29-10 Classic vs Glock 22 for outdoors gun

Which way?

  • Glock 22 with hardcast, coated ammo

    Votes: 17 23.0%

  • S&W 29-10 4”

    Votes: 57 77.0%
  • Total voters
    74
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consumer_ignorance

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Hi all,

From first blush, this might be a silly question, but I’m considering two options for a lower 48 (Utah) mountain/hiking gun and I’d love some input.

I’m deciding between a 29-10 Classic (I have a beautiful deal in my lap for a LNIB 29-10 for $780). 4” barrel, nice stocks, immaculate condition. I’d get a Kenai chest rig and use it as a hiking gun.

The alternative is a Glock 22 Gen 4 police trade-in. All told (duty holster, ammo, gun) I’ll be in it about $550, which is a great deal. The gun will be $300 OTD. I found some really nice ammo that’ll be good outdoor ammo in it (170 grain lead bullet @ 1200 FPS via Lost River ammo).

The Smith is much more powerful and infinitely cooler/nicer, but the Glock has a lot of practicality going its weigh (capacity, weight, cost, shootability).

If you were me - how good of a deal would you consider the 29? And which way would you lean? I’m asking here because I’m leaning toward the Glock, but I want a defense the other way, if such a thing exists.

Thanks all!
 
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Go with the S&W 29 for the mountains. Super Cool factor!! I’d be all over that deal.

Glock 22 for the range and home defense.

I don’t own either gun.
But I do have a Glock 20 10mm but no mountains.

Papa
 
I like the S&W better, but I would go with the Glock provided you find a wilderness defense/hunting round that it works with.

Hard cast 40 S&W is capable of multiple feet of penetration in gel, and will offer faster (and more) follow up shots. Charging predatory animals are FAST.
 
Unless grizzly bears are being introduced into Utah I would go with the Glock. Its lighter, easier to carry, easier to conceal and enough gun for defending yourself from any wild animal except grizzly bears.

In Georgia we have black bear and wild boar/feral pigs but the biggest threat while hiking is other people. If I carry a gun while hiking its the same Sig P365 I carry in the city. I tried carrying bigger guns but on a long hike they get heavy and the odds of needing a gun on the trail are exceedingly slim.

If you do go with the Glock make sure that hot ammo is reliable in it. When you push the limits of how powerful a cartridge can be in a semi-auto it is pretty common to have see otherwise reliable guns jam. When I tried some Underwood hard cast 147 grain +P in a Glock 43 I had three failures in 20 rounds. The gun had gone over 1000 rounds before that without a failure and worked fine after as long as I used other brands of ammo. Before I really trust a pistol with specialty ammo I want to see it shoot 50 to 100 rounds of it without a failure. With a revolver I only need to fire a cylinders worth to see if it is hard to extract or shoots to a different point of impact that other ammo.
 
I'd go with the S&W 29-10, as long as it was built correctly and properly maintained. The Glock is a good service pistol, but for hunting, the accuracy of the S&W is likely to exceed that of the Glock. In grizzly country, I'd feel a whole lot better with the energy afforded by the 44 Magnum cartridge.
 
I have a 4" M29-5, a 3" M29-4 (Backpacker), a G22 and a G23 All have their place and use. As a backwoods, hiking gun I would choose either M29 over the Glocks, unless I was worried more about two legged critters over just critters. Up on the hunt lease while bushhogging and maintenance I will carry either 29 or a 3" M64 in a Galco Miami Vice Classic shoulder holster , usually with 3 rounds of snake shot and three rounds of regular ammo. The 29's do add a lot of weight, so there is that to consider for backpacking.
 
The logical solution is to purchase both, if that is possible. Everybody needs a .44 magnum revolver. Some folks may object to the weight and bulk after toting such a firearm a few hours. A Glock 22 .40 S&W would carry easier and reload faster than a large revolver…for most of us.

I sold my Glock 22 a few days ago to an acquaintance who couldn’t decide what to buy or how much to spend. He was generous enough to give me my money back. It should serve him well on the farm he just purchased to retire on.
 

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Buy the 29 now. It’s a fair price, or a bit better than fair, in my opinion. You can buy Glock .40s any day, all day, and the price mentioned doesn’t seem too hot, to me. I may be opining based on just local experience, but I have a Glock 22 that belonged to a deceased friend that I have been trying to sell for his survivors. So far, no one wants to give me much for it. $550 sounds crazy high. (I’m not sure I understood your price info.)
 
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The 29 is a real good deal and horsepower wise the 2 guns are in distant zip codes. Weight wise, not that much different loaded. In the mountains the 29 is a 100 yard gun, and the Glock is a 40 yard gun. I spent 52 years in the mountains of Colorado and a 29 was what I carried a lot. A 57 a few times, and a 475 Linebaugh most of the last 25 years. Even on backpacking trips of several days. Had a Glock or 2. None went farther than the range.
 
Glock 22’s can be had for reasonable prices. You just have to shop around.
 

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Sorry for not being more clear. The Glock is $300 OTD. The accessories to make it a hiking gun (ammo + holster) are $250 for a grand total of $550.
 
Glock 20 with heavy 10mm ammo, yes. Glock 22, not so much. The original Norma solid (200 grain at 1,200 fps if I recall) makes a dandy outdoor gun for heavy creatures and drug people who roam the woods these days. So, in order of preference, Glock 20 only with heavy ammo (check Buffalo Bore), the Model 29, and dead last, the Glock 22. I just don't think .40 S&W ammo is up to the task.
 
I would plan for the worst case scenario and that would be remedied with a 44 Magnum revolver.

But nothing wrong with a 357 Magnum revolver either.
image
 
OP - I own multiple Glocks, and a fair number of 29's, including both guns you specifically mention. Used to be a fairly serious backpacker as well, so I will take a stab at your question.

Definitions - Big difference between throwing on a day pack and going for a hike, and serious mileage backpacking trips that can last for weeks. Every ounce counts on the latter. Back then, I carried a Charter Arms .44 spl. Bulldog - most bang for the least weight.

In your shoes today, given the choices you presented, I would carry the Glock. The S&W is "nicer", the Glock the better tool. A 180 grain .40 HC flat nosed bullet at about 1000 fps is a potent load for about anything you are going to encounter. More rounds on tap, and more controllable then the 29 with full power loads. Lighter weight, reliable, and importantly, much more weatherproof than the 29, being coated SS and polymer.

If you were a handloader, it would tip the scales more towards the 29. You will find that in real "off road use", it will be much harder to keep the carbon steel & blued finish 29 looking good and preventing rust. Accuracy is probably a wash - Most examples of each provide all the accuracy you will need. Range and power as well. You specified a carry / SD rig, not a big game hunting rig. Number of shots? That is really a personal choice based on your perceived needs. Nothing wrong with more is better.

I don't backpack anymore, but do take small day trips here in the PA and Maine woods. My usual carry is a S&W 69 with the 2.75 inch barrel. I load it with FN cast 240's at about 975 - 1000 fps. When it is a Glock, it is the .45 acp longslide model 41 with a red dot. 230 grain FN hard cast at about 975 fps.

The Glock in a chest holster, the 69 on my belt. Heavier, or longer barreled guns are best carried in a chest rig where the weight is less noticed, and the holster / barrel is not always digging into everything every time you sit down.

Larry
 
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I’d go with the 29 and plug that god forsaken lock. That is a pretty good price. I carry a 6” 629 all day long working in the woods in a chest rig. Very easy to carry. As mentioned by the time both guns are fully loaded the weight is not that different. The Glock will do everything you want it to do. Just remember a 4” Model 10 would have worked for Dirty Harry. BUT…….
 
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