What revolver do you carry as backup in rough country?

[wyomingnimrod]

Just curious what you guys choose to carry as your backup sidearm (or primary if you’re handgun hunting) when you’re hiking/camping/hunting etc in rough, nasty, steep, perilous country?
I’d love to hear from you guys with your vast experience and differences in regions and hazards encountered. Out here in NA Wy we have plenty o’ grizz and the mtns are steep and high, so lightweight and authoritative handgubs make the most sense to me. For example; I’ve carried my father’s .357 Ruger Security Six, a Smith .329PD, a Glock 20, and now am transitioning to a FA 97 .45 Colt and a Ruger Redhawk .44Mag “Kodiak” converted by Hamilton Bowen (not very light but oh well).

What has worked well for you folks and maybe what’s not worked so well? Happy Memorial Day.

[contender]

While we don't have grizz's we do get some big black bears. But they aren't my primary concern when I'm woods bumming. I don't usually worry about the weight as I'd prefer a little extra weight to carry what would work for whatever I MIGHT need it for. And yes,, we do have some rough & steep mountains here too.
I tend to enjoy a .45 Colt as my comfort gun for whatever.
When I'm handgun hunting,, it's always about what I'm hunting,, or what I wish to try out on a critter. Again, the .45 Colt is a top choice caliber,, with one of the various guns I have in it. But my most often hunting handgun is my T/C Contender in 7/30 Waters.

For casual use,, around my property,, when it's not hunting season,, most often, my Ruger MKII Competition Target model. I have a holster on my tractor to keep it handy as well.

[Stump Buster]

It's an older picture, but usually one of these...



...but sometimes I mix it up and carry a 6" GP-100 or my USFA Rodeo.

[brant]

Not exactly what you asked for but
I live in Louisiana and we are all the grizzlies a long time ago. We do have wild hogs and even a small one has teeth. I chose a standard size stainless 4 5/8” Ruger Blackhawk in .45 colt with a 270 cast bullet. It is my close range get off me piece. The stainless is nice in our humidity and possibly of sweaty clothes and skin. I even cary it on my hip when hunting with a different revolver as my primary weapon.

[Encore64]

Matt's Bullets offer 250 grn Wadcutters in both 44 and 45 Calibers. I had Matt cast me 1000 of each and harden them.

They are sheer perfection in my FA97s, either in 44 Special or 45 Colt. Those are my choice carry when I need to feel safe in the woods...

[bigbrowndog]

When I’m in bear country, Wy, ID, Mt, Co, it’s one of my 500L, either my avatar gun BearSpray or my SRH/Bowen. If I’m not in bear country but still might need a stopper then it’s likely FA97/41mag, Ruger 3.75”/45Colt, S&W629 3”/44mag or G29/10mm. My back up guns generally wear short barrels, the SRH/Bowen is the longest at 5”, both 500L’s are accurate enough for hunting medium game out to my max iron sight range which is 75-75.

Trapr

[fm027]

Flattop single action 44 special loaded with 260gr Keiths @1245fps... soon to be upgraded to a 270+ for what should be about the same speed. I just got a new mould.

That current 260gr load mentioned above will throw a cow over if placed on her forehead, plus be trusted to break a shoulder and shatter spines too. From any angle. On cows & bulls. There is no black or grizzly bear alive who has thicker skin or denser bones than big cattle do, so I'm content with what to expect with my 44. A midframe like that in good leather makes the gun a pleasure to carry day in & day out too, vs the full size wrist wrenchers chambered in elephant calibers that most guys polarize toward.

[45MAN]

I AM MOSTLY A FLAT LANDER BUT I HAVE DONE A LOT OF HUNTING IN ALASKA AND AFRICA WHERE DANGEROUS GAME EXISTS.

I CHOOSE MY BACK-UP REVOLVER BASED ON THE TASK NOT THE TERRAIN. LIGHT REVOLVERS WITH HEAVY LOADS CAN LEAD TO EXCESSIVE BULLET JUMP AND CYLINDER LOCK-UP. IF YOU WANT TO TRIM WEIGHT FROM YOUR KIT LOOK ELSEWHERE.

