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Alaska Hiking Gun

20K views 40 replies 34 participants last post by  johnisaly 
#1 ·
Howdy, just PCSed up to Ft. Wainwright and will definitely be taking advantage of the great outdoors up here. What would yall recommend for a carry pistol and caliber for hiking and such for lions, tigers, and bears etc....
 
#2 ·
Ruger Redhawk .44mag...:yup:
I lived in AK for 7 years.:danceban:

Also, when hiking, always hike with a partner you can definitely run much faster than...:lolp:
 
#3 · (Edited)
Ruger Redhawk .44mag...:yup:
I lived in AK for 7 years.:danceban:
Yep, .44 mag running the 300 grain hard cast for a handgun.

If you're open to another option, I'd recommend the Marlin 45-70 18" Guide Gun. I know, it's not a pistol, but it is a shot swinging, lever action rifle, and as such, works pretty well. My solitary run in with a bear (pretty good sized brown) ended well due to this gun. I was running Remington 300 grain IIRC, but it's been almost 9 years since then, so my memory may be faulty.

JMHO

Also, those bear bells, and bear repellent spray aren't as effective as shown. The bear bells can be duplicated by talking loudly with your hiking buddy, yelling random "NO BEAR!"s into the woods, and the bear repellant sprays, well, everything I've seen says that will just make the bear even angrier! And a bear is enough trouble, but an angry bear... not cool!
 
#5 ·
Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan 454/45 with an Alaskan Chest Holster. You can always identify bear crap by the bells and pepper spray smell!



 
#7 ·
Ruger Redhawk or a S&W 629 Mountain Gun, both with a 4 inch barrel and in .44 magnum of course! Several ammunition companies manufacture 300 grain hardcast bullet loads such as Buffalo Bore and Garrett Cartridge, and that is what I would have in my handgun for bear protection.
 
#27 ·
+ 1 on the ammo recommendations in 44 Mag !:smile:
 
#9 ·
On another note if anyone in the Fairbanks area would be willing to let me try their 44 mag or 454 casull I would greatly appreciate it as I have never fired anything other than the normal self-defense pistol rounds, 9mm, 357, 40s&w, etc and would like to feel the difference before purchasing something. I'd be willing to compensate you for ammo and range fees.
 
#10 ·
I've never been to AK sadly, but if they have ranges similar to the lower 48 there are probably ranges that rent them. I would assume the .44 and .454 would be popular test models up there.

My recommendation would be the .454, I don't find the recoil to be unmanageable and I'm of the opinion that bigger is better in a bear situation. My only in person bear experience with bears was back in Vermont, and they're tiny in comparison to the beasts up in AK.
 
#12 ·
Samskara:

I was stationed at Ft Rich '86-'90 and Ft Wainwright '91-'96: If you go with a handgun, the Ruger Alaskan in .454. HOWEVER: I agree fully with the Marlin lever gun in .45-70 or .450 Marlin; Get an Uncle Mike's Safari sling and you can bring the lever gun to bear faster than you can draw and the .45-70 has LOTS of more impact energy than any pistol...........
 
#15 ·
Hey, you're in the enviable position of needing to buy a huge gun! You get to go all manly and get something that will stop a bear.

Love the .454 idea; maybe even a .500 S&W? Even better is the .45-70 Nitro, though carrying a rifle out hiking isn't necessarily a basket of fruit. I would really recommend carrying something that you can stop a bear with, because what you'll find up there is that .357 will make a bear really upset with you.
 
#16 ·
I carried a 3" S&W 629 Alaska Backpacker when I lived up there. The Ruger Alaskan or the .500 S&W would be worth looking at, too. It all depends on what you can hit with. My advice--Research the integral lock on the S&W and make an informed decision before you go that route. Good luck in your quest.
 
#18 ·
Spent 4 years at FT Wainwright. As we used to say "If you plan on defending a Bear attack with a pistol take off the front site; that way it won't hurt so bad when the Bear shoves it where the sun don't shine".

I carried a rifle ALL the time when away from camp and a 12 Ga shotgun stoked with 3" Mag 1 1/4 ounce slugs for the camp gun. Because I carried a rifle my Alaskan pistol was a S&W M63 22 LR; I put a lot of small game in the pot with that pisol.
 
