Woods/trail pistol?

[superj]

now the screen name will have to change to dirty ranger with the saying go "ahead, make my day"

 

[JoshT]

Well guys....i went and picked up this....

View attachment 91015

Its a S&W .357mag. Havent shot it yet...but im having a great time looking at it.

Model 65-3, 1982 build date from everything i can find.

Nice pea shooter, but I found your bear gun right here:

Seriously though, congratz on the purchase. For what you wanted, I think it's all round a better piece than what you had. Capacity for a more powerful round while still being compatible with the 38 special you're used to. Reliable, not that your old one wasn't. Probably most important to me, it isn't a snub nose, so better stability, accuract, and aim IMO.

now the screen name will have to change to dirty ranger with the saying go "ahead, make my day"

Wrong gun. Dirty Harry carried a .44 Magnum S&W model 29, or a .44 Auto Mag pistol which used .44 AMP. I also wouldn't taunt a bear like that regardless of what I was carrying. Especially if I were carrying that big mofo I linked above, I think I'd be more scared of shooting it than the bear attacking. <Haven't actually wanted that video yet myself BTW.>

 

[MISWFL]

If you're going to artificially limit your firepower by choosing a wheel gun, your minimum caliber should be .41 mag, IMO. Bullet choice is very important. Hard cast lead or solids like Barnes or Lehigh will not expand too soon and get to vital areas intact, with enough energy. Hard cast lead is not the same as the common soft lead round nose or semi wad cutters, BTW. With only 5 or 6 shots, shot placement and speed on target is critical. Don't try to carry semi concealed, concealed or worse yet, buried in a bag, behind a coat or stuffed into a pocket. Carry like they do in the Alaska bush, out fully in front or side ready for action. Get a trigger job, an RMR and lots of training for sudden snap shots on fast moving targets. Bring a dog to alert you sooner and distract the bear. Many guides in Alaska carry 2 Glock 10mms and their long guns. Bears don't play.

 

[sgtsandman]

The 41 is an under rated and unappreciated round for sure and wouldn’t be a bad choice.

From what I remember of the conversation, he’s concerned about Black Bear. While going bigger is never a bad choice, I don’t think he chose poorly.

Plus, one has to work with and realize their limitations. While he didn’t say there were any or that he couldn’t shoot a bigger round accurately, a well placed lower powered round is going to make a world of difference over a poorly placed higher powered one.

For Black Bear, a .357 will do an adequate job and isn’t underpowered for what he intends to use it for.

People have taken down Grizzlies with a 9mm. Granted it took the entire magazine, less one round to do it, but it has been done. A .357 is much more powerful and the bear is smaller and a wheel gun with that caliber has enough capacity for the task. Though, at least one speed loader isn’t a bad idea and with practice, can be as quick to reload as a semiautomatic.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I too am a big fan of the .41 mag.
Would probably choose it over .44 if I were in the market for a hand cannon. Reloads nice too, with plenty of reloading options available out there.

 

[Blmpkn]

My buddy just got rid of this super old revolver that was chambered in .41 SHORT..

What a ridiculous round lol.

 

[MISWFL]

The 41 is an under rated and unappreciated round for sure and wouldn’t be a bad choice.

From what I remember of the conversation, he’s concerned about Black Bear. While going bigger is never a bad choice, I don’t think he chose poorly.

Plus, one has to work with and realize their limitations. While he didn’t say there were any or that he couldn’t shoot a bigger round accurately, a well placed lower powered round is going to make a world of difference over a poorly placed higher powered one.

For Black Bear, a .357 will do an adequate job and isn’t underpowered for what he intends to use it for.

People have taken down Grizzlies with a 9mm. Granted it took the entire magazine, less one round to do it, but it has been done. A .357 is much more powerful and the bear is smaller and a wheel gun with that caliber has enough capacity for the task. Though, at least one speed loader isn’t a bad idea and with practice, can be as quick to reload as a semiautomatic.

If going with something under .41 mag, I'd want more then 6 rounds. Hopefully he uses some hot loaded hardcast or solids. I'd also want an RMR, especially with my older eyes.

