Mountain Men Guns

[David E]

I've been watching the series "Mountain Men" and aside from some of the staged stuff, I usually find it interesting.

I have noticed a few things that I'd do differently, of course, like shooting to kill a predator instead of wasting ammo "scaring" them.

I don't know all their names, but the bearded guy with dogs in Montana that chases mountain lions "out of the area" was stuck in the mud when a bear allegedly was nearby. He took out his handgun and fired a few shots to scare away this bear (only seen in cut-away camera shots, so I have my doubts if there bear was even there at the same time) but the gun used struck me as an odd choice: the FN in 5.7 caliber.

Another new guy, with the canoe and Teepee, appears to carry a Ruger .22 semi-auto, balanced by a big knife on the other side of the belt.

In the harsh environments of Montana and Alaska, doing what these guys do, what would be your choice and why?

 

[CoRoMo]

I don't watch TV, but I remember seeing commercials for that show a while back at my in-law's house and thought it looked interesting. So thanks Dave. You just killed any desire of mine to watch that show!!

I suppose if I was living off the land, every movement through the area would carry the duty to hunt and gather while I'm at my other tasks. This would make me carry a .22lr of some sort -pretty much at all times- for the dispatching of arbitrary squirrels, rabbits, what have you. Probably a shotgun as often as not for game birds and those fur-bearers too, but it would be heavier and all.

 

[mdauben]

Another new guy, with the canoe and Teepee, appears to carry a Ruger .22 semi-auto, balanced by a big knife on the other side of the belt.

As someone who has spent time in the back country of both MT and AK, I honestly think the danger from wildlife is vastly overrated. Not saying its a bad idea to carry a weapon for "wildlife defence" but I think I'm safer unarmed in the back country than I am in my home town.

That said, IIRC the person you are referring to is a subsistence trapper. For him, the .22 probably does most everything he wants a gun to do. Also, living as he does he simply may not be able to afford a nice .500S&W handgun or .300WM rifle that many here on the forum may recommend for back country protection (at least until he cashes his first royalty check from the show!).

 

[David E]

Often, these guys are on foot, so a handgun would be in order. Except for the canoe/teepee guy, they all have homes and vehicles to keep/carry other guns, but I'm most curious about which handgun.

 

[osteodoc08]

I've watched the show the last season as well. I only really cared for the character Tom and the trapper up in Alaska. Everything else seems staged. The mountain lion guy Rich and Eustace really get on my last nerve. Mountain out of mole hills all the time.

I preferred to watch Alaska final frontier. It was based on a ranching family in Alaska and seemed more true to life.

I wish our own member here, Caribou, show was available to me. I guess I'll have to look for it online.

 

[huntsman]

Another new guy, with the canoe and Teepee, appears to carry a Ruger .22 semi-auto, balanced by a big knife on the other side of the belt.

For the guys who are trappers first a .22lr is a useful in that not every set works the way you want all the time and depending on what's caught and still alive clubbing may not be the most appealing thing to do.

I don't know all their names, but the bearded guy with dogs in Montana that chases mountain lions "out of the area" was stuck in the mud when a bear allegedly was nearby. He took out his handgun and fired a few shots to scare away this bear (only seen in cut-away camera shots, so I have my doubts if there bear was even there at the same time) but the gun used struck me as an odd choice: the Fin5.7 caliber.

In another episode Rich mentions that he carries a .40cal, carrying a pistol only when dealing with dogs in the woods means having your hands free and that can be more important than toting a long gun.

FWIW I believe these shows make an attempt at pleasing the PC crowd so there's a lot less killing and more staged situations than needs to be.

In the harsh environments of Montana and Alaska, doing what these guys do, what would be your choice and why?

12 gauge with a .22lr on the belt if I wasn't doing any specific hunting.

 

[Cosmoline]

The one Caribou is in would be a bit more realistic I suspect. A rifle or slug gun is the first choice, .30'06 or better. These guys are carrying little handguns because they're producing a TV show, not actually being menaced by bears.

