Is a rimfire revolver enough in the woods?


Stainz

Stainz

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Seriously, here in the southeast, our four legged threats, excluding feral hogs, aren't that large or dangerous. Would a .22 rimfire be 'enough' for rudimentary protection and some small game hunting? Next question, .22 LR or WMR? I have the following now to select from, a 3" & 5" x8 .22LR S&W 63 - with HiViz front sights and a 4" x6 .22 WMR S&W 651 with a bright OR front sight. The 4" 651 and 5" 63 will need a holster - I already have a good one for the 3" 63. Ammo for the 63's would likely be CCI Stingers; the 651 likes CCI 40gr MaxiMags.

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I know that I am blessed to have found these revolvers - and then afforded them. My clothes and home give you an idea where my money doesn't go, of course. I know a single shot .22LR rifle might be 'enough', small game-wise. I also know I see small game at 10-20yd most often in the woods. I guess I am considering the 2-legged protection they may afford as well, although a pocket-protector, like my 642, would likely be better. Still, those Stingers - or, better yet, the Hornady 45gr FTX .22 WMR's, would be deterrent enough for me, but so would a slingshot and some dried peas. Any thoughts? Thanks - and

Merry Christmas!

Stainz
 
Can't answer your question, sorry, but wanted to express my admiration for the revolvers - beautiful!
 
If the only choices, go with the .22Mag. It outperforms the .22lr enough to make the cost difference worth it.

To me, either round is barely adequate. If possible, any centerfire round is superior. An animal that is suffering from rabies or distemper, etc might need more than one or two rounds, and might take long enough to die to be a problem.
 
Well I own a .22LR pistol and while it is awesome for small game, SD is a different animal altogether. Aside from feral pigs, which I know first hand a .22LR is useless against unless it is hog tied and the round in strategically placed behind the ear..... we also have black bear, coyotes, bobcat, venomous snakes (snakeshot is a good round in your mags down here), and then we have 2 legged animals that I distrust more than any of Gods creatures.

For me you are looking at the wrong round. The smallest I would carry would be a 9mm, I personally carry a .40 or .357. I have shot feral pigs in SD at very close range with a 9mm, emptied a magazine in it to stop it too. Gator would leave a decent hole in you too and a .22LR would bounce off its head like a dart with a suction cup.

Your mileage may be different but a .22 is not a SD round. Good luck with what ever you carry though. Hopefully we never need to use them.
 
I have other choices. I did consider my .45 Colt 625 MG as my ultimate woods gun for years. I have others, from a snubby .327 Magnum to .38/.357 Magnum to .44 to .45. Last June I added a S&W Governor, so .45 ACP, .45 Schofield & Colt, and 2.5" .410 shells are possible - in a <2lb revolver. I also have a CCL - and 24/7 carry a 642, a 5 shooter in .38 Special. My last woods trip, I pocket-carried my 296, a larger sibling to the 642 - a 5-shot .44 Special 2.5" enclosed hammer AirLite Ti - with first up a 240gr LSWC (hogs) followed by 200gr Gold Dots. Never saw anything larger than a squirrel. I was just trying to rationalize a simpler existence by going rimfire revolver. Yeah, even Rambo, all those years ago, went belt fed... I just want a simpler existence. Oh well, back to the real world!

Stainz
 
I would choose the 63, and would not feel under gunned at all. There is nothing in the south east that could not be felled with the lowly 22lr. I have witnessed many pigs, armadillos, squirrels, rabbits, deer, coyotes, wild dogs, a bobcat, 8 alligators, and an elk, all put down with a 22lr. None required more than 2 shots, they were however at close range, generally in a controlled situation.

As for two legged predators, they are probably the most fragile of the group, have no natural defenses like other predators, and are generally deterred by armed prey. That being said, I think a 22lr is plenty for woods bumming.
 
I am rarely in the woods without my colt frontier scout '62 with the 22mag cylinder installed. Very accurate, ultra dependable, and lightweight. It would be plenty for anything that I might come across in Upstate NY (except a blackbear I suppose).
 
