Would like to hear other's experience living and working in the back country.

Lived in Alaska 1986-1989, Bristol Bay. Did some work for the US Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife.

Arrived with 2 handguns, Mil-surplus 1911 and a Dan Wesson 357. Quickly sold both (cause you had to have a 44 in a Alaska) and bought a Ruger Redhawk .44 mag 5.5". Carried everywhere, no concealed carry back then, open carry was the mode except in Katmai NP where all firearms were prohibited, then in my day pack, sh... the Ruger was carried in a Bianchi holster which I wore cross draw, perfect for my primary mode of travel, Honda 3-wheeler, how many remember those death machines!

One rifle the whole time, my Dad's Lee-Enfield .303 British Carbine. Did the job on several caribou. Loved my time back then, lots of time in Katmai, (Bear Haven) and Becharof National Wildlife Refuge. BEST TIME EVER!

For a handgun I carried a Model 58 (4 " .41 magnum) loaded with rhino rollers. On the rare occasion I carried a long gun it was a Mossberg 12 gauge pump loaded with slugs.

Colorado, No Grizzlies, except Maybe in the extreme NW corner of the state.



Glock 19 and a can of UDAP

FWIW that is Pikes Peak taken from Mount Kineo looking NW across Bear Creek Cañon.

__________________
Retired Career Security Guard

Smith & Wesson model 58 or 657 Mountain Gun in 41 Magnum

Backed up by 30-06 or 12ga

Attached Images

IMG_20141011_130117_zpsa1d2f2d5.jpg (91.0 KB, 725 views)

__________________
On the Oak Savannah

.45 Colt Uberti

Kimber Camp Gun 10mm.

Attached Images

Kimber Camp Guard 10MM.jpg (188.2 KB, 41 views)

__________________
Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

Beartooth Wilderness , MONTANA. 10 day pack trips on horseback.
MODEL 29-2 4" in cowboy rig. Navy SEAL knife(7") , Winchester 94 in 30-30.
Wish I had a .45-70 but can't afford the ammo.

__________________
V/r,
Markham

We've been to Montana, Alaska, and Colorado the last few years backpack camping and I prefer a S&W M&P 10m/m with thumb safety carried in a gun pouch on my backpack belt, appendix area. With a 35lb pack it's a little hard to draw strong side.

Attached Images

	IMG_3989 - Copy.jpg (185.4 KB, 172 views)
	IMG_3286.jpg (93.7 KB, 167 views)
	IMG_3987.jpg (157.6 KB, 178 views)

Hiking and Backpacking in Ohio. 1911 I built from GI parts most of the time. (two extra mags) As I got older, I carried a S&W 1917 Brazilian Contract (3 extra full moons of Federal Hydra-Shok 230's).

Ivan

Kotzebue, Alaska bow hunt for Caribou.

5 in 44 mag Ruger Super Blackhawk with Buffalo Bore loads.

OP, “death machine” ??????????? Maybe if your a whitetail ! As for carry, model 10/64 or 629.

Attached Images

	IMG_4692.jpg (86.3 KB, 95 views)
	IMG_4502.jpg (143.9 KB, 89 views)
	IMG_7286.jpg (146.8 KB, 79 views)
	IMG_7637.jpg (158.3 KB, 73 views)

Haven't had the chance to hit anything out west, hut when I hike in the smokies it's the trusty 1026...

__________________
This is the way....

Traveled Alaska for a couple of decades, and will never sell the Ruger Super Blackhawk that was my constant companion.
I use a S&W M69 or a 10mm 1911 nowadays, but I'm just a visitor now.

Growing up there almost everyone carried a Blackhawk. When I was stationed there in later years all I could afford was a good used model 58 41 magnum. Poor me. . Carried in a Bianchi shoulder holster.

Long guns were almost always a 12 gauge with slugs or 45-70. And a few 444 Marlin.

__________________
Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

Anaconda and my 1911

I've posted this before. It's my Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt. It's been my go-to saddle gun for the past 30+ years when packing into the back country with the pack string. Normally loaded with 240-grain jacketed hollow points going at 1450 fps.



Often coupled with my Rossi model 92 also chambered in .45 Colt. While this shoots the same caliber as my handgun, I'll often have it loaded with 360-grain wide flat-nosed gas-checked hardcast. As I've mentioned before, I was packing into some heavily populated black bear country. I felt comfortable with both loads.

__________________
Pack light and cinch tight.

My family moved to SE Alaska in 1969. I was nine years old, and we lived there for five years. When we first got there, my dad carried a Savage 99F in .308 Win. Shortly after, he got a Ruger BH in .41 Magnum, and that's one of the handguns I learned to shoot with. About that same time, I got my first rifle, an 1891 Argentine Mauser in 7.65x53mm. That was my back country gun.

A few years ago we went on vacation to Soldotna. I took these with me to carry while fishing. The Ruger is my back country gun around here, and the 870 stays near the bed:

Attached Images

	DSC_0064-001.jpg (144.9 KB, 102 views)
	DSC_0033-001.jpg (85.3 KB, 81 views)

For 45 years I'd camp, hike and hunt at my friends place in the Berkshire's. We do not live up North any longer - (YEA ) so I doubt I will be going there anymore.

