protection pistol
 

I'm somewhat of a new hunter, this will be my 3rd season. I bowhunt primarily and mainly shoot hogs. I am looking for a good easy to shoot size pistol to protect while in the woods hunting and looking for my kill. Twice i came up on a pig i shot with bow that wasn't dead and wanted my hind end! So, I need something that will finish off animals as well as protect from other pigs, coyotes bobcats and what not. I don't have to have a gun that will blow away, just get the job done

Hard question to answer. Me personally I carry a glock 19 with 15 red of tap critical defense for the four legged critters. Gold dot for 2 legged.

Lots of room for personal preferences — if you're just finishing off a wounded animal just about anything from a .38 Special on up should work. I carry a 9mm because the ammo is cheap.

I have a Springfield 1911 in 45 acp, and a S&W model 19 in 357 magnum.
I would go with a S&W 44 magnum, for wounded hogs.
It is better to have a gun to big and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
JMHO

If it where me I would carry my s&w 626 .44 with a six inch barrel. It may sound like a lot of gun but it's easy to shoot and and it is enough gun to take down the meanest pig. It would really suck to be shooting at and hitting a big hog and not getting the penetration you need to put him down.

do they make .38 in pistol not revolvers?

Sig Sauer 225 9mm single stack. Plenty for protection in the woods.

When I was shopping for a pistol to carry while hog hunting, I tried my Brother-in-Law's .44 magnum. Lots of recoil, and LOTS of noise. My 9mm is definitely too wimpy to use for hunting, but for a finishing shot on a wounded animal it's fine. Even an angry hog is going to think twice about continuing straight at someone shooting at them, regardless of the caliber. Besides, there's no way I would be quick enough to switch from my rifle to a pistol in time to react to a charging hog.

Having said that, I've never had a hog charge at me. Some times they've run in my general direction because I'm between them and the woods they're running for after I shoot, but they weren't specifically after me. I can cycle my bolt action rifle a lot faster than I can draw and aim a pistol.

True, I'm not going to be hunting with whatever I purchase, strictly gonna be with me while im in the woods and what not for finishing shots or if i do have to scare something away. i think i've settled on a 9mm unless i can find a .40cal i llike. I am fond of the bersa thunder 9mm and .40

I carry a glock 20 10mm When hiking in colorado. With the right bullet it will knock down anything you run into. If you miss with the first shot you still have 14 to use. The ammo can be a little pricey if you don't reload.

Here in Colorado, if you shoot with a bow, the law says you have to finish with a bow. check your state laws and verify what you have to finish with. just so you don't get into trouble.

Occasionally Browning will produce the BDA 380, which is a pistol. It appears if a distributor will put in a big order for the pistols. I purchased one late last year, and haven’t seen them in the store since.
For protection, I usually will use my Glock 20, or Glock 29 while out in the woods in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan or Wisconsin.

How about you learn to shoot better??? A well placed broadhead will kill them very quickly the first time thus alleviating the need to finish them off.

Protection from coyotes and bobcats? Are you serious?

i have a glock 29 loaded with hot doubletap loads, black bears are the biggest thing im likely to come up on as well as 2 legged critters, the 10mm should take care of any of them and 15 shot capacity is nice. Probably for what you need it for id look at anything from a 45acp or 10mm if you like autoloaders, or 357/41/44 mags if you like revolvers.

Do you mean a semi-auto in .38 Special? The answer is no. It is a rimmed case and autos funtion with rimless cases.
They can chamber a revolver in rimless case such as the 9m or 45, but it take either a half moon or full moon clip ring to do such.

As far as a side arm for what you have described, I am very partial to my .44 Revolvers or my.45's as well. I shoot nothing but hard cast lead 240grn Semi wadcutters in my 44's and 200grn Hornandy Encapsulated Wadcutters in my .45's. Very accurate and give you the energy to break heavy bone or skull when the need arises.
NO HOLLOWPOINTS!!!!!!! The don't give the penetration needed in the lower power handguns to take care of business in a hurry. They are fine as a regular carry round, but if you are after hogs mainly, they just don't cut it. We have a big plastic cup on the butcher table full of broadheads, muzzleloader slugs, pistol and rifle rounds that were stuck in their gristle plates that did not do their job and drop the animal. We yet to have what we shoot fail to do the job and quickly.

I like the glock 20 as well 10MM,357mag,44mag if recoil a probelm try the forgotten 41mag any of these should do what you need to do.

4 inch .357 Magnum would be about all you needed for the task you described. Use 158gr jacketed soft points or heavy cast in the 180gr. 357 is cheaper than most other magnum cartridges and you have the benefit of using .38 for target practice. If recoil isn't an issue then you could move up to a .41 or 44mag.

I think that what Montana brought up needs to be re posted. This is a possible legal issue, in many states.

Be wary of having a sidearm on your person when hunting with another type of weapon. Some states do frown on this practice.

I carry a S&W 40 cal. works like a champ.

Actually you're forgetting the S&W model 52, a target pistol chambered for .38 special wadcutters. As for backup I carry a Ruger Redhawk in .41magnum. There's NO WAY I'd trust a puny .380 or 9mm for killing a big hog bent on my destruction.

Where are you at? A 9 would be completely insufficient here and I use a 357. Shoot a bear with a wimpy 9 and I'm apt to be eaten.

I do stand VERY corrected!! I have never heard of this weapon. I looked it up and it is of rather unique design. Thanks.

The Coonan is another auto pistol that will shoot .357mag/.38special. At a mere $1200 you can have one.

If I am gonna spend that kind of $$$, its gonna shoot something bigger than that. It wasn't till I really sat back and thought about it that I also realized that the Desert Eagle shoots the 357 and 44 mag rounds. Guess I was just having a sleep deprived moment that I should have stayed out of this one!!!!

For over 20 years my backup gun is a S&W model 36 loaded with my handload of 158gr SWC @ 780 fps out of that revolver using HP-38 powder. I carry it in a crossdraw holster at 10 o'clock position. It's small so it stays out of the way, it's powerful enough to finish up any hog and the recoil is mild enough to make it comfortable to shoot. It would work pretty well on any 2 legged varmint too if necessary.

Last month I used it to finish off a 155lb. hog that was shot and wounded by a neighbor next to me. One shot to the head and it expired immediately on the spot.

In past I have also used S&W model 19/66, Ruger SP101 in 357 mag and Ruger Single Six in 22 magnum. They were good guns but I just found them to be too big and/or too heavy.