A 22 can kill just about any animal in North America. That does not mean that it will when you need it to. I would say no, a 22 is not a good round for self defense. If it's all you have it's better than nothing. I prefer a 357 half loaded with snakeshot and half with HP's.
 
If you have cause for concern about two-legged threats, why not simply stick your 642 in a pocket holster in addition to the .22 rimfire on your belt? By the way, I'm pretty envious of your 3" 63.

PC
 
Those are great looking revolvers and will certainly keep you fed if you do your part. For defense I would not choose to use a .22 rimfire, even the magnum. If that's what I had all six would go out the barrel in short order. A .22 will kill larger animals but it won't stop anything large in the time frame you want it stopped.

In a hunting situation IMO your handgun should do for you what your long gun doesn't. If I have a high powered rifle a .22 revolver is a good companion. If I have a .22 rifle a centerfire revolver gets the nod.

If defense is a concern then I'd feel undergunned with just a .22.
 
Except for pigs or bears the .22 will do you fine I am sure. It can kill food for foraging or take out wild dogs or lethal snakes. If you need to kill a deer for emergency food a head shot will do it as well.

Now if you are looking for an excuse for another pistol or rifle wild hogs are dangerious.
 
Great revolvers. Learn to make them talk the language you want and keep it up. If you feel the need for bigger then take that with you. Pick the tools you will use for the task at hand. More important is to be good with those tools.
 
I carry a Henry US Survival (.22LR with CCI MiniMags) in my bag anytime I go out, if a bear gets close I keep a Orion Pocket Rocket (pencil flare gun) handy that will run them off. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=8123
(Bear bangers are another good one) http://www.truflareusa.com/productcatalog.htm

Down the road when I can afford one I'm prolly gonna pick up a .357 wheel gun as a companion for my Henry but till then I have no quams about just having a .22 with me and at 2 1/2 lbs it's lighter than most wheel guns anyway
 
I personally carry a Winchester model 70 .308 heavy barrel (long rifle) for all my meat needs. To compliment it, I carry a .22 magnum revolver. Pict is correct, you need to compliment your firearms with function and capability.
 
Personally for my area I think a 22 is sufficient. Around here the only 4 legged predator we need to worry about is yotes and mountain lions(very very rare). 22 will handle the yotes and odds are you won't see the mountain lion coming anyway.

As are as the 2 legged variety are concerned there are a lot of variables there.

Personally I wouldn't want anything to do with being on the receiving end of a 22 wielded by a skilled marksman.
 
practice with those. a larger bore does u no good if you can't hit anything with it! the sound and the pain will deter anything you have down there.
 
I watched a knife wielding methhead take 27 rounds of 9mm to the chest, and was finally put down with a blast to the head from a 12ga loaded with OO Buck, but not before he was able to cut up an officer. There is no way on Gods green earth that I would even consider a rim fire round for anything other than squirrels, rabbits, and the occasional other critter of that size. With that being said, those are a nice bunch of revolvers, and any of them will work well for what they were intended for...small game and target shooting. As was mentioned above, any of them would make a nice companion gun for a center fire rifle, even a smaller center fire like the ones that shoot pistol cartridges, or a 30-30. Something light weight doesn't even have to be a repeater, it could be something a simple as a single shot. I like my Sharps 45-70, and it is a single shot. I don't feel handicapped at all with a breach loading single shot, but it is all a matter of choice and what you feel comfortable with, and if that happens to be a rim fire then that is fine, but it is not for me.

Best wishes,

Joe
 
Stoneshaper said:
I watched a knife wielding methhead take 27 rounds of 9mm to the chest, and was finally put down with a blast to the head from a 12ga loaded with OO Buck, but not before he was able to cut up an officer. There is no way on Gods green earth that I would even consider a rim fire round for anything other than squirrels, rabbits, and the occasional other critter of that size. With that being said, those are a nice bunch of revolvers, and any of them will work well for what they were intended for...small game and target shooting. As was mentioned above, any of them would make a nice companion gun for a center fire rifle, even a smaller center fire like the ones that shoot pistol cartridges, or a 30-30. Something light weight doesn't even have to be a repeater, it could be something a simple as a single shot. I like my Sharps 45-70, and it is a single shot. I don't feel handicapped at all with a breach loading single shot, but it is all a matter of choice and what you feel comfortable with, and if that happens to be a rim fire then that is fine, but it is not for me.

