Perfect Packin' Pistol

Took this from the forgotten side of the safe, put some Collinscraft stocks and a Tyler T on it and started shooting and carrying it again. It's my old LAPD off-duty gun; DAO, slick action, 3" barrel. A 10-8 in .38.
Bob

This one.

This beautiful gun was not called "The Backpacker" for nothing. Model 629-4; it is my constant companion during excursions through the woods. We have a lot of wild hogs in east Texas and I never approach a downed pig without this gun drawn and aimed directly at its head. More than once I have silenced a pig that still wanted to argue with me.

This is my all-around go to gun.

Well, when this thread started (2010), the OP was asking for our perfect packing pistols as defined by J Tafin. (caliber that starts with a "4", barrel not a snub, woods capable)

I don't have a S&W that meets that definition, but my PPP for woods is this 44 Spec Ruger Vaquero with a 3.75" barrel.

ppp's

I thought I'd see more 1911's. I guess Taffin spent more time around grizzlies than road raging meth and or steroid users. in the Fl heat and cc, size and wt does matter and a sig 239 40 cal single stack nickel plated stainless works pretty good for me. for a revolver & something with a bit more thump the Ruger speed 6 2 3/4" bbl is nothing fancy but feels good in the hand, points well and I could live with it being in evidence for a while.

OIF2 said:

Took this from the forgotten side of the safe, put some Collinscraft stocks and a Tyler T on it and started shooting and carrying it again. It's my old LAPD off-duty gun; DAO, slick action, 3" barrel. A 10-8 in .38.
Bob

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DAO with a spurred hammer? Never seen that before.

Nice Vaquero, Wheely-- perfect barrel length. Factory or cut down?

few chose the Bulldog

Jimmymac46 said:

A number of years back, John Taffin coined the phrase perfect packin' pistol, as a way to describe just that. He initially defined the gun as a DA or SA revolver, with a 4" to 5 !/2" barrel, in any caliber capable of doing all duties......self defense, survival hunting, comfort of carry.

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John Taffin writes interesting articles and books, describing and depicting the attributes of fine custom revolvers.

However, I have trouble reconciling his written words on a "perfect packin' pistol" with the pistol he actually "packs". He wrote: "Three times in my life I needed a gun for protection; two of those times the family was along and in both of those situations it was the (Charter Arms) Bulldog .44 that was there when needed." "The Bulldogs have logged many miles, seen many camping trips, been carried in boot tops, pockets, and fanny packs and even today are still serving their family." (19. BULLDOGS AND NUMBER FIVES)

It seems to me that the custom revolvers he described were little more than finely made playthings. For the serious everyday work of defense he chose the inexpensive and short-barrelled Bulldog.

scattershot is following John Taffin's actual PPP lead with a Bulldog.

hotrod150 said:

Nice Vaquero, Wheely-- perfect barrel length. Factory or cut down?

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That is a hard-to-find run done for TALO or Lipsey's (?) in which the new Vaquero model was chambered in 44 Special with a 3.75" factory barrel.

They called it the Sheriff's model.

For urban carry, it is one of my 1911s.




For woods carry it is one of these .44 magnums. The four inch 29-2 for concealed carry. Any of the others for open carry or hunting.

LimaCharlie said:

For urban carry, it is one of my 1911s.




For woods carry it is one of these .44 magnums. The four inch 29-2 for concealed carry. Any of the others for open carry or hunting.

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Nice wheel, I'm a fan of the 44's too, I like the big horse pistols but for all around use I think the 4" SS guns are pretty handy

How's that anaconda shoot?

The Anaconda shoots great. I typically shoot Hornady or Speer Gold dots in the Anaconda, the S&W 29-2s, and the Marlin 336-44. The Rugers usually have CorBon or Buffalo Bore hotter rounds.

Changed My Mind

At the risk of offending the 44 lovers on this forum I'm going to change my definition of the perfect packing pistol I originally posted in August of 2010. Shortly after that I had a custom gun built that isn't much different than the 4th Model 44 HE Target I originally listed but is in a different caliber and that makes for a much better handling revolver, particularly when it comes to reloads.