#24 ·
Spent 4 years at FT Wainwright. As we used to say "If you plan on defending a Bear attack with a pistol take off the front site; that way it won't hurt so bad when the Bear shoves it where the sun don't shine".
That's a fact, only I heard it as so you won't chip your front teeth when you use the last shot on yourself!

I carried a .41 Mag while at Eielson AFB, but in reality, nothing beats a shortened pump shotgun slung over the shoulder--two slugs backed up with 00 buck. With a tube mag extension.

If you're depending on stopping a really pissed off momma with cubs with any handgun, you're demonstrating the last great act of defiance!

Yes, a .44 Mag (or even larger) will drop a bear, but only with a well-aimed shot (or 2,3, etc.). The bears don't always pose for you, and often appear out of thin air. Go berry pickin' and see for yourself.

Are you that good of a shot with, say, a .454 or .500 that you can get off 2-3 well-aimed shots when griz jumps out of the brush at 20 yards?
 
#20 ·
Definately .44 mag as a MINIMUM. Anything bigger is a plus. Contact Garrett's @ 360-736-0702 and have him make up some 310 gr. super hard cast .44 mag hammerheads for you, if you're using a .44. They're screamin' along at 1325 fps!Great company and excellent ammo. He makes other calibers too.
 
#25 ·
Some mighty fine pistols listed here. I wouldn't mind having any one of those.

One thing I might consider if I was doing any hiking with a backpack would be to have one of the Puma M-92 Bounty Hunters in .44 mag strapped to my pack. 12 inch barrel and 24 inches OAL, I think it would strap nicely to the side of any day pack. Also available in .45 Colt and 44-40 Winchester.

I don't own one since I have no use for one, and maybe it's nothing more than a novelty, but if I lived in Alaska, I would definitely research or try one out to see if it was a viable option.

You can see a video review by Jeff Quinn of Gunblast.com here and his written review from his website here.





 
#26 ·
Never been up in AK...but would buy a 4" Ruger Redhawk to take into the bush. Had a SuperBlackhawk(built like a tank!),but think a DA revolver is the way to go. I'd have the action smoothed up and add a lanyard ring(and lanyard!)and maybe an XS Big Dot sight. That's it and hope you never really need it!:smile:
 
#28 ·
Like the idea of the pump 12 ga. I also agree a handgun is a weapon of convenience and a Marlin Guide Gun in 45.70 would be a top choice.
 
#31 ·
I've not been in Alaska , but been around bears a lot of times, but mostly black bear. With them, I've been debating this as well and about resolved to either use a shotgun with 00, or a 30-30 lever action. I would think a 30-30 would do better penetration on a brown bear... but I'm no expert on it by any means. Maybe those with experience could answer that for me too.
 
#32 ·
I lived through out alaska for over 25 yrs. ( couldn't take the long cold dark winters anymore or I'd never left). A pistol is my last choice in any caliber. 12ga pump or lever action short barreled rifle in 45-70 .450 something to that effect.
Yes bears have been taken with much smaller. Typically though, those bears are shoot in surprise while being hunted, not rally pissed off going to rip you head off charging mode.
Though I remember a brown bear shot and killed on the Russian river, 20 some shots from a 9mm, went down after that. Don't remember all the details.

I always carried a 870 or a nova pump with 3"mag in 00 buck. Often I carried a .44mag colt anaconda as a back up. In any self defense situation, shotgun in my opinion triumphs pistol. Many people will agree I'd think.
 
#33 ·
The last time I was up in AK, I carried my FA 6" .454 Casull revolver loaded with Freedom Arms factory 300 grain bullets---today if I was up there, I would carry my 4 3/4" FA revolver loaded with the same ammo! You do have to learn how to shoot it---its a major step up from the various .44 Mag guns and requires practice to learn how to control and hit with it. Good luck! Oh yeah, a Remington 870 12 ga. with 18" and slugs is not a bad gun to have hanging around the camp tent.
 
#35 ·
There are several Marlin Guide Guns (in .308 and .45-70) on GunBroker.com right now, if anyone is interested. These are the 18in bbl "brush" guns that were a Davidson's special several years ago.

This would be my choice for a primary: lever-action "guide" gun in .308, tuned for heavier/harder bullets.

Backup: .44mag DA revolver, probably a Ruger Redhawk 4.2" bbl.
 
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