Best wishes,

Joe
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27 rounds to the chest??? how???
 
It looks like you got plenty of good choices already. If you are only carrying a revolver then I suggest you carry one of your other ones. The .38/.357 is always popular. I am a .44 fan so the .44 Spl will have plenty of oomph and can be loaded down for the smaller stuff. If you are into snake shot that is available also.

I guess it also depends on where you are. Not every square mile of the southeast is filled with lions and tigers and bears (oh my!). So if you are in a area devoid of the larger critters than a .22 is fine. If self defense is an issue than bigger is better.
 
a lot of my heros (Horace Kephart, Warren Miller, Claude Fordyce, Edwin Breck) favored the 22. LR as a great woods caliber. most of them liked the pistol, and one of them liked the Marble's Game Getter (sort of a folding stock pistol thing that the ATF doesn't like).

personally, i carry a 4" .357 Taurus 66, loaded with 4 chambers in snakeshot, 3 in JHP. snakes are my primary fear during the day. i can roll the chamber forward for protection against nighttime critters. if there was a decent snakeshot for .22, i'd have picked that... but the available load just isn't big enough to calm my fear of water moccasins.
 
Lots of good comments here.

This last Saturday I went for a hike/small game hunting in Chengwatana St. Forest here in Mn.

I decided to go "light" and just bring my new 5" Charter Pathfinder in .22LR

(I know, but I wanted something AMERICAN and priced lower than the Smith)

It has it's issues, but will keep the Aguila 60gr SSS under 1.5" at 25 yards off a rest. :4:

Normally I'd carry a SxS shotgun or my Baikal .22/20ga, but I was more interested in doing some scouting than bring home any grouse.

My dog and I had gone about 2-3 miles in and I started to hear a mess of dogs barking. I wasn't sure what was going on.

Was it a pack of feral dogs? Was it an underground dog fighting event? I had no clue.

I was bit nervous because many years ago I had stumbled on a small patch of pot in this forest. Luckily I didn't step on any boobytraps.

I decided to turn around and go back the way I had come. Then the sound of the dogs became much louder, and I had to really get my dog's attention so we could dee-dee out of the AO.

The thought of possibly running into a pack of feral dogs with anything short of an AR and 30 rounds was weighing on my mind.



I really enjoyed hiking with just a .22 handgun and a day pack, but I had not anticipated feeling "uncomfortable" in the woods that day. I really feel at home when I'm out in nature.

To make a long story short, I generally don't dwell on all the "what if's" when I go hunting or hiking, but my 10 shot Witness .45 would have been a wee bit more comforting.

The best part was that all the barking was from a dog sled team that was up there doing some training on the trails. :dblthumb:

So essentially I got worked up for nothing.........................;)
 
In my neck of the woods in eastern maine I would feel adequately armed with a quality .22. Except maybe when the moose are in rut. Then something belt fed might be
nice.
 
WestrnBushcrft said:
27 rounds to the chest??? how???
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I wish I could answer that question. He was a big fella about 330 lbs or so, and the 9mm's never really slowed him down 2 officers fired 15 rounds each starting at 30 ft, and the guy would not go down. I have never seen anything like it before or since, and pray I never do again. It was a fluke that is all there is to it, but if it can happen once it can happen again and I don't want to see anyone under gunned when facing a potential threat.

Best wishes,

Joe
 
WestrnBushcrft said:
27 rounds to the chest??? how???
Click to expand...

How long can you hold your breath for? For that long plus a little longer the brain still has enough oxygen to issue commands and the muscles still have oxygen to fire even if blood isn't pumping any more. Short of a hit on the spinal column to interrupt nerve impulses there's not much in the chest that more than limits a person's ability to try and take the shooter with them ... unless they react to the shock and pain of the trauma and stop. That's where the meth comes in.
 