 

[hipoint]

I grew up like this, completely "off grid". Albeit not in alaska though, there are very few large predators in the southern appalachians.

Now I own a farm and spend most all of my time outside (when I'm not taking a break and trolling the forum).

I started by always carrying a rifle on the farm. I have rifle racks on everything, although a rifle rack on an old tractor isn't a great idea, all the vibration beats them to death.... It seemed that EVERY time I needed it, the rifle was too far away from me to use and whatever I needed to blast was usually gone by the time that I got back to it. I now carry an accurate handgun for my chores. In the summer when I don't like to shoot the deer due to problems cleaning them in the heat, I carry either a .22 ruger single six, or a .22 ruger mark II. During the cooler months I carry either a .357 or a .41 magnum that I can sometimes shoot pretty well. If I am just going out on "farm patrol" and am not actually planning on doing any work, I carry a rifle. Being proficient with a handgun is important to me, and while I can pull off 100 yard shots some of the time, I strive to be able to do it all of the time. Once I get to the point that I feel comfortable doing it everytime, the rifles will probably not come out with me anymore.

I think that's a HUGE consideration for someone who is outdoors alot and who is actually doing things outdoors... It is terribly difficult to work with a rilfe, more often than not, it ends up being put someplace that gets out of the way and then it's not 'at hand' when needed.

So for me, I prefer a handgun and am striving to be a consistent 'long range' shot with it. To me, that is ideal. BTW, I had custom full flap cavalry holsters made for me, so I can have my handguns on me all the time and not worry about the type of work I'm doing or what the weather is like. Sometimes they're still a pain and I take them off, but now when on the farm I have a firearm capable of what I need it to do 90% of the time which is far better than I could ever hope for when I had a rifle as the primary farm weapon.

*edited to add info*

since I'm on my farm almost every day all day and going to most all areas of the property, can tell when the bears come back around again. When the black bears are hanging around I always carry one of the larger calibers, but I wouldn't feel too undergunned with the .22 mark II, 10 rounds of accurately placed .22 IMO is enough to discourage anything I can come across where I live. Ideally, I would carry a .22 and a large caliber, but that would get too heavy to be realistic.

 

[X-Rap]

I would say that I would probably choose my MK1 Ruger because that's what I did in real life when I used to run traps and live a more subsistence style life.
As far as shooting to scare cats and bears I'm guessing it's part Hollywood part game law.
I can't think of a worse handgun to carry than the 5.7. It has to be limited in supply and way to much velocity for rabbits, squirrel and grouse.
I think many would be amazed at the amount of game that one can fill the pot with as they go about their daily tasks.
I would expect all of these folks to have a rifle/shotgun in or on their truck, tractor, ATV, horse, or boat to deal with anything past dispatching a trapped animal or securing diner.

 

[tarosean]

Ruger Single Six.. small game is far more plentiful than large.

 

[buck460XVR]

These guys are carrying little handguns because they're producing a TV show, not actually being menaced by bears.

Yep....that and the fact that both the trapper and the lion man have a dog/dogs with them that are more of a bear deterrent than most handguns. Not to mention the 6 member camera/sound crew beside them all carrying backup guns. I saw the episode where Rich was using his come-a-long on a jeep that obviously wasn't stuck and shoot into the air to scare away a bear that was obviously added post-production. You gotta remember, just cause they call it reality T.V., don't make it real.

 

[Deaf Smith]

The show is a reality drama show. Alot of what you see is staged.

Do not take that show at 100 percent face value.

Deaf

 

[Jim Watson]

I would take the John "Pondoro" Taylor option. A .22 rifle and a powerful handgun.

 

[MattShlock]

A .22 may be better than nothing but in the lower 48 for protection a .357 is necessary and in Alaska it's a .44 Mag.

Straight forward enough answer for ya?

