Hello everyone. I'm currently in the market for a new revolver. I spend a lot of time hiking and camping and I'm wondering what everyone's opinion is on the 'best' revolver for safty against bear, wild hogs, and other large animals?
I would advise getting whatever revolver you can handle fast and accurate that has the capabilitys of stopping a bear.To me this is .44mag or larger. sam.
Samuel hit the nail right on the head. How big a caliber can you control? My view on this is to get something that can take two different cartridges such as .44 mag and .44 special. If you do not like the mag, you have the special cartridges.
Also, get a gun that you can comfortably carry in a holster. These .454's with the sling swivels on them may be a bit big and tiring to take on a hike.
I do not like magnum cartridges, so I would take a Ruger Vaquero in .45 LC, but that's just my opinion/choice.
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We old dogs can learn new tricks. We just may not like performng them. TJ
The .454 Casull is a darn good choice, but so are the .460 XVR & .500 by S&W
But if you can't handle the recoil than go with the Ruger in .44 magnum It'll stop a bear.
Here is what I pack when going in the woods where stuff can bite me. It's a 4" Taurus tracker in .41 magnum. While it's not as macho to carry as a .500 or .454, it is light and handy and when loaded with the right ammo can get the job done. It is built on a .357 mag sized fram and therefor is light enough to carry all day with out getting fatigued. If loaded with 240gr platinum tips or better yet a heavy cast bullet it will get the job done.
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Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!
in SC your bears arent that large, and the odds of having a bad encounter very slim. a 357 or 44mag that you can comfortably carry and shoot should more than suffice.
I read an interesting story in the book "Sixguns" by Elmer Keith. One of his old time cowboy type friends drove a grizzly off with a .45 single action. He was on his horse and a mother griz went into attack mode. He did not kill it on the spot, but a few shots of .45 LC drove her off. May not work every time, but it worked that time.
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We old dogs can learn new tricks. We just may not like performng them. TJ
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i bet that cowboy sure wouldve welcomed the opportunity to have a REALLY large caliber handgun!
ive said it before.
if i lived where there were big bears and spent time outdoors in the woods the snubby.500 would be on my person.
__________________ "I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."
It would be interesting to have acurate data on whether more people get seriously injured or killed by big dogs or bears every year. I'd bet on big dogs. Most of us probably need something for a Rotty, not a bear.
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We old dogs can learn new tricks. We just may not like performng them. TJ