IN ALASKA MY BACK-UP HAS USUALLY BEEN MY SS 5.5" REDHAWK THAT LINEBAUGH CONVERTED TO 45 COLT, CARRIED IN A DIAMOND D CHEST RIG.

IN 11 AFRICAN SAFARIS MY BACK-UP GUN HAS ALWAYS BEEN A 45 COLT REVOLVER, SOME SINGLE ACTIONS AND THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK, ALL USUALLY CARRIED STRONG SIDE IN A HOLSTER ON A GUN BELT.

HERE IN TEXAS, 95% OF THE TIME I AM CARRYING, STRONG SIDE, EITHER IN A TRADITIONAL HOLSTER OR IN BARRANTI LONGHORN COMPANION, A 5.5" RUGER BISLEY IN 45 COLT. SUNDAY I AM TAKING A FRIEND NILGAI COW HUNTING. FOR BACK-UP/FOLLOW-UP I WILL BE CARRYING A BLUE RUGER 5 SHOT NIMROD STYLE REVOLVER BY BRAD SHERMAN IN 45 COLT USING A 320gr BLUE BULLET @ 1,243fps.

[sixshot]

1245 fps with a 260 gr Keith in a flat top 44 special is a pretty hefty load! Like just about everyone else here I have a few handguns to choose from so many times I'm packing two of them, especially if I'm on my 4 wheeler in the back country. There are lots of roads here & most all of them are public & it's very easy to be up into the mountains in a short amount of time. It's not unusual for me to have 4-5 guns in the Jeep actually & if I do happen to step out for a little hike I'll take a strong side gun & usually a a shoulder rig as well because some shots can be close, that's where the belt gun comes in & many times the shoulder rig will be scoped.
Those Barranti shoulder rigs (I have two) will take any size gun I own & be comfortable all day so I can be chasing ground squirrels, rock chucks or badgers for hours, and I usually am. I know this is different for everyone but out here with all this public land it's a pretty normal day. Twist my arm & I'd say either a 32 magnum or 357 magnum on the belt & a 41, 44 or 45 in the shoulder rig. All would be stoked with cast HP's.

Dick

[fm027]

May 29, 2023 18:56:45 GMT -5 sixshot said:

1245 fps with a 260 gr Keith in a flat top 44 special is a pretty hefty load!

Dick

Pressure tested to 23,400psi using VvN110 Dick.. the powder is what makes that one magic. I developed that load on a whim sometime around 2015 when I could not source 2400... been shooting it as my own personal heavy load ever since. It's a higher performance, (and far more polite) load to shoot than the famous 2400 loads we are all aware of. I have fired thousands through my personal guns.

[bigbore5]

Back-up? 22 or a 32H&R when I carry one. My primaries are 357, 357max,45C,475 and 500 Linebaughs when hunting. 357mag daily working, but swap to a 45C +p when there's big bear sign on the place. I don't use a rifle often anymore, but a 444 Marlin and a 10-22 stay in the truck with the 12ga.

[bigbore5]

contender has this sweet old model 45 Colt he let me shoot one time. Now if it were mine I would carry it daily. Just saying

[handgunhuntingafield]

Camping, fishing, and hunting wyomings back country multiple times a month all year long…..

99% of the time I’m solo.

Just the same double action 44 mag I hunt with and bear spray.

[sixshot]

fm027, that's a very impressive load you have, who needs a 44 magnum with those kinds of numbers, good job!

Dick

[375supermag]

Hi...
I do my hunting and hiking in northern Pennsylvania and the mountains seem to have gotten steeper and higher as I age.
Meantime,it seems the black bears are growing larger...every year several are killed that weigh in excess of 700lbs.
I usually carry revolvers in .41Mag, .44Mag or .45Colt in a belt holster. Usually a BlackHawk or S&W N frame but sometimes a Dan Wesson.
The longer barreled ones get carried in a generic ballistic nylon chest rig but I do find that on the rougher terrain the chest rig tends to pull on my arthritic neck causing me to sit and rest more often than I ever did before I got old.