better than a .357 Magnum. For bear, especially Grizzly, I'd recommend a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with slugs as probably the most effective choice. But even at that, I wouldn't expect any one shot stops.

 

[Stearmen]

It may sound strange, but another good thing to carry in bear and mouton lion country is one of those air horns like at sporting events. Most animals shy away from loud noises, thats why quite a few bicycle riders have been killed over the years by mountain lions, but no motorcycle riders. To an animal, even a quite off road bike with stock mufflers and spark arresters are Harley straight pipe loud. I know, I have come across black bears on my motorcycles, a little rev of the engine and they are heading in the opposite direction.

 

[Philip A.]

The only way to stop any animal in its tracks is by incapacitating the central nervous system, i.e. a brain or upper spinal cord shot.

We don't have bears here in Africa, but we do have some pretty nasty stuff, big and tough.

The key to stop a charge is not the caliber of the bullet, but shot placement and bullet behavior - directly linked to bullet construction and shape.

At handgun velocities, the best bullets available for deep and straight penetration are hard lead flat nose bullets ("Keith" FN and their derivatives).

Get a good bullet in a gun that you handle proficiently, and your bacon will be much safer than relying on a howitzer dumping humongous amounts of whatever all over the place.

Foot-pounds and loud noises don't kill. Holes in the right places do.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

No handgun will deliver a reliable ONE SHOT kill against a Grizzly Bear, regardless of caliber. The minimum I would consider for use against black bear would be a .357 Magnum with a 148 grain semi-jacketed soft point bullet, and at that I would expect to need three shots to stop (or seriously slow down) a bear. Even a .44 Magnum loaded with soft nose bullets would still be less than optimal, but probably better than a .357 Magnum. For bear, especially Grizzly, I'd recommend a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with slugs as probably the most effective choice. But even at that, I wouldn't expect any one shot stops.

Hmm,..my late uncle lived in Alaska, and he told me that everyone there carried a .357 when out and about, in case of grizzlies. Black bears are not as bad, and generally not as aggressive. One shot to the heart and I think a bear will go down. But that is a lucky shot at best if one happens to stumble upon a bear with no warning. I think I would want an automatic to be sure of getting the bear before it got me. And yes, I know noise is the best deterrent but it's not always possible. I may just invest in a Desert Eagle one day.

 

[Renault]

FYI, in case anyone is interested in old skoolin' their D/A revolvers. Tyler is back in business;

http://www.t-grips.com/

Renault

 

[Rathdown]

Hmm,..my late uncle lived in Alaska, and he told me that everyone there carried a .357 when out and about, in case of grizzlies. Black bears are not as bad, and generally not as aggressive. One shot to the heart and I think a bear will go down. But that is a lucky shot at best if one happens to stumble upon a bear with no warning. I think I would want an automatic to be sure of getting the bear before it got me. And yes, I know noise is the best deterrent but it's not always possible. I may just invest in a Desert Eagle one day.

A couple of things:
When the .357 Magnum was introduced to the shooting public in the 1930s, it was regarded as the be-all and end-all of handguns, surpassing the performance of both the .45 Long Colt and the .44 Special (the .44 Magnum didn't come along until the 1950s). As a result, many shooters imbued the caliber with performance characteristics that the .357 Magnum flat out didn't have, and legendary "big game" stopping power was one of those "rural myths" that even today attach to the cartridge, and the pistols that fire it.

The other myth about stopping power is that a shot to the heart will instantly kill or totally incapacitate an animal. Not true; a human assailant, shot thru the heart will have at least 4 seconds of brain activity before lack of fresh oxygen will cause the individual to become woozy and pass out; a grizzly, receiving a similar wound may last as long as 20 seconds, more than enough time to kill it's assailant (you) even though conventional wisdom may suggest that the bear is "dead".

In broad terms, as Phil has pointed out, what "kills" is ex-sanguination (ie depriving the brain of oxygen, which in turn shuts down the central nervous system); and what encourages rapid death is rapid bleed out, and the bigger the hole, the more like this is to occur.

Your Desert Eagle may be "faith inspiring" out in the woods, but when it comes time to take up the collection you'd be better off with a slug of truly biblical proportions.

 

[Oldsarge]

No handgun equals the power of a 30-30 Winchester rifle, a caliber that is considered a good general short range deer gun. Repeat, no hand gun equals the power of a 30-30. People who stop bears professionally start at the .375 H&H and the US Forest Service issues .458 Winchesters to its crews that are likely to deal with grizzly bears. They are big, fast and well armed. Air horns and pepper spray will be more effective than a handgun.

And by the way, if you shoot a grizzly in 'self defense' you'd better have really good evidence that you absolutely had to because the Fish and Game departments are renowned for their skepticism in that regard.

 

[DeaconKC]

Renault, thanks for the heads up! I've got a S&W .44 Special that needs one.

 

[Oldsarge]

FYI, in case anyone is interested in old skoolin' their D/A revolvers. Tyler is back in business;

http://www.t-grips.com/

Renault

Damn, that makes me want to go buy a DA just so I can put one of those bronze grips on it!