[Ian11]

Say you're Tom Hanks' character in the movie CastAway. Those FEDEx packages have finally washed ashore. One of those boxes just happens to be a delivery from Davidson's (the internet's firearm superstore) and it weighs and is big enough to hold a decent sized handgun.

Which handgun would you pray for before opening that box? A .357 Mag revolver? A Glock? A 1911? A single shot Contender?



The Rules:

*Notice I wrote handgun. Not rifle or shotgun.
*You lucked out. There's also a box of 50 cartridges appropriate for your handgun in a seperate package. You try one round and it works!!!
*Sorry no big vats of BreakFree CLP, Militec 1, or other cleaning/lubrication/preservative products came ashore. Your gun is gonna be "exposed" to the elements for years and years. Of course you could find something on the island that could be a subsitute and better than nothing.

[MJRW]

Stainless Super Redhawk in .454 and a 9.5" barrel. I'm not concerned with concealing it or overpenetration. Stainless to resist the elements and I know it will work even if a tree falls on it.

[pale horse]

ruger p97.

[Ala Dan]

Smith & Wesson 6" 686

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[sm]

1911
45ACP ball ammo is ok by me

[Jeeper]

I dont remember there being anything on his island that you would want to kill to eat. So my choice would be a hand-speargun for fishing.

[Peter M. Eick]

The heck with a conventional gun. Give me a good flare gun and 50 flares. They are great for starting fires and signalling folks.....

[Prodigalshooter]

I agree, there wern't any dangerous creatures to worry about (human or animal) so I'd take a Ruger Mark II, 6-8" barrel in SS. Good enough to take a seagull or albatross when posssible, there musta been some small game on the island too.

[valnar]

Something with a long barrel, since CCW isn't needed. Hi-cap mags aren't needed since you aren't likely to piss off a seagull or crab and need more than 6 shots.

I'd say a model 66 with .38 special preferred, but .357 would be fine. I don't think an L-frame (686) warrants the worry about .357Mag ammo since the "life" of this pistol will be 50 shots AFAI concerned. 6" or 8" barrel.

If there were any tigers? Then a 629.

-Robert

[cool45auto]

Probably a stainless steel revolver for simplicity.

[CWL]

.22LR.

Survival means eating. More critters get shot (& eaten) with .22LR than large bores combined.

[Boats]

Since the gun and ammo are free, I will take the stainless 7.5 inch Freedom Arms 83 Premium grade in .41 Magnum. Enough gun for island game, enough power and controlability for cannibals.

Now if I could just figure out how this package managed to float, I would build a raft the same way and set sail*.:D



* I have never seen the movie, did a cargo container float ashore?

[Thirties]

Good think Tom Hanks didn't get delivery of that handgun. He'd have committed suicide and the film would have had a rather different, even more sad ending.

[Ian11]

If a person really wants to commit suicide a person is going to find a way. Even go through the silly trouble of climbing the highest mountain on the island because no other tree would do.:rolleyes:


I disagree with the argument that having a gun significantly increases your likelihood of commiting suicide. Although I believe a person who owns a gun and TRULY WANTS to commit suicide would more likely use a gun. I'll concede a person who tries overdosing, slashing their wrists, locking themselves in the garage with the car running might have a better chance of being saved by EMT's than a bullet to the head. But I believe a self inflicted gunshot could be more survivable than hurling yourself from a 30 story building. :rolleyes: Should we ban high rise buildings too?


Anti's simply want us to believe that owning a gun makes people "want" to commit suicide. Which is flat out wrong. All of here work hard, enjoy life more, and are able to protect ourselves and our loved ones because of guns.


Sorry, this was suppose to be a "fun" topic but I got sidetracked by this serious issue.

[Nick96]

Ruger .22 auto and 50 rounds of ammo.

We're talking survival - and a .22 is the best tool for the job.

[MJRW]

I'm thinking that there is large game and I want more pounds of meat per round than I can get with a .22.

[Nick96]

Tom Hanks and a .357 - yeh right. Bagging more air than meat I'd expect. All you have to do is hit them and wait for them to bleed and pass out. What else do you have to do - debate world politics with a soccer ball?

