Who here goes armed whenever they are out in the field prospecting or detecting?

[Number9]

If a person has any apprehension about carrying a firearm for self protection.. they shouldn't carry.
And you are the only one that can make that decision!

The biggest problem I have is people who don't have the training and safety to even own a firearm much less carry one!

 

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[kuger]

.....there are a lot of people that have no business having a gun,but they arent Legal gun owners a majority of the time either,like wise there are a TON of LEGAL drivers that have no business on the road and endanger more lives every day than a gun

 

[idowa]

....you obviously have not been around firearms........I am 8th+Generation gun owner,and nobody in my family has ever been even wounded by mistake....or anybody I know.A car can roll over you sitting in the drive way.....

My dad just retired as a police chief, my brother is a deputy, and I was federal LEO for a few years...

Out of all of us and countless cousins and uncles all using firearms daily... I'm the one who shot himself... At age 10, with a BB gun in the hand while loading it...

 

[idowa]

In most cases.
I will add again that I'm not against carrying for self-defense, It is a matter of personal choice.

I respect your choice to not carry and don't begrudge your decision at all... Just wanted to make sure you didn't think there was any animosity by me towards you due to my stance on carrying weapons...

 

[releventchair]

I respect your choice to not carry and don't begrudge your decision at all... Just wanted to make sure you didn't think there was any animosity by me towards you due to my stance on carrying weapons...

X2 your choice.

 

[gleaner1]

I love guns believe me I just re-stocked a 1982 A-5 Light 12 shotgun, this Japan made, which are not as good quality as the Belgium made guns by a measure. I bought it at a yard sale cheap, the stock was mashed from abuse. If you ever tackle an A5 get the screwdriver kit, about 25 bucks delivered. And if you cant get the stock screw pin free with a good screwdriver, you will soon just say it!, I'm going tectin down at Sordid Park!

 

[arnofarrell]

I have an older double barrel from the 50's that I have been planning to restore but finding a buttstock has been so difficult. I found a custom place that will make one and I have been debating on which type of stock I should get. I could go the cheapest route and use straight up walnut or go with a fancier cut of walnut. I am thinking of going fancier and getting a fancy forearm as well. I am not really one who likes to custom my guns I like stock guns just fine, making them look fancy and "blinged out" seems like a waist of money because it does nothing for the accuracy of the gun.

 

[truckinbutch]

I have an older double barrel from the 50's that I have been planning to restore but finding a buttstock has been so difficult. I found a custom place that will make one and I have been debating on which type of stock I should get. I could go the cheapest route and use straight up walnut or go with a fancier cut of walnut. I am thinking of going fancier and getting a fancy forearm as well. I am not really one who likes to custom my guns I like stock guns just fine, making them look fancy and "blinged out" seems like a waist of money because it does nothing for the accuracy of the gun.

You put a new dress on an old hooker and what you see is what you get .

 

[Gold Maven]

I do own several rifles, shotguns and black powder rifles, and have been shooting and hunting since I was twelve. I'm writing regarding instances of "shooting the mailman", or accidental shootings of friends or family members, especially during home invasions. I know that it's not common, but it does happen. Anyhow, I'm getting a bit off-topic here.

Accidents can happen, bent over digging a hole in low light in the woods isn't the easiest profile to identify you as a man.

I was spring turkey hunting once, in before daylight, had a gobbler gobbling his head off in a tree i50 yrds. below me.

Just as it got light he flies down, it's a thick part of the woods, and starts coming my way.

Soon I see him, still barely light, foggy, trying to see his beard to make sure he is legal, get my gun up safety off, yep I see a beard swinging, he comes around a tree......and.......it's an Amishman, dressed in typical dark clothes, bent over with a small bag of mushrooms swinging as he held them close to his chest that I thought was a beard.

Thank God I was always taught to identify my target before shooting, but he was the absolute last thing I expected to see.

He didn't see me, and continued on his way.......I sat there in a cold sweat thinking what a 3 inch load of 4's would have done to him.