 

[Leanwolf]

DAVID E - " ... Another new guy, with the canoe and Teepee, appears to carry a Ruger .22 semi-auto, balanced by a big knife on the other side of the belt."

I know George and he is a real deal professional trapper, living outside Driggs, Idaho. He traps in that area of the Teton Mountains and some of Idaho's ranges. He also spent years living in the high country of Colorado trapping.

Although I have not watched the show, I know for a fact that when he is out on his trap line out in the mountains, etc., he carries an SKS, in addition to his standard Ruger .22 LR pistol. The producers of the show might not have wanted to show him carrying his SKS. Don't know.

Yeah, the "reality" shows of teevee are done for entertainment. Take them as such, I suggest.

L.W.

 

[Onmilo]

Most of the people whe are attacked by bears seem to be on a quest to pet Yogi.
Wolves and Cougers are a bigger threat and you stand a greater chance of being snake bit which happens when someone goes looking for snakes or sticking things where they shouldn't be.

A human stands a greater chance of being attacked by wild dogs in Detroit than being attacked by any of the wild critters mentiond and if you have been attacked your luck ain't so good,,,

That said, I wouldn't feel safe in wild country without a heavy caliber handgun and would feel even better with a slug loaded shotgun.

 

[goon]

I preferred to watch Alaska final frontier. It was based on a ranching family in Alaska and seemed more true to life.

I wish our own member here, Caribou, show was available to me. I guess I'll have to look for it online.

FWIW, the family on "Alaska the Last Frontier" live on the road system and are within driving distance of town. One of the friends I made while I lived in AK drove past their house and could see it from the road. You could do what they are doing in Kentucky, Ohio, or Colorado. I respect their self-sufficiency, but the idea that they are "out there by themselves in the wild" is not so accurate. They could drive or probably even walk to town if they needed to. There are people, like Marty, who get in much more remote situations than those people.

Many people in AK have guns that get used for defensive purposes, but not what you'd think. Where I was, the .223 out of a Mini-14 isn't uncommon. Normal hunting rounds like the .30'06 and .270 get used a lot. One of the most trusted and authentic Alaskans I got to know preferred an old bolt action .243 that he'd picked up cheap years ago. He also lamented that his old A1 style AR had been damaged in a snow machine accident years ago and basically turned into a box of parts. No one told me that I needed a .600 Nitro Express as defense against anything. People were happy to hear that I was packing a gun when I went out to explore and that was enough. Really, stray dogs were much more of a threat in the area I was in than any kind of wildlife was.

As for Mountain Men, I watch it because it caters to my hope of building a self-sufficient lifestyle. I don't like the contrived drama and lots of the things shown are not that incredible for rural people anywhere. In remote Montana or Alaska, I'd probably go with a .22 handgun and a Stainless Ruger M77 30'06 with a durable scope and the iron sights zeroed as a back up. If that's all I could carry, I'd feel pretty well armed. If I had a camp or cabin, I'd add a bigger handgun and a .22 rifle.
But I don't think my "Mountain Men" collection would look all that different from the collection that you'd find in most any rural home.

 

[Deaf Smith]

You know, a 220 gr FMJ 30-06 might do real fine stopping bears AND that same 30-06 with 180gr SPs fill the yearly meat allocation without breaking the bank for fancy guns and fancy ammo.

And Ruger makes their guide gun in 30-06.

Deaf

 

[Iggy]

I spent a summer way way back roamin' the Wind River mountains of Wyoming doing the mountain man thing. Saddle horse, pack horse, buckskins, .54 cal Hawken rifle, and a Ruger Bearcat.
Guess which one got the most use.

 

[x_wrench]

actually, one of the best guns i can think of for these guys to carry, would be something on the order of a Savage 24. i had one that was 22 magnum on the top barrel, and a 20 gauge shotgun on the bottom. for me at the time, it was a squirrel /rabbit gun, and it did a great job. i think in their situation, i would want either a 22lr or 223 on the top, and a 12 gauge 3" magnum on the bottom. depending on who in the show.