I'm talking about my blue steel version of Smith's 625 Mountain Gun in 45 ACP. I've posted pictures of it several times but here's one that I haven't put up in a while:



After a year or more of shooting mostly L-frames I got back to taking the blue MG to the range the past two weeks and have been reminded of just how well it handles and how well I shoot it. Man oh man, do I wish I could carry it every day. Sadly my train wreck of a lower spine just won't stand the size and weight of an N-frame much longer than it takes to shoot 100 rounds or so. It sure is a great revolver and aside from my disability, the perfect packing pistol in my opinion.

Dave

Dave T said:

At the risk of offending the 44 lovers on this forum I'm going to change my definition of the perfect packing pistol I originally posted in August of 2010. Shortly after that I had a custom gun built that isn't much different than the 4th Model 44 HE Target I originally listed but is in a different caliber and that makes for a much better handling revolver, particularly when it comes to reloads.

I'm talking about my blue steel version of Smith's 625 Mountain Gun in 45 ACP. I've posted pictures of it several times but here's one that I haven't put up in a while:



After a year or more of shooting mostly L-frames I got back to taking the blue MG to the range the past two weeks and have been reminded of just how well it handles and how well I shoot it. Man oh man, do I wish I could carry it every day. Sadly my train wreck of a lower spine just won't stand the size and weight of an N-frame much longer than it takes to shoot 100 rounds or so. It sure is a great revolver and aside from my disability, the perfect packing pistol in my opinion.

Dave

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Dave, I feel for you & your back situation.
Have you thought of the S&W 329PD? It's an N frame lightweight .44 Mag. You probably knew that. I have a friend who rides horseback a lot, he traded for one & really likes it. It's fierce with mags, but should be great with the .44 Special.
Just a thought?

I have no shortage of perfect packing pistols. My problem is decideing which one to take. First, where am I going? Mostly for me it means a quad rideing in the boonies. Once in awhile it means a trip by truck to wherever. Often it means just putting a snub in my pocket to go out on errands. Its not only decideing what to take, I usualy dont take my best but take more of a already knocked around gun that I dont stress if I get it dusty or a new scratch.
First most normal situation for me is rideing the boonies on our atv. I dont need a auto or a double action revolver out there and a single action is just fine. I have several fine colt single actions in .45 colt and .44 special but I leave em home and am getting used to takeing a .44 special ruger 5 1/2" flatop lipsey special. It cost about a 1/3 of my colts and will do the job as well and maybe better? I also have a old ruger single six in .32 H&R mag in 4 5/8". I have owned it many years and decided to start useing it again. I have loaded for it and think it will make a fine trail gun.
Truth is I mostly have been carrying a old M&P or a heavy duty converted to .44 special, but I am going to switch to these two for awhile.
My old single six in .22lr is fun too.

Now for a belt short gun, I cant decide which one of these two is my favorite. A ported lew horton 66-3 3" or my nickle 2 1/2" python. Either will do.

If I want to carry a snub its one of these. The model 40 gets most of the play and the 3" 36 gets a pancake holster. The 34 is for fun I guess.

You get right down to it these are two of my best heavy hitter belt guns. A 25-5 45 colt and a 24-3 .44 special. I load them close to the same, they shoot the same and they use the same holster.

Here is another fine pair I have. A 27-2 5" and a 29-2 5". I used to carry them more many years ago, but I have went to lighter .357`s and found that I like my 24-3 4" lighter, sufficent and easier to pack than the 29-2.
I have turned the pair into safe queens I guess, but I have nothing against dragging them out once in awhile. I have owned them both 40 + years, bought the 27 new, the 29 slightly used in the early 70s.