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

Its like insurance. You wont need it unless you don't have it...... Always armed.... Not just out there.... ALWAYS

 

[RGINN]

I don't take a gun with me on day trips but when camping I take along my Ruger Vaquero .45. Mostly it stays in the truck but I keep it under my pillow at night. The Ruger is a good gun but if the need ever arose I'm way more better with my S&W Mod. 19, as I carried that at work for almost 25 years. Both wheel guns. I've owned autos and liked some of them, but I guess at my age I'm startin to feel if I can't get the job done in six rounds I pretty much better pack it up and go to the house. The best all around wheel gun in my opinion is the S&W Mod. 10 .38 with the bull barrel. Uncomplicated, nice feel, very accurate, plus you can get the barrel punched out to handle .357 rounds. I hope everyone that carries remembers that if a scuffle breaks out, there will be a gun involved. Yours.

 

[Number9]

The thing to remember is in a self defense encounter the average number of shoots fired is 3.
My opinion is, don't let the idea that you're carrying a pistol with a large number of rounds give you a false sense of security.
Unless you plan to be in a gun fight.. which I don't!

A revolver is more simple and less likely to malfunction than a auto. And safer to use than a auto as a concealed handgun.

 

[Escape]

 

[P47RCFlyer]

As a former police officer I have my Beretta .40 pistol holstered on my hip at all times. I refuse to be a victim!

 

[Gold_FInger]

Glock .40 or my Ruger LCP .380.....


Number #1 rule of gun fighting.....Bring one.....

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

Ok. I've got a question for those gun enthusiasts.

I had a ruger blackhawk 44 mag and was accurate as hell with it. I sold it and regretted it ever since. Now I'm looking to get another revolver. Thinking about the 44 again but debating on the 45 instead. Less kick for one. The other is I wouldn't need my left hand as well. I never shot a 40 but have shot a 38 S&W snub nose. Does the 40 have a similar kick as the 45?
Or is it more like the 38?
I just want another revolver with knockdown power in case a run in with a bear. My 9mm would just piss him off. Lol
This is like asking which detector is better, but I've been juggling which one to get.

 

[P47RCFlyer]

Ok. I've got a question for those gun enthusiasts.

I had a ruger blackhawk 44 mag and was accurate as hell with it. I sold it and regretted it ever since. Now I'm looking to get another revolver. Thinking about the 44 again but debating on the 45 instead. Less kick for one. The other is I wouldn't need my left hand as well. I never shot a 40 but have shot a 38 S&W snub nose. Does the 40 have a similar kick as the 45?
Or is it more like the 38?
I just want another revolver with knockdown power in case a run in with a bear. My 9mm would just piss him off. Lol
This is like asking which detector is better, but I've been juggling which one to get.

Yes, a .40 revolver will have a similar kick as the .45. Not quite as severe but it will kick. I always tell people, if your going with a .40, why not just go with a .45 ? The differences are not enough to cause one to have to rethink everything they know about a pistol and relearn from scratch. I've shot and carried all those calibers at some point. My primary duty weapon was a Sig Sauer Semi-Auto .45 for sheer knock down power. However, from my personal experience, the .40 is just as good If your shooting a hotter grain bullet. I shoot ONLY the Speer "Gold-Dot". That is what i carried on and off duty and still do to this day. A semi auto .45 won't feel like it has as much kick as a .44 revolver. High caliber revolvers will kick and you will feel it, it's in the nature of the design. Semi autos have built in recoil system that disperses most of the recoil. Go to a gun dealer and ask him to break down a semi auto for you and you can see the difference. As for a revolver, a .357 or .44 are about the two best calibers out there. If you are being serious when you talk about shooting a bear; then you might want to consider nothing less than a .44 Mag. If it were me and i had to have a revolver, i would look at the S&W .44 magnum. Again, you have to consider a couple things, the grain of bullet for what would be a potential target, distance(s) that you might encounter this target, (thanks to this POS pres. we have) how readily available is the ammo where you live for certain calibers. Here, civilians are limited to 1 box of shells per day and the shelves are empty and have been for weeks now ( i do look for this to change soon though). Another BIG factor is, are you comfortable with a .44 revolver? If so then that's what you might want to stay with. As i said, I've shot and carried all the standard calibers, revolver and semi alike. Some of them i dearly loved the way the gun fired but, i hated the way it handled and felt in my hand. Some of them were just the opposite. When seconds count, you have to have all your "ducks lined up" and no second thoughts on the dependability or question about the weapon. When you own and shoot a weapon it should feel like another part of your body. You should not have to question any part of using it, it should become instinctive to you. Sorry for getting off course there, LOL.