When we were in the woods I carried a M65 3" bbl. stoked with 180 grain Buffalo Bore 357 Magnum hard cast LSWC. They did well over 1,325 fps out of that 3" gun and for the Black Bear in the area I thought that would be enough if needed. While I'd not use a 357 Mag. if I set out hunting bears, I could easily tote the M65 all day long and thought it was adequate with appropriate ammo - thankfully I never had to use it. No way I was gonna tote a .44 Magnum around all day when hiking up and down the mountains. Not exactly the perfect bear protection, but better than a .44 magnum sitting home in the safe because it was too heavy and bulky to carry all day.

If I lived in larger ferocious bear country, I'd carry something more powerful .

My first choice has always been the Taurus Judge Magnum, as the option to load .410 shotshells snakes or .45LC for larger animals has always been a compelling bit of utility to me.



That being said, it's a rather heavy piece at 37oz unloaded, so carrying it comfortably isn't easy, nor does it feel especially necessary unless you're trekking around the woods, so generally I've been known to carry a .40cal pistol of some sort in recent years since that's my primary carry anyway, and a 180gr .40 S&W is adequate for just about anything I might encounter in my State.

Admittedly, it has been a few years since I last went out into the woods, and if I were to go on a hike or something, then I would pack this instead...


My H&K USP45 Elite, loaded with 230gr .45 Super FMJ.

__________________
Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Carried Ruger earlier model Bisley Vaquero 45 Colt loaded with 300 grain Buffalo Bore ammo as a sidearm and Winchester M70 stainless fwt 300 Win Mag loaded with 200 grain TBBC during Alaskan Grizzly hunt in 2004 near Denali. Killed 8 ft grizzly with rifle.

During fours years living in NW Montana, carried Glock 29 10mm loaded with 200 grain FMJ Double Tap, hiking Glacier National Park, sidearm on Bob Marshall Wilderness horseback hunt for elk, hiking and hunting Cabinet Mountains and Lolo National Forest in Montana, all grizzly country, mountain lions, wolves, and black bear. On hikes only in the backcountry, carried a Freedom Arms 475 Linebaugh loaded with 420 grain Buffalo Bore a few times.

BJ, how much did that bear weigh?

I’ve not been in Alaska, my boondocks experience has been in Colorado and a bit of Wyoming.

In the ‘60’s I carried a Python, then a M29-2. I found both over large to carry all day.

In about 1979, I switched to a Colt Gold Cup and never looked back. Easy to carry, very quick and accurate and more effective than a 357 (bigger hole and comparable penetration with my hand loads).

Not sure exactly, no scale out in the bush, but I’m guessing 750-800lbs.

I have trampsed around MT for some 37 years. I have been happy with a 44 Super Blackhawk or 44 Redhawk when I was not opposed to carrying a lot of weight. The Missouri breaks saw me with a 44 special Blackhawk several times. From Bloody Richard to the headwaters of the Big Hole I was happy with a 40 S&W. Anymore the Model 69 4" seems to suit me just fine.

__________________
Front sight and squeeze

45 ACP 1911 hiking in the back country along the Mexican border. Carried in a tanker style shoulder holster. No bears, just lots of illegal traffic judging from the garbage left in the desert. Never had occasion to see any but I'm sure they were in the area at night. I had a dog with me so she could alert me. Border patrol everywhere, including helicopters.

__________________
That's just somebody talkin.

When I went fishing in Alaska I carried a Glock 20 10mm in a Diamond D chest holster.
I bought it for the trip. I thought about taking one of my .44 magnums but my back hurt just thinking about lugging around my Blackhawk 7.5” or 629 6.5”.

Heavy loaded 44 & a ‘86 Winchester.


lookin for pics...found em







///

__________________
"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Only back country roaming I did was two family ranches. Other than right at the house, one ranch has one tree and the other has maybe six.
I carried either a government model or CCO model Dan Wesson 10 mm for 20 years.
M-1 in pickup gun rack.

__________________
Eccentric old coot

I've lived in Alaska since my late teens back in 1991. My long gun has never changed. Always a slug loaded Remington 870.

For handguns, I've run the gamut. Sometimes based simply on what I could afford, rather than what would have been best suited. .45 ACP. .40 S&W, .357, .44 mag, .45 Colt. To this day it varies. When going into more secluded serious bear country I choose the gun I've owned and used the longest. That would be my S&W 625-9 Mountain Gun. My ammunition is 300 grain hardcast at 1K FPS. Other times, when wandering closer to town where the big bears are less of a concern and bipedal predators are more of a concern, I usually carry a .357 mag, typically a short barreled 627. Due to a terrifying learning experience, I will never carry a single action revolver again.

Back in the day, it was always a Ruger or S&W .44 mag. Now, I believe they have been replaced by the polymer 10mm in various iterations.