Have you seen the video where a guy kills a bear over bait with a blowgun?

I too am a big fan of the .41 mag.
Would probably choose it over .44 if I were in the market for a hand cannon. Reloads nice too, with plenty of reloading options available out there.

I'd feel good with a Ruger Old Army, max loaded with hardcast, but I'd want a backup gun for sure. I bet the flame and smoke would startle a bear as much as the report.

 

[MISWFL]

My buddy just got rid of this super old revolver that was chambered in .41 SHORT..

What a ridiculous round lol.

Black powder round, made long before smokeless and magnums. Still deadly at short range, especially before modern medicine.

 

[Blmpkn]

Black powder round, made long before smokeless and magnums. Still deadly at short range, especially before modern medicine.

I urged him to pony up whatever ridiculous amount of money a box of ammo would of cost for the thing and hang onto it cause it's just such an oddball nowadays.. but noooooooo -__-

He has some cool stuff just fall into his lap..

One day while standing in line at the store he noticed the person in front of him was about to pay for their bottle of soda with some change.. his eye caught that one of the quarters they had was suuuuper old.. told the person he would pay for their soda in exchange for that one quarter..

Took it home and did some googling and the damn thing in WORSE shape than that one would sell for like 2300$ lol.

 

[sgtsandman]

If going with something under .41 mag, I'd want more then 6 rounds. Hopefully he uses some hot loaded hardcast or solids. I'd also want an RMR, especially with my older eyes.

Have you seen the video where a guy kills a bear over bait with a blowgun?



I'd feel good with a Ruger Old Army, max loaded with hardcast, but I'd want a backup gun for sure. I bet the flame and smoke would startle a bear as much as the report.

I’ve seen a couple videos of a guy doing that with a blow gun. He got it done, I’ll give him that. Whether he’s brave, stupid, or a combination of both is another discussion.

 

[James Morse]

My buddy just got rid of this super old revolver that was chambered in .41 SHORT..

What a ridiculous round lol.

Almost as ridiculous as a .32 short. I think they called them Saturday Night Specials.

 

[Blmpkn]

Almost as ridiculous as a .32 short. I think they called them Saturday Night Specials.

.22 short is another good one lol. They just look so goofy.. no idea the ballistics but I'm curious

 

[Roert42]

Almost as ridiculous as a .32 short. I think they called them Saturday Night Specials.

A saturday night special is just a term for any cheap "throw away" hand gun. Like a those charter arm .38 revolvers where the cylinder does not swing out, you have to pull the whole thing out to load it.


I think the shorts are ok for a belly gun, .32 or even a .22 short. If you are shooting it out of a 1" barrel you better be practically hugging the guy to hit him, and at that range you really don't need a super hot load to poke a hole.

 

[James Morse]

Going back about 60 years, I think I tried shorts. The hardware had .22 Short, Long, and Long Rifle. I normally always got Long rifle, can't remember exact price, but they were under $1. My mom got tired of taking me to the store so she used to write me a note (I was like 10) "Please allow Jimmy to buy .22 ammunition" and I'd take that to the hardware and they'd sell them to me. Used my dad's old Winchester tube feed, also a Hi-Standard pistol.
Those were the good old days. I remember one time I made the mistake of a bad 2-hand grip on the pistol, and the slide rode over the top of my left thumb knuckle and cut it open pretty good. You can bet I didn't let my parents see that. Also never did it again.

 

[sgtsandman]

Going back about 60 years, I think I tried shorts. The hardware had .22 Short, Long, and Long Rifle. I normally always got Long rifle, can't remember exact price, but they were under $1. My mom got tired of taking me to the store so she used to write me a note (I was like 10) "Please allow Jimmy to buy .22 ammunition" and I'd take that to the hardware and they'd sell them to me. Used my dad's old Winchester tube feed, also a Hi-Standard pistol.
Those were the good old days. I remember one time I made the mistake of a bad 2-hand grip on the pistol, and the slide rode over the top of my left thumb knuckle and cut it open pretty good. You can bet I didn't let my parents see that. Also never did it again.

Slide bite tends to correct bad grip the first time. Pain is a good motivator.