WANTED: cheap handgun for animal defense

[Tom]

new to personal weapons, dont know shit about the market(note: i have training in weapons safety.). looking for something to keep handy on expeditions, in case of bear encounters or things of the sort.

ive seen some revolvers with shotshell capability... those look like something useful. pros? cons?

then again being able to keep a magazine handy is surely peace of mind.


heres a scenario:
hiking along in yellowstone, or the mountains of the midwest with the lady. come around a corner and a bear runs off with her. wtf. so i take chase and grab my *insert new handgun here* and show that bear whos meat hes messin with.

exploring the trails of western montana with the woman. chillin at the campsite on top of a scenic vista, basking in gods great glory. woman takes out a tuna sammich, WHAM gets pounced by a bobcat. do a tactical roll, reach for my *insert new handgun here* and persuade the animal with a few rounds to release my female from its jaws.

**prior to these situations, i proceeded to my local gunshop with about $300 cash and a drivers license. oh and then i went to my sheriffs office with said drivers license and $45 for a concealed carry permit, complete with reciprocity in 31 states.


guide me

[Adam]

Glock 20 with some hollow points. 10mm is a big ass bullet. But they aren't cheap.

You could probably find a used .44 mag revolver that would be a little bit cheaper.

[WAD357]

Scenarios are definatly pretty serious! however I dont know shit about guns

[Mighty Quine]

if you were a real man.....you'd wrestle that fucking bear Tom

[Buffalo Phil]

First of all, no handgun you buy for $300 is going to fend off Bears. If you start dumping even a magazine filled with 45 ACP hollow points, you will simply just piss the bear off. Bears have been known to shrug off 500 grain .45-70 loads as well as very high power 338 Winchester Magnum loads, and you want a HANDGUN? I'm going to be Brutally honest here. Also, a Handgun is the last thing you want when a Bobcat is wrestling or attacking a loved one. Missed the bobcat? Sweet, just shot your wife. Unless you are a fictional TV character, taking shots like that requires the utmost training and proficiency and NOT a $300 Tupperware special. Which begs the point, do you really want your life to depend on a CHEAP handgun?

Buy a handgun to fend yourself from people and other animals about the same size, but do not think a handgun is going to be the end all of any situation in the woods unless it is a 500 smith and wesson. If you encounter a bear, there are tactics for scaring them off, though usually if a bear attacks you, you are too close to the cubs and you should start fucking running anyway. If a bobcat attacks your wife, the last thing you should be doing is stand there trying to aim at a flailing feline.

Coyotes are another thing, but unless you have a dog with you, they are easily scared away. Wolves as well. Unless it is something they know they can take down in the pack, the won't attempt. But, wolves and coyotes fall into that 'slower and smaller than you category where a handgun will be useful and don't forget to call up the national park itself and tell them exactly what happened. If you ever just shot an animal in a national park and left it there and the park rangers ever found it, the Media will eat it up as 'animal killers' now freely roam the national parks.

What do I suggest? A gun that you like that isnt a Taurus. Buy something American or European made. Colt, FN, HK, Glock, Kimber, SiG are all great companies that make outstanding pistols.

So I give you this warning and this is advice you should heed, the handgun is not the end all be all, it is the absolute last resort and should only be deployed when you have no other options when it comes to animal encounters in the wild.

[Wide-J]

Before buying a gun to protect yourself from bears, do your research on how to stay safe in bear country. I understand that some people feel the need to carry a gun in bear country but you are also going to need to check and see if state parks allow guns. Take precautions before venturing out so you don't put yourself in dangerous situations.

[Mighty Quine]

Before buying a gun to protect yourself from bears, do your research on how to stay safe in bear country. I understand that some people feel the need to carry a gun in bear country but you are also going to need to check and see if state parks allow guns. Take precautions before venturing out so you don't put yourself in dangerous situations.

This

[Hydra]

Buy a spear, way cheaper

[iant333]

Its hard enough to drop a Deer with a handgun, and Deer don't attack you when you miss and are about 10X easier to drop than a Bear.

For about 300 dollars you could buy a good used shotgun, i'd rather trust a 12 gauge with self defense than a .44. I've never hunted bear before but people sometimes say that a 12 gauge can even be light for bear, their skin and bones are really tough and shot doesn't really penetrate very well, most experienced bear hunters carry full power rifles.

Though i'd say it sounds like the scenario's you have are pretty unlikely in the first place. Not that animals don't attack people but you are better off not letting therm occur at all by being more careful with food and the like.

Another advantage to shotguns is laws are always more permissive to them, there are no states I know of that require a permit to carry an unloaded shotgun in your vehicle, handguns are another story.

[CSaddict]

[Tom]

good info, and no the scenarios are not very realistic realistically im looking for a last resort as a means of preventing too close of an encounter against maybe a rabid or very brave animal that doesnt heed my conventional tactics. not expecting to have to fire it besides going to the range once in a while.

i want a handgun for its small size as compared to a rifle or shotgun. most of my exp'ing is via motorcycle.

also wanna add that im a pretty good shot with a handgun

[Magilla]

How big of a hand gun? 3" barrel 4" barrel or 5" barrel (5" is not a very nice carry gun do to its bulky size) 300 dollars will not buy you a decent gun, save up another 250 or so and it will put you into a nice category of hand guns. Springfield zd, xdm, glock 21, 30 and so on.

[Riot]

I don't know much about guns, but you do whatever the fuck it takes to get that tuna sandwich back

[Tom]

no clue about barrel sizes, what are the functional advantages to the different types of handguns?

i love me a high caliber bullet. saw a nice .45 revolver today.
also saw the shotshell ones i want but it was a taurus and phil warns against them.

[#DEZERTDAD]

Pistol Grip 12ga or 20ga shotgun would suffice!