compact heavy firepower for wilderness helicopter travel

[21041mag]

I'm in the carry the 44 mag in the chest rig, get a Ruger Model 7402 77/44 mag, Buffalo Bores, couple extra mags for the rifle and your good to go. If you wanted to do some custom work you could look for a folding stock for the carbine. Be safe.

 

[DairyVet]

You’re probably just fine with what you have, not that I have any relevant experience to inform that opinion. If you’re looking for an excuse to get a different gun this is probably as good an excuse as any other.

Haven’t seen it mentioned yet, but a .460 Rowland conversion would seem to check a lot of the right boxes for your planned use.

 

[mavracer]

.458 SOCOM 10 inch barrel Deadfoot arms bolt mod folder kit and an adjustable tailhook brace. A pricey build but compact ,heavy firepower and same controls as your regular AR. I have a friend with that setup in 9mm and a fostech binary trigger .Fun gun and runs well.

Deadfoot doesn't list a kit for thumpers only 5.56,223 and Blackout. I have no doubt that it would be great on a 9mm but 9mms are blow back and don't require 2.5" of bolt travel. I'd question reliability in rifle calibers, besides that's a lot of money to spend for ~4"

 

[theothermike]

I hadn’t seen the collapsible version of the sb brace... nice. Since you both that and the law folder any chance you ha e a pic of the two side by side collapsed and folded for a comparison?

No problem, I'll do that today after work.

 

[Armored farmer]

I voted big bore revolver, but I have a weakness for AR pistols, and shotguns.
If I were in your hiking boots, I might consider a 10.5" .458 AR pistol with takedown pins and single point sling. The AR platform is well suited for rugged duty.

When taken down, it easily fits in a pack. When put together it can keep you at the top of the food chain.
Another possibility that I haven't seen mentioned is the new 'pistol grip only' shotgun that is on the market. I cant even remember the name of it. Mossberg maybe? I dont care for the design, but it might work for you.

 

[BSA1]

my criteria:
1. sufficient power against large bears
2. compact (must fin in my lap in the chopper with all my gear.
3. weather resistant

up til now i i have been carrying a S&W 629 44 mag in a chest rig.. but now i'm leaning toward a carbine of sorts..

what are your thoughts? let's hear 'em!

Criteria 1 & 3 are easy enough to meet but as D.B. Cooper says fitting it in your lap in the chopper really narrows the choices or at l least the way I understand what you are saying.

However I got to thinking more about it I wonder if the Savage Model 110 Hog Hunter would fit in the chopper. The Hog Hunter is available in .308 & 338 Federal, very rugged design, synthetic stock and, most important to me, it has iron sights. Since your express reason for having a long gun is bear protection a scope is of little, if any, value and actually may slow you down in a close range encounter.

The detachable box magazine only hold four rounds so I would add a spare loaded magazine in a buttstock pouch.

Reality is four rounds the most anyone could hope to shoot for a bolt gun at a charging bear. (Two mags for two bears maybe ).

Considering you apparently have a lot of gear to carry I would still carry a big bore revolver in a chest rig.

 

[MidRoad]

Criteria 1 & 3 are easy enough to meet but as D.B. Cooper says fitting it in your lap in the chopper really narrows the choices or at l least the way I understand what you are saying.

However I got to thinking more about it I wonder if the Savage Model 110 Hog Hunter would fit in the chopper. The Hog Hunter is available in .308 & 338 Federal, very rugged design, synthetic stock and, most important to me, it has iron sights. Since your express reason for having a long gun is bear protection a scope is of little, if any, value and actually may slow you down in a close range encounter.

The detachable box magazine only hold four rounds so I would add a spare loaded magazine in a buttstock pouch.

Reality is four rounds the most anyone could hope to shoot for a bolt gun at a charging bear. (Two mags for two bears maybe ).

Considering you apparently have a lot of gear to carry I would still carry a big bore revolver in a chest rig.

Do the new hog hunters have a dbm? The old ones where a blind mag I believe. And you can get them cheap on GB.

 

[bluejeans]

Criteria 1 & 3 are easy enough to meet but as D.B. Cooper says fitting it in your lap in the chopper really narrows the choices or at l least the way I understand what you are saying.

Precisely which is why I titled the thread ‘for helicopter travel ‘ since the size and weight requirements are the most limiting factor.

I’m really enjoying everyone’s suggestions ... I have enjoyed pondering this subject for months, hopefully others find the question as engaging as I do.
I have seen several good suggestions here that I hadn’t considered yet like the shockwave Mossberg and 14” Remington 870dm as well as the bullpup 308s.

My top contenders thus far are the 12g folder in a marine model, the browning blr ss takedown and the AR big bore pistol with a folder. A lever action t/d would be in the top slot if it wasn’t so impossible to find

 

[theothermike]

Here are my two pistols, law folder is 5.56 and the collapsable brace is a .458 socom.