[10-Ring]

S&W mod 66

[Spieler]

A stainless 6" bbl revolver of reputable manufacture in .357 Mag. That should be enough to cover most contingencies.


-Pat

[Johnny Guest]

S&W model 65 four inch. Light and compact enough for constant carry, resistant to salt air, non-adjustable sights = very rugged. I'd hope for 158 gr mag ammo, but .38 spl would be okay as well.

Best,
Johnny

[Dr.Who]

Let see, on an island, exposed to salt water-air, noting else except ammo and the gun. No way to maintain it... Let see... A Glock in 40 or 9mm, big enough to get the job done on big things yet not too big to over power the meat on something smaller. Plus since the glock was shipped in it's own box, it has a cleaning brush. Now how much ammo came with the shippment?

[Boats]

The nice thing about a Glock in .40S&W is that you might have pistol and a hand grenade all rolled into one.:D

[firestar]

I would take a Contender or other rifle type handgun in .223 cal. The only thing to shoot might be a seagull or other bird and you may need the accuracy and distance of the .223.

[arinvolvo]

I think firestar nailed it on the head with the contender....very few moving parts....break breach for easy sand removal...effective caliber for large or small game...enough distance and power for anything you need to shoot, and one shot at a time makes for conservative ammo usage.

Another good single shot pistol would be an AMT harballer:D :rolleyes: :barf:

Of course the contender would need to be polymer stocked, stainless barreled, and with a box of sealed 223, for sticking it in the water to cap fish.:p

[badgerrr]

With my luck, I'd find an M-29 S&W and 2,000 rounds of CCI stingers. :o

(But I'd name that Smith, Wilson) :D

[Travis McGee]

You guys are all wet.

What Hanks could have used the most would have been a SPEARGUN, for fish, lobsters, etc.

(Yes, there are pistol spearguns.)

[Blueduck]

As the learning curve on a spear-gun might be a bit steep for 50 shots, I'll take a 6" Model 617.

[JeepDriver]

Ruger P95 (Stainless)

or

Glock 17

2 of the toughest handguns made

[CWL]

Glock, yeah. Real useful for a deserted island. 9mms and .40S&Ws are not primary hunting rounds. .357magnum is overkill. Angry natives & cannibals only inhabit Gilligan's Island reruns.

Survival is eating. Small birds, rodents, turtles, iguanas, perhaps even fish can be shot with a .22LR without destroying too much meat. Even pigs can be taken with one.

Animals don't naturally populate islands. They must fly or swim there. The only reason there are pigs/boars, monkeys and rodents on islands is because Polynesians & western sailors brought them along.

[makdaddy03]

anything 22lr and a bulk box of Federal ammo.:D

[Dave Markowitz]

A stainless steel Ruger Super Single Six with a 6.5" barrel.

[brian0128]

Stainless steel revolver with a six inch barrel. Nothing bigger than a .357......and a nice scope that was premounted and zeroed.:D

[Newton]

Something with a hi cap magazine, say a Glock 17.

It's not for shooting, it's so I can piss off the antis when I'm rescued by saying I owed my life to that 17 round magazine when I had to defend myself from a raiding party of locals - I would make sure I told them I needed ALL 17 shots to stay alive.

Ammo - well it would have to be Ranger T 127 grain +P+, but it wouldn't really matter.

Newton

[Blueduck]

As the learning curve on a spear-gun might be a bit steep for 50 shots, I'll take a 6" Model 617.-Blueduck

Check that- Just got done with several e-mail exchanges with Kate Fredette of S/W's "Service" Department. I'll go with Frodo and the Ruger Single Six...

[FROCKDUTCH1]

Forget the speargun. Get a glock with marine springcups and fire it underwater. Combo fish getter, boar shooter and cannibal killer. What do you need your hearing for, nobody to talk to on the island anyway hAHAHAHAHA...

[j45m16]

glock 20 10mm

[Skofnung]

Probably a S&W K22 in stainless if possible. Or anything in .22 cal.