Personal experience proves the .45 ACP to be far too anemic to make any "list" of personal protective pistols. Same goes for the 9mm, and of course any caliber within that energy level.
As one who grew up in a part of the country where handguns were routinely carried in the backwoods as protection against "whatever," I remember all too well that we would NEVER have considered anything less than a top .357 load suitable for field carry, and the .44 magnum was considered the ideal choice. My personal conversion to autoloading pistols began in the 1980's when I transitioned from living on the edge of uncharted woods to the "Urban Jungle" where rapidity of shots and rapidity of reloads seemed more important than brute force per shot. On that note, IF anyone genuine believes they should carry an autoloading pistol into the wilderness the ONLY choice is a Glock 10mm fitted with a stainless steel guide rod, 22# spring, and Underwood ammo - or handload that approximates Underwood's loads. Yes there are a number of "wildcat" loads such as the .460 Rowland, .400 Corbon, and perhaps 9x25 Dillon that might be considered, yet each of these has "problems" with reliable use...the 10mm is a tried and true package that delivers 600-800+ lb-ft of KE with heavy slugs - 200-230 grains that can punch DEEP into the vitals of a dangerous animal. This exceeds the power of the vaunted .357 Magnum and makes the 10mm the only legitimate autopistol round capable of serious consideration for field use.
Granted one could consider a short barrel .41 or .44 magnum and those are genuinely deserving of consideration, but from SHORT barrels both suffer serious velocity loss that puts them barely "better" (if at all) than the 10mm. A longer barrel does indeed change the game since the .44 magnum...ALL magnums benefit greatly from longer barrels and that brings us to what is probably the IDEAL field pistol...the .500 Magnum!
A 4" barrel .500 magnum gives up a lot of power relative to its own scale yet still outclasses the .44 magnum or hot .45 Colt loads. The "balance" of a 4" .500 magnum is about as close to perfect as one can get making the pistol easy to mount...and truthfully speaking, not hard at all to carry. In the field - where long barrels aren't an issue, the .500 cannot be bested by ANYTHING production based! The 6.5" is only 4 oz heavier than the 4" (3" actual barrel) yet provides a much longer sight radius while extracting more performance from the enormous cartridge.
IF I had a bear charging me...or a mountain lion, or an alligator (they will attack), I'd much rather being pointing and touching off a .500 magnum than a 10mm, or even a hot .44 magnum.
The problem is too many people confuse FIELD need with URBAN need...and even then get it wrong. I would much rather punch somebody's ticket with a .308 Winchester round than a .45ACP...in terms of handguns the .500 magnum IS that ".308 round!"
I've seen a LOT of people walk into the ER after being shot multiple times with 9mm's and .45 ACP's...never seen ONE "walk" in after being hit by a high powered rifle round...which includes the .500 magnum! Rifles create truly aststounding wounds compared to sub-400 KE pistols. Anyone who "chooses" a .45 ACP pistol to carry in the wild against large predatros is asking to die...regardless of hype. 350-450 lb-ft of KE is ridiculously puny compared to 1,700-2,300 lb-ft.
By the same token the .460 deserves mention because it is capable not only of rifle ENERGY but rifle VELOCITY! A .460 can easily make 200 yard shots and deliver stunning terminal effect. IF the primary concern is based on "might be needed against dangerous animals" then the two most powerful revolver calibers should top ANYONE's list! IF one is "confusing" Urban need with Wilderness need, the the ONLY choice is the 10mm, which means a 10mm capable of shooting TOP loads out of the box...this eliminates ALL 1911 based curios. While I personally own and enjoy a selection of 1911's I am under no dillusion as to where they fit in the kinetic energy delivery spectrum. IF the .500 did not exist then I'd opt for the M29 top loaded, or a top-loaded .45 Colt...such as the Ruger Blackhawk which is capable of handling 1,100 lb-ft loads with ease. Bear in mind the genesis of non-standard rounds such as the .500 Bowen or the .475 Bowen, and the .480 Ruger is the RESULT of real world experience that proves the efficacy of huge bullets moving at MAGNUM speeds...preferably RIFLE speeds.
The S&W .500 4" and S&W .460 5" are without question the ideal first choice for wilderness carry where one's PRIMARY concern is four-legged dangerous animals!