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You've got some very nice firearms to choose from and I know your dilema. I like to go bowhiking with my longbow and backquiver and a possibles bag. Every time go out I have to decide what to carry as a sidearm. Sometimes it's a Ruger SAA in .22lr or .22WMR, sometimes it's a taurus 5shot in 357, sometimes my S&W N frame in 45acp, sometimes it's my 1911A1. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Then there is the problem of what holster to carry. Seems that I have collected quite a few new and used over the years.

Where I live in northern Colorado, I have mountain lions who make a livin by killin, black bears, coyotes, a few feral dogs, rattlesnakes and wack jobs.

I'm afraid that you will have to make up your own mind.
 
First of all, Charter Arms is American and based in Shelton, Connecticut. You're good to go and be proud swissarmy67 :dblthumb:

I think many, general outdoor enthusiasts are wandering the woods right now without a firearm at all. For my state, one cannot roam the state forests with any firearm unless one is legally hunting. What was the actual penetration capabilities of the single shot muzzle loaders used by the men who carved into the frontier? Did they not meet its existing inhabitants who were armed only with bow and arrow? Why is a multi-shot, reliable, accurate, metallic cartridge weapon with fair penetration capabilities suddenly totally useless in our modern age? There are better choices of weapons - that is for sure - but a rimfire repeater is not without a huge amount of merit and utility.

It takes more man when there is less gun...

PS. Ruger came out with an 8 shot rimfire version of the LCR. Carry two! :4:
 
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I'll put it this way: I got, "accidentally" shot with a .22 LR three times in the thigh and once in the side of the head/face...I had 2 layers of heavyish pants on and the deepest one went in was MAYBE an inch...The one in the head went through my faceguard(I was actually playing paintball with some buddies and some idiot decided to use something a bit higher zoot =p) and hit me right below my ear and traveled maybe 3 inches just under the skin down into my neck. Now, if that would have been a squared up shot, I'm not sure if it would have went into my skull or not...But, keep in mind, this guy was 15 feet away. Which is right around the range that you might be shooting some four legged critter whose hide and muscle is a lot tougher than mine...But, I'd suggest centerfire. Ah, forgot...Skinning a buck my neighbor gave me the other week, I fished a 40 grain .22 bullet out of it's neck. Only went in maybe an inch or so. Was a fresh(within a few days) wound, but wasn't what killed the deer of course. (270 through the heart did)
 
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For a foraging gun, 22 LR is great.

For self defense- 2 legged or 4 legged predators- it is not so much. Better than nothing, but not a good first choice.

JME/ YMMV
 
In my opinion it is hard to beat a .357.. Here is why in the past 30 years I have come to that opinion. I have the following loads set up for my .357's
1. .38 shot shells... my snake load
2. .38 with lead wadcutters at 650fps to 800fps does everything a .22 pistol will do and then some.
3. .357 158gr lead wadcutters at 1100fps to 1300fps my cheep plinkers with great penetration, have used these for just about everything
4. .357 full house loads 158gr jacketed HP. my magnum load.

With these 4 loads avalible to me I can use a 4" or 6" revolver for almost everything I need a handgun for. My 4" guns will keep all rounds closer together than the 6" guns and fit belt carry better. I will normally sight in with the .357 semi-wadcutters and hold just a little high past 30 yards for the full wadcutter .38s. The jacketed loads are just a touch higher. I have to admit my land does not have any bears or wolves, just coyote and K9 to worry about, mabyee the the alledged cougars (Indiana conservation officers reportedly caught one on trail camera 40 miles Noth) I just feel better protected and prepaired with a little more gun. (not to mention 2 legged meth-heads. I like to have the last 2 rounds in the cylinder loaded with full house loads, when I have the other 4 loaded with light stuff. I may have other handguns on me when I am out, have a real fondness for the .45acp and 44mag/44special also, but I seem to always come back to the .357 for the woods. I will carry a .22 on the trapline to reduce the size of holes in the pelt. But for everything else the light .38 loads just seem to work as well or better than a .22rimfire for me in a handgun.
 
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