That said, I would rather have a proper axe or a good machette on a Pacific Island than a firearm.

YMMV

[Dr.Rob]

Ever see the skit where they open the package at the end?

"I have to know after all these years...what's in this package?"

"oh nothing special just a satellite phone, a GPS unit, water proof matches, a first aid kit, compass, and water purification tablets"

Tom sure could have used a swiss army knife.

As far as a firearm, anything stainless with few moving parts (will coconut oil prevent rust?)

[Mike Irwin]

An S&W Model 18 .22 LR.

And lots of ammo.

[MCNETT]

Glock 20 w/ 15rd mags.
-Mike

[krept]

686

[s&w 24]

ruger vequero 5 1/2" SST in 44 mag with a box of 44 special 240 gr +p loads. A SA revolver is the only gun I know of that will still work with missing and broken parts and as far as the ammo look up what Elmer Keith did with them on sharks in gun notes vol 1.

[Skunkabilly]

:p

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=369170

[Blueduck]

Skunk,

I think you misread the question, it's "What pistol do you want with you on a deserted island?" NOT What pistol should we leave on a deserted island. ;)

[clown714]

T\C contender(any caliber)

clown


WHOOO HOOOO senior member status:D

beer's on me;)

[Rick Blaine]

Taurus Silhouette Model: 66SS12, .357 MAG, Capacity: 7, Barrel Length: 12'' Vent Rib, stainless steel. Maybe a box of 38 Special +P, 130 gr. Winchester Supreme SXT - nothing fancy, and Winchester makes a reliable round. I like 130 grain for small game. The 12" barrel Taurus should cruise through 50 rounds, and after that you can use it as a club.

[DesertRat]

T/C Contender in 30-06 and ONE round. :evil:

[bad_dad_brad]

A Glock G17. Same pistol I would take back into the stone age. Least maintenance. Highest reliability. Virtually corrosion free.

[daniel (australia)]

IIRC there wasn't really anything much to shoot at on the island Tom Hanks was stranded on. Therefore, if I couldn't have a speargun I think I'd hope for a big, shiny long-barreled stainless revolver, in .454 or .44 Mag. I'd want ammo in nickel-plated cases, with cast lead projectiles. Why?

The revolver would make a handy club or mallet, for such things as construction of shelter and fish traps, subduing reluctant food, cracking shellfish and coconuts etc. The long barrel would also come in handy as a poker, or for lifting stuff off the fire. The piece could also be stripped for springs (fishooks) screws (spear or arrow barbs) and other useful stuff, and a shiny sideplate would make a signalling mirror.

The shiny nickel cases could make fishing lures, as well as containing propellant for starting fires, and the bullets would make sinkers or weight a throw net.

A terrible way to treat a handgun, but I'd rather live.:)

[Glamdring]

Wouldn't need a pistol for anything on that island. So to take advantage of the gun being free, I would like a Ruger Bisley (stainless) in 45 LC that had been improved by Bowen. NP3 on all the metal.

***

I might add that when I leave home every day I am better equipped than Hanks was, I have a Spyderco & a cig lighter & at least one handgun. I have a BOB in the car. In winter I have my coat (gortex) with me everywhere that has a leatherman, matches, two flashlights (mini mag light and a surefire, have spare set of batteries for the maglight), firstaid kit, spaceblanket, gloves.

And I know how to make fish traps. Scurvy would be my biggest concern until I found something to eat that had Vit C (I haven't studied tropical survival much, I know what to eat in northern climates to avoid scurvy, but unless there were citrus fruits around I would have to guess blind on seaweed).

[Son of John]

.357 mag, 4 inch barrel made by anyone first, Glock in any caliber next

I guess it should be a WILSON Combat 1911, though, for Hanks.

Sorry.

[Jack19]

Give me a Glock to stand up to that salt air.

Or, a fishing pole, tackle box, and a good pair of shoes. :D

[Jason Demond]

I would hope for a 6" S&W 686.

[Schuey2002]

I'd probably hope for a Smith & Wesson (stainless) revolver of one sort or the other..

;)