Stay with what you know, you are already at one of the premier calibers. Get another Ruger BH .44 and go. If you still want to try something different, Go with the Sig Sauer P220 .45 ACP semi auto. It is German made and one of the finest shooting, handling and overall quality firearms i have ever owned. If not then try the Beretta PX4 Storm .40. It too is a very high quality firearm that has yielded me outstanding results with great performance. It will also do what you want to do with the right grain bullet. Do your research on these weapons, go to a gun dealer and see if they will let you shoot them, you'll be hooked. Hope this helps, just my 2 cents.

Remember this too...... with a semi auto you will have 8-11 rounds depending on the weapon and the caliber. So, that is very important to consider also. that one extra round might make the difference between you surviving the target that you have encountered.

Here is a link that will help answer some questions about bullet grains vs. caliber.
http://www.handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=11&Weight=All

 

[idowa]

Ok. I've got a question for those gun enthusiasts.

I had a ruger blackhawk 44 mag and was accurate as hell with it. I sold it and regretted it ever since. Now I'm looking to get another revolver. Thinking about the 44 again but debating on the 45 instead. Less kick for one. The other is I wouldn't need my left hand as well. I never shot a 40 but have shot a 38 S&W snub nose. Does the 40 have a similar kick as the 45?
Or is it more like the 38?
I just want another revolver with knockdown power in case a run in with a bear. My 9mm would just piss him off. Lol
This is like asking which detector is better, but I've been juggling which one to get.

I've carried just about every kind of sidearm for the past 30 years as a federal LEO, cowboy, and hunter.

My recommendation for you would be either the S&W 686 in .357 Magnum, or the Ruger GP100 in the same caliber, both w/ the 4" barrel.

You can get the S&W 686 Plus that has 7 rounds instead of 6.

Revolvers are simple, reliable, and easy to shoot. However, don't dismiss autos as being unreliable or complicated. Anyone who tells you autos are unreliable is stuck in the 70's or 80's. I won't carry a pistol that hasn't proven to be 100% reliable, and I haven't had a problem since my Beretta M9 I carried as a tanker crewman in the Army in the 90's...

The two pistols I recommended above can fire either .38 Specials or .357 Magnum, allowing you to target practice withe the milder and cheaper .38 Special and load it up with the hotter .357 Magnum for carry into the woods. .357 Magnum is plenty of caliber for any predator, two-legged or 4-legged, you will encounter in AZ. I'm currently carrying a full-size .40 S&W auto when I prospect and I'm getting tired of the weight and bulk of it. I'm thinking of switching to my compact .40, or going even smaller to a sub-compact 9mm.

Bottom line; if you are familiar with and comfortable with revolvers, then the 686 plus may be the perfect sidearm for you...

 

[LuckyThirteen08]

I carry a colt 380,Mainly for rattlesnakes and other creepy crawlies here in the hills of VA

 

[idowa]

And speaking of calibers, I used to own a Glock 31, which is the full-size Glock in .357 Sig. The .357 Sig is a great round that is basically a .40 S&W necked down to 9mm (.355 dia bullet) that delivers the same ballistics as the infamous 125 gr .357 Magnum "man-stopper" load used by law enforcement for decades.

However, if you want maximum stopping power and maximum capacity in something that is still practical for holster-wear while prospecting, then the mighty Glock 20 is for you...

15 rounds of the infamous 10mm, which is rumored to have caused the Grand Canyon when it was first test-fired...

A carrier of this weapon will be considered a true firearms enthusiast and one who possesses the testicular-fortitude that few men have today...

All hyperbole aside, the 10mm is very powerful, and is about the most powerful round that you can get in a semi-auto that is both available off the shelf and in a pistol that is reasonably sized and reliable...