RoostRider
Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2008
- Messages
- 670
Lets start this out with a little background....
I grew up with all kinds of guns, hunting, and living in the deep woods in Northern MN. I feel comfortable with any handgun less than a .50 (I hate those things).
We have an area called the BWCAW (Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness), that I love to frequent. The BWCA is very very remote (around 1 million sq/acres I believe) with no mechanical, motor or road access (standard federal "Wilderness" designation). It is inhabited by all of the standards of Northern Minnesota, which includes amongst its large game Moose, Deer, Coyotes, Wolves, and Bear, as well as the occasional feral redneck with an attitude.
I have been deep woods remote camping in this area since a child, well over 20 years (not to date myself too much... lol). I have hunted the area as a kid through adult, and have even done some successful bear hunting in the BWCA (including taking a 450+ lb chocolate brown Black Bear).
It should be understood that this type of remote camping requires you to carry everything you bring across some pretty hazardous and sometimes quite long portages, and it has to fit into my kayak without causing problems or being vulnerable to loss or weather while still being accessible on the water. It also has to be able to deal with being beaten/droped/submerged without me or the gun getting too upset.
I have always carried a firearm with me on my non hunting excursions into the wild. The firearm I have chosen has changed many many times over the years. I have brought along everything from an AR-7 (ultralight pack rifle in .22- not enough power) to a 12 ga. shotgun (too large to pack well), to a S&W SS 686 .357 mag. (close but still a hassle to carry and weighs a lot), to a full size 9mm semi-auto (hard to deal with in the weather/dark/cold/rain/sleet/snow/mud).
I was consulting some threads on this board regarding firearm choice for long haul packing in deep woods.... I took the useful input and ignored the silly battles about caliber vs weight and thought about my requirements, my knowledge, and my experience and concluded that it was silly that I didn't have a snub nosed ultra light SS .38 special to carry with me on the water and trails.
I also wanted a better, more concealable SD gun for around the big city where I now live.
In comes my new Taurus 851 UL with covered hammer.... This is a snub nosed 5 shot SS/alloy .38 with a covered hammer (just a knurled top exposed on the hammer) which can be used in DA or SA (if your thumb can take it). I picked up a molded plastic paddle holster for my deep woods, and a IWB holster for in town (concealed)....
I can't be happier with my choice. This gun is really nice and light (lighter than anything I've brought before with the possible exception of the .22). It didn't cost a fortune, so I don't feel real bad about it being exposed to the abuse. It is stainless and alloy, so it wont rust or corrode easily. It is .38 special and capable of +P, so it has what I consider to be ample power for everything I might encounter (a little light for Bear/Moose, but considering I would only fire at point blank, it should do the trick). I am pretty happy with the quality of the gun (I have never owned a Taurus before). And it is small enough that I can keep it right there on my side even in the kayak and not get in the way. The molded plastic paddle holster holds that gun in there really really well (too well for normal SD carry in my opinion) great for on the rough trail and getting in and out of the Yak.
I have hunted Black Bear intentionally with a .357 mag., and I am comfortable that, used well this would do the job at the ranges we hunt Bear here. I think the .38 at point blank should have what I need without the overkill, overweight, oversize, of most other powerful options.
I don't want this to turn into a pi$$ing contest about proper caliber or the quality of brands. So this is just a thread about my experience, which is pretty extensive in the deep woods and with firearms. Hopefully someone will find it useful in looking for knowledge on this subject.
I grew up with all kinds of guns, hunting, and living in the deep woods in Northern MN. I feel comfortable with any handgun less than a .50 (I hate those things).
We have an area called the BWCAW (Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness), that I love to frequent. The BWCA is very very remote (around 1 million sq/acres I believe) with no mechanical, motor or road access (standard federal "Wilderness" designation). It is inhabited by all of the standards of Northern Minnesota, which includes amongst its large game Moose, Deer, Coyotes, Wolves, and Bear, as well as the occasional feral redneck with an attitude.
I have been deep woods remote camping in this area since a child, well over 20 years (not to date myself too much... lol). I have hunted the area as a kid through adult, and have even done some successful bear hunting in the BWCA (including taking a 450+ lb chocolate brown Black Bear).
It should be understood that this type of remote camping requires you to carry everything you bring across some pretty hazardous and sometimes quite long portages, and it has to fit into my kayak without causing problems or being vulnerable to loss or weather while still being accessible on the water. It also has to be able to deal with being beaten/droped/submerged without me or the gun getting too upset.
I have always carried a firearm with me on my non hunting excursions into the wild. The firearm I have chosen has changed many many times over the years. I have brought along everything from an AR-7 (ultralight pack rifle in .22- not enough power) to a 12 ga. shotgun (too large to pack well), to a S&W SS 686 .357 mag. (close but still a hassle to carry and weighs a lot), to a full size 9mm semi-auto (hard to deal with in the weather/dark/cold/rain/sleet/snow/mud).
I was consulting some threads on this board regarding firearm choice for long haul packing in deep woods.... I took the useful input and ignored the silly battles about caliber vs weight and thought about my requirements, my knowledge, and my experience and concluded that it was silly that I didn't have a snub nosed ultra light SS .38 special to carry with me on the water and trails.
I also wanted a better, more concealable SD gun for around the big city where I now live.
In comes my new Taurus 851 UL with covered hammer.... This is a snub nosed 5 shot SS/alloy .38 with a covered hammer (just a knurled top exposed on the hammer) which can be used in DA or SA (if your thumb can take it). I picked up a molded plastic paddle holster for my deep woods, and a IWB holster for in town (concealed)....
I can't be happier with my choice. This gun is really nice and light (lighter than anything I've brought before with the possible exception of the .22). It didn't cost a fortune, so I don't feel real bad about it being exposed to the abuse. It is stainless and alloy, so it wont rust or corrode easily. It is .38 special and capable of +P, so it has what I consider to be ample power for everything I might encounter (a little light for Bear/Moose, but considering I would only fire at point blank, it should do the trick). I am pretty happy with the quality of the gun (I have never owned a Taurus before). And it is small enough that I can keep it right there on my side even in the kayak and not get in the way. The molded plastic paddle holster holds that gun in there really really well (too well for normal SD carry in my opinion) great for on the rough trail and getting in and out of the Yak.
I have hunted Black Bear intentionally with a .357 mag., and I am comfortable that, used well this would do the job at the ranges we hunt Bear here. I think the .38 at point blank should have what I need without the overkill, overweight, oversize, of most other powerful options.
I don't want this to turn into a pi$$ing contest about proper caliber or the quality of brands. So this is just a thread about my experience, which is pretty extensive in the deep woods and with firearms. Hopefully someone will find it useful in looking for knowledge on this subject.