Woods/city carry for Alaska worker

will o.p. be working in the bush solo? having a wingmate (not for the proverbial 22 to the kneecap but for another decent defensive firearm), or even a dog, for overwatch would go a long way to ensure a safe experience wouldn’t it? i know from the one eyed monster that there are plenty of guys soloing in the alaskan bush but that takes more moxie than i could ever muster even in my best years.

I would probably carry a stainless 4-5/8" bbl Ruger NM Blackhawk in .45 Colt loaded with heavy hard cast Buffalo Bore ammo. If you're concerned about corrosion throw a coat of paste wax on it occasionally.

UAV Dan said:

I looked at a springfield 10mm too. I've never fired a 10mm, but I've been heard it's equivalent to 44 magnum, so I'm unsure if I'd be able to handle it effectively, especially in a smaller package. I am more familiar with pistols, so that is an advantage.

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Apologies for not having read all pages of the thread.

I bought my first 10mm earlier this year. I had the same impressions and expectations around recoil as you. However, the Glock 29 I bought (which is relatively small for the cartridge) is not bad at all to shoot. I'd say more akin to a .45ACP than anything, and that's with full-house bear loads from Underwood.

As for your needs, I'd say Glock 29, with a 10mm 1911 if there has to be a second place. The 29 is concealable, shootable, and reliable. It can be carried with SD loads in town, then given an extended mag with full house loads in the back country. Were I pilot, I might also look at stashing a shotgun or big bore carbine as part of a survival kit.

Edited to add: I should state my case in terms of experience and needs here. I'm terrible at shooting revolvers, but have tens of thousands of rounds through the Glock platform. This specific pistol was purchased for trips where I'd be trail running in the back country. Familiarity was a given; beyond that I needed it to be relatively light for running, and as powerful as practicable.

I fully understand and acknowledge that revolvers would offer more power, and may be the right call if you shoot them well or are willing to put in the time to get there.

Totally agree with the Glock 20/29. G29 much more concealable.

load a couple quality XTP rounds up front and 200grain hardcast in the rest of the magazine. Underwood Ammo or Buffalo Bore Ammo would be my recommendation.

make are your gun handles whatever ammo you choose. Glocks generally are not picky but have a habit of issues with 220 grain rounds.

If you go 29, get a couple G20 15 round mags and an XGrip sleeve.

Good luck

I read an article about the Danish Sirius Patrol, who does remote patrolling via dogsled throughout Greenland. Specifically for the polar bear threat, they use a Generation 4 Glock 20 10 mm with a six inch barrel to back up a Sako bolt action rifle. Unfortunately, the actual ammunition used was not specified.

What about the new XD 10mm?

Anchorite said:

What about the new XD 10mm?

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I don't think there is anything wrong with them, it's just hard to ignore the huge aftermarket support for the Glock platform in regards to holsters, barrels, trigger components, sights, wind chimes, etc, etc.

Trey Veston said:

I don't think there is anything wrong with them, it's just hard to ignore the huge aftermarket support for the Glock platform in regards to holsters, barrels, trigger components, sights, wind chimes, etc, etc.

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I don’t disagree. Personally I am not a 10mm fan. Glad to see more polymer competition.

Id suggest you find a handgun that is in a caliber your comfortable shooting.
In a affordable caliber.
In a handgun your comfortable shooting. (Tweak by replacement sights and grips)
6 boxes of .454 practice cartridges can cost a bundle. Unless you handload.
Yes I know you can shoot .45 Colt in a .454, but thats not the point.
You have to practice with what you are going to use when you need it for protection.
If your going to mess round with reduced recoil rounds you might as well be using a .22 rimfire for practice.

One thing only lightly touched upon.
Shooting a handgun under stress.
Yes you can buy the most powerfull handgun in the land, Butt add some Buck fever type stress and bad weather or funky venue (willows or a parking lot) could spell disaster.
Nothing like missing a moving bear as the distance quickly deminishes with each bound.
Just as it reaches you, you find your out of ammo.

Find a effective but shootable firearm.
Shootable means one you can comfortably hit your target with.
Not struggle to hit the bulls eye at 20 paces on a nice day in Soldotna.
What about the dusk as your thinking of whats for supper with the wind in your face on a wooded riverbank trail?

The only corrosive Environment Id encountered is the Alaskan Coastal salt air.
You keep your firearm clean and oiled.
I usually just wipe the exteriour of my firearms with some boiled linseed (Flax) oil and cut with a bit of turpentine and let it cure.
Easy to retouch with more linseed and easily removeable with solvent if you want to sell it off in the future.
Linseed oil is what is used inside the steel tube fuselage aircraft (super cub) to stave off corrosion inside the steel tubeing.
If linseed oil is good enuf as a corrosion inhibiter on the inside of steel tubeing, it should be a pretty fair coating on the outside.
Just keep a mayonaise jar of oil handy for touchups.
I like the turpentine smell.
Bears get a wiff of turpentine and linseed oil they know the gig's up.

The Michael Dukes show podcasts, Firearms Fridays (see facebook on the show)
At the 43 min mark Fred from RI asks the question about what Alaskans carry.
https://soundcloud.com/themichaeldukesshow/firearms-frioay-11-8-19-2a-headlines-gun-qa-willie-waffle

the "mountain gun" 4" S$W revolvers seem like a good balance that can pull double duty with magnum loads for the woods and special loads for town.

The Ruger is the better revolver IMHO. What caused the rust?

I'm probably late to this party but here's my .02 cents. I have a S&W 629 with 4" barrel. My holster is a Galco Combat Master, the gun rides high and tight to my side, I have the same holster for my 4" model 19 and the difference in size and bulk is minimal.
IMHO, it's a great kit for big bear country.

Ruger Redhawk in a 4" barrel would be the ideal. 300gn WFN hardcast gas checked lead ammo.

The Redhawk has a really good DA trigger, no risk of out of battery malfunctions, stainless design resists the elements. It's big and heavy but it will get the job done. 4" is a balance between handling and right size for the task in my opinion.

Glock 20 or XD is another option but 10mm is just not as powerful and round count doesnt matter against bears, you're likely to only get one shot with any gun.

A rifle is even better but you're not slinging a rifle to work, that's probably unreasonable.

FWIW at this point, I agonized over a "woods" bear gun for awhile. I eventually went with the 4" S&W 69, it is a nice balance between size and weight and .44 mag has much more power than the 10mm. It only holds 5 rounds, but I have a couple of speed-loaders to help with that. I figured I'd rather have 5 rounds of .44 mag than 15 of 10mm, I want them to count. I added the S&W X-frame grips and recoil is a non-issue with it now, the stock grips sucked. It is my only revolver and I love it, it would go to AK with me if I ever got to go on a hunt there.

The All Stainless SIG P220 Legion 10mm




GR