 

[<*(((><]

Just go all out - $3,500.

https://www.wildwestguns.com/custom-guns/ak-co-pilot/



…A fast handling, heavy hitting 37 inch lever action rifle weighing approximately 6 ½ lbs with a six round magazine and minute-of-angle accuracy. The rifle is chambered in .457 WWG which fires a 350 grain bullet at about 2,300 feet per second. The rifle also fires all lever action .45/70 loads and single feeds a 2.5″ .410 shot shell giving the rifle a wide range of cartridge power making it extremely versatile. The rifle features our recoil control porting and Pachmayr decelerator recoil pad to produce a surprisingly comfortable recoil similar to a 12 guage shotgun.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Precisely which is why I titled the thread ‘for helicopter travel ‘ since the size and weight requirements are the most limiting factor.

Yeah, if your pilot and the bush flying is anything like ours up here in AK, weight can get rally critical. But you can always trade off something to carry a heavier a gun (can't imagine why you would want to) and stay below a maximum weight.

My top contenders thus far are the 12g folder in a marine model, the browning blr ss takedown and the AR big bore pistol with a folder. A lever action t/d would be in the top slot if it wasn’t so impossible to find

Sounds like you just want to buy a new long gun.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Just go all out - $3,500.

https://www.wildwestguns.com/custom-guns/ak-co-pilot/

Yeah those are nice guns, but the guy who makes them is, well...you'll find out.

 

[<*(((><]

Yeah those are nice guns, but the guy who makes them is, well...you'll find out.

What have you heard about them? Curious as I know not much other than I like their wares.

 

[ric jackson]

Deadfoot doesn't list a kit for thumpers only 5.56,223 and Blackout. I have no doubt that it would be great on a 9mm but 9mms are blow back and don't require 2.5" of bolt travel. I'd question reliability in rifle calibers, besides that's a lot of money to spend for ~4"

They don't list a kit but the site says bolt available on all rifle calibers. But it is a lot for it.

 

[bluejeans]

Sounds like you just want to buy a new long gun.

I always want to buy a new gun... I seldom have this good of an excuse. .
The two I most want to buy tho are the 460 s&w and the sig p220 10mm ( I have a thing for pistols)

 

[Stew0576]

I hunt with a G40, really love the long slide 10mm, accurate and packs a big punch

 

[Armored farmer]

Henry mare's leg?
(Surely this gun is good for something?)

 

[D.B. Cooper]

What have you heard about them? Curious as I know not much other than I like their wares.

I sent you a private message ("start a conversation"). I'm not sure how the moderators here would feel about me denigrating a company so severely on THR.

 

[bluejeans]

Well I’m in for trouble... I just spent the evening reading about ultra- lightweight AR builds. I think my budget might have just tripled as I look at titanium parts. Ouch! Not to mention the shoulder pain I would get from the calibers I’m interested in... but hey I’ve got a lathe and mill so what could go wrong?

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Well I’m in for trouble... I just spent the evening reading about ultra- lightweight AR builds. I think my budget might have just tripled as I look at titanium parts. Ouch! Not to mention the shoulder pain I would get from the calibers I’m interested in... but hey I’ve got a lathe and mill so what could go wrong?

I was tempted to switch to a scandium S&W 329PD 44 magnum after carrying my nearly 4lb Redhawk around last summer and fall. If you're not going to "train" with your gun and shoot it sparingly, then it works out.

The other thing I would say, regarding your budget, if guns are anything like lightweight backpacking gear, I gave up on the titanium stuff a long time ago and went back to aluminum. Aluminum is "light enough" and a LOT cheaper. But yeah, weight and price are inversely proportionate.

 

[mavracer]

Well I’m in for trouble... I just spent the evening reading about ultra- lightweight AR builds. I think my budget might have just tripled as I look at titanium parts. Ouch! Not to mention the shoulder pain I would get from the calibers I’m interested in... but hey I’ve got a lathe and mill so what could go wrong?

It's your money but IMHO it a huge waste of money, so much of the AR is aluminum you'll spend 3X the money for 1/2 a pound.

 

[rust collector]

Given my expertise (or lack thereof) with a pistol, I would opt for the KSG 7, a 12 pump bullpup holding 6+1. Compact, reasonable weight and more easily aimed than most bullpups. Slung up so it's out of the way but handy if needed. Not sure whether bear or helicopter is more dangerous...

Edited to note this is a pump action, not semiauto. I was impressed by it at my LGS. It is the Kel-Tec double tube pump gun reduced to one tube.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I always want to buy a new gun... I seldom have this good of an excuse. .
The two I most want to buy tho are the 460 s&w and the sig p220 10mm ( I have a thing for pistols)

Of these two the 10mm would be my choice. Unless you are wearing electronic muffs or some other type of hearing protection, if you actually need to deploy a 460 mag you are looking at instant and permanent major hearing damage. Of course, better deaf than dead, but the blast could be deafening and disorienting enough that you do end up dead anyway.

A 10mm is still going to be loud as hell, but there is a very sharp difference between the two cartridges. If you have plugs or muffs hanging around your neck and can shove them in really fast, then the 460 mag would be very effective with heavy hard casts. Should be part of your draw practice with that gun.

 

[BSA1]

Do the new hog hunters have a dbm? The old ones where a blind mag I believe. And you can get them cheap on GB.

Savage website says it has detachable four round magazine.

 

[Armored farmer]

Interesting to lever action fans if nothing else