Of course, there are lots of the non- gun geeked salt of the Earth, end of the road types carrying a beat down old .357, 9mm, or whatever they can get their hands on.

Attached Images

	20230710_114418.jpg (203.9 KB, 66 views)
	IMG_7916.jpg (72.0 KB, 74 views)

Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico are the usual hiking areas. Used to carry a 629 4", but I now pack a Glock 20.

SBH .44 Mag back when. These days a 4” 69 or in the east, a 3” model 60

In desert or mountain New Mexico, usually a 357 w/158 grain JSP or JHP, a 40 S&W w/180 grain FMJFP (this one was backcountry on the border from Columbus to Corner Ranch), or 45 Auto Rim w/250-255 grain LFP.

In Alaska I carry a gen 4 Glock 40 10mm in a kenai chest holster. 220grn hardcast from Underwood Ammo. +2 magazine extension and extra power mag springs. 17 + 1 rnds * 704 ft-lbs/rnd = 12,672 ft-lbs of deep penetrating power in one loaded pistol. In the absence of a long gun, that should take care of...alot.

Please expound on the beautiful blade.

These are part of my backcountry kit, bear spray and my old .44 Magnum.

__________________
Bill Bates

Handmade Damascus blade, fossilized mammoth’s tusk scales. Bought it at a small saddle shop outside Jackson Wyoming. Made locally and paid only $200 for it. It’s a beautiful knife.

For me, the "back country" is several hundred to several thousand acres of woods interspersed with farmland, but I'm in Illinois.
For that, I'll swap out my 380 or 38 snubbie for my S&W model 34 Kit Gun. It is better for shooting floating sticks in the creek or popping a rabbit or squirrel and I don't have to worry too much about some gangbanger messin' with me out in the mushroom woods.

S&W 629 5" when prowling the mean woods of Michigan. PMC 240gr TCSP. Accurate and packs a punch.

My 66-1 has done me very well in the back woods of Maine

Attached Images

IMG_1708.jpg (186.5 KB, 30 views)

LOVE the term for your ammo.

__________________
S&W Accumulator

OP had it right. Lived in Alaska for 15 years. Standard carry was a ruger rehawk ``5-1/2” barrel in a crossdraw shoulder holster. I still have mine although I left Alaska in 95.

I only roam the swamps and hills of Louisiana. I used to carry a 44 Vaquero cross draw for a number of years. Nowadays it's a smith 64 in a Brauer holster with 158gr +P or a Rem model 31 riot gun.

Mostly the worse critters I can run into are cougars (the 4 legged kind) and black bears although grizzlies are starting to creep back in. My M&P 10mm is what I carry mostly unless I what to carry want I used to carry my 329pd.

__________________
balin
NRA Life Member

Never lived in or carried in the back country but when I’m in the woods during deer season I always carry a Glock 41 (.45ACP) on my hip. Sure it isn’t a .41 or .44 Mag but it’s fine for me in East Coast woods.

__________________
Some Might Say.

S&W model 460 with 325gr. "bear loads " in a chest holster. We grow big bears up here !

Attached Images

pix269921706.jpg (208.6 KB, 27 views)

M 57 41 mag. and in rifle, 45-70

__________________
SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Usually a Colt SAA in .45 Colt, at least in years long past. Later an old Ruger Super Blackhawk that was pretty heavily modified. Finally, a Glock 20. Weight matters more to me now than it did back in the day. There was usually a 12 ga. shotgun of one sort or another around too. This picture was taken more years ago than I care to remember - sure wish I had that old Land Cruiser back!

Attached Images

Jeff and Landcruiser_Original.jpg (73.6 KB, 55 views)

__________________
Everybody could shoot

Back country means something different here in North Carolina than it does out west. No brown bears or mountain lions in NC. The eastern NC swamps are full of big fat black bears. They are rarely a concern. I like to hike deep into the swamps, looking for different reptiles, enjoying the scenery, etc. Usually carry a Smith & Wesson Model 629 (.44 Mag) with 5" barrel in a chest rig or Galco OWB. Sometimes a Glock 40 (10 mm). Hard cast lead ammo. Probably overkill. A .357 would be sufficient.

The backcountry to our West is a short walk to the Swamp.
To our East and South it's called the Ocean.

The Sec6, which usually wears Hogue monos and has been
my Swamp gun since around '80.
158gr JSP handloads.
On the Ocean it depends on whether I'm in my kayak,
a Sportfish or on a bridge in the Keys.

My boy in Colorado carries a G20 now or the 629/4"
with HC factory ammo.
I think he carries the G42 when skiing.
His Kendo training as a kid makes his ski poles useful.

I have 460/3.5" for the Rockies.
Cross draw holsters work for me.

Attached Images

	IMG_0521.jpg (58.6 KB, 38 views)
	IMG_2220.jpg (87.4 KB, 37 views)
	IMG_1243.jpg (73.3 KB, 41 views)
	IMG_4740.jpg (85.4 KB, 35 views)

__________________
Have Fun/Stay Safe

^^^^^^^^ great pictures.