Montana Hiking Gun Poll

Personally, I'd opt for the Glock 20.

You're in a group. That alone goes a long way in bear encounter prevention. You say many will have spray. I wouldn't be overly-concerned.

But hear me out on the 20, here, and look at Underwood's loads..

Their 180gr HCFN 357 is listed at 1400fps, 783 ft. lbs.
Their 220gr HCFN 10mm is listed at 1200fps, 703 ft. lbs.

Consider, also, for the sake of comparison, that their 180gr 10mm is listed at 1350fps and 728 ft. lbs.

The difference is minimal. The SD of the 220 10mm is .196, the SD of the .357 180 is .202. Negligible. The difference to me is trigger and ease of use under pressure, and that goes to the G20. And of course that data is adjusted for barrel length, but I'll say this... In my past research about 357 Magnum vs. 357 SIG and 10mm, the autos are always more efficient in a gun of a comparable size (because we all know revolvers suffer from the cylinder gap). So if you compared that 4" GP100 to a 5.6"+ G20, the gun size is the same, the ballistics are incredibly similar, and the overall weight is likely about the same. Plus, you get an easier trigger with the G20, which could make a difference under stress.

Of course neither compare with .44 or hotter, but in a direct comparison between the GP100 and G20, the winner is the G20 for me.

And a note on Glocks... you need an aftermarket barrel to shoot lead bullets reliably. Hickok has a good video on Glock's factory barrel; It just doesn't stabilize them. So if you're going the G20 route, keep in mind the cost for a new barrel. It may be worth sourcing a .45-10 barrel for your G21.

 

GP-100 is what I would carry. The only reason I would buy something new is if I actually had a bad experience in the woods with Bear. All things are possible but few things are probable.

 

Excellent point- one I had forgotten. I put a LWD barrel in my G20SF, then later saw that video, so I'm glad I did.

 

I voted for the Ruger Alaskan. If I could have, I'd have voted .460 though. The GP would be a close second. An SP would be lighter and more compact.
A sans lock Mountain Gun in .44 would be good. thx for the pix

 

Glocks absolutely can stabilize cast lead bullets. Millions upon millions of rounds have proven that.

 

Also I wouldn't underestimate the .45 ACP+P 255gr loads. I have seen reports of them penetrating 11 gallon jugs of water. It's basically a hi cap Colt SAA at that point.

 

The issue was the heavy hard cast ones, 230gr if I remember right.

 

I vote for none. Get yourself a large can of UDAP. Its cheaper and more effective.

 

If I could choose the gun I'd have on me when Big Bruin shows up, it'd be this:



But in the real world, I'll have a GP100 on my hip.

 

This, I meant heavy hard cast bullets, specifically.

 

You guys notice anything unusual in that 40 mm boffer photo above?

Hint... who is aiming it?

Deaf

 

Oh, yeah. But. $$$.

I thought about the Ruger Super Redhawk Toklav in 454. But, it is $917 and weighs more than a VW bug.

That was not the statement. The statement was 230 grain hard cast 10mm key holed. Hickok45 tested Buffalo Bore 220 grain HC-FP and had no trouble.

 

Dirtbags are present in Yellowstone too and I will carry a gun that will be effective against them.

The purposes of this thread are to: 1) figure what I currently own that will likely work and 2) possibly convince me to buy a new gun.

Here is the current leader in the poll:

 

You are way over thinking this. Just take the .357.

You are going to Montana.. not Alaska or Beirut.

 

I carry Buffalo Bore 255 grain +P HCFP when I want some extra horsepower out of my Glock 30SF. I found it much easier to handle than buffalo Bore 180 grain hard cast .357 out of a Ruger SP101. The OP should be able to get by with the Glock 21 or GP100.

 

I think you'll be fine the the 357 and heavy loads if you can shoot them well.

Bear spray is great, but there are some conditions that seriously compromise its effectiveness, like windy conditions or the wind right in your face. It also simply doesnt work on every single bear, just like pepper doesnt work on every single person or dog. Most? Yes. All? No.

RE the 10mm heavy loads in Glocks, a guy on another forum has, between himself and his wife, 6 or 8 10mm Glocks. He said the heaviest loads on the market (dont recall exact brand/wqeight) arent functionally reliable in any of his guns. He said he'd talked to Glock about it, they said the loads were outside the parameters the gun was designed to function with.

They are point shooting. In the real world, there isnt time to aim.

 

LOL

 

Y'all are losing your touch. I have yet to even walk into a gun store with any level of intent to buy something.

 

Doesn't matter. The charging brown bear is obviously just out of frame, no aiming needed! LOL!

OP, carry that GP100 with full confidence. I recommend a Simply Rugger Sourdough Pancake with a Simply Rugged Most Versatile ammo pouch to go with it. And like you already know, those 180 grain Buffalo Bore hard casts are perfect for the task at hand.

 

Read it again. If you go back to Inebriated's comment (#26) you'll see no mention of 230gr 10mm loads. The statement said you need an aftermarket barrel to shoot lead reliably and that the factory barrel won't stabilize them.

 

And if you read on, you will see that I said I meant that specifically. It was a long post and I forgot to clarify. We can move on, now.

 

I hiked in Yellowstone a few years ago, before the "guns in parks law" was passed. I carried UDAP. UDAP works on bears and dirtbags too. The problem with spray is if it gets on you, you will be blinded and not able to breath, but if you can get it in the bears or dirtbags face, they will be blinded and not able to smell you or breathe either and that usually takes the fight out of them.

My sidearm choice for Montana is a 4 in. Redhawk in 45LC with 325gr. Buffalo Bore ammo (or my own handloads).

My second choice would be a 4 in. Redhawk in 44M with 340gr. Buffalo Bore ammo (or my handloads). This is basically just as good as the 45LC Redhawk.

My third choice would be a 4 in. GP-100. I have one of these too. This is not in the same class as the Redhawk but it's about 8 oz lighter to carry.

You will likely not see a single bear. Lots of bison, some wolves and moose, but probably no bears.

My advice is to get away from the crowds and hike the back country trails. Yellowstone is beautiful.

If you get to West Yellowstone, you can see bears at the Grizzly and Wolf Center there. When I was there, the bears were NOT Yellowstone bears. They all came from coastal Alaska. Coastal Alaskan bears are about as big as it gets and these were huge. They might make you reconsider the 454.

Don't try to take a selfie with the bison. They don't like it.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/17/us/yellowstone-bison-girl-gored/

 

Any handgun you can reliably hit your hiking partner in the leg with should work.

 

My only comment is if this comes down the Alaskan, 44 mag is plenty, but I'd suggest the 454 which you can load mild to wild, but can also shoot 45lc's, which are cheaper, but can be had in some real healthy loads.

I have the 454 Super Redhawk which I load for. I also am a fan of the Glock 10mm's.

 

Well If I was in your shoes. I would carry the GP100.

But when I was making a similar decision, I bought the Glock 29. I backpack in Grizzly and Wolf country with small children (2-12). The Glock 29 was a good balance of capacity (10 rounds + 15 round spare magazine) and weight. The 20 and revolver weighed more, and that was important to me.

So I went with the 10mm.

YMMV.