Best S&W Revolver for a "Bug Out Bag"....

[Mr.Harry]

It also amuses me a little that some seem to think I'm anticipating an unrealistic or fantastical End Days scenario in this query. While the realty is a good Ice storm and week or 2 loss of electricity could spur the conditions. And afterall, this isn't a "survival sword" thread either. Lol. So suspend your 'disbelief' and humor me. Christ! There's a multi-tool and even an old M1 bayonet/fighting knife in The Bag.... but no katana or throwing stars

 

[Mr.Harry]

I think the idea of having to legitimately bug out is rather improbable, but if a scenario occurred where it is actually warranted, I would assume things are really, really bad for whatever reason. In such circumstances, I would assume many people would likely be violent and/or desperate. There may be a lot of people who are not easily deterred. As such, I just wouldn't feel comfortable with the limited capacity and slow reloading of a revolver.

Even against a single determined attacker(someone who will not stop until you actually physically stop them), I'm not all that comfortable with the capacity of a revolver and it would only be compounded in some type of bug out scenario.

In normal circumstances, the majority of common criminals are deterred by the mere sight of a firearm or flee as soon as the shooting starts, but we are not discussing normal circumstances, so you can't expect the usual results and responses. It can take a lot of rounds to stop a lone determined assailant. There are numerous documented cases with many caught on video. I could even see some measure of suppressive fire being useful in certain instances.

As I said before, it's all pretty far fetched stuff IMO and I'm not making any plans or preparations myself for such events, but if such a scenario did occur, I think a high capacity 9mm semi-auto makes the most sense.

you live anywhere near a nuclear reactor, guy? I got one in beautiful seabrook NH. If they can blow up downtown manhatten.... I'm not posting this to debate probability of cataclysmic events. Or zombie apocalypses. Just some pragmatic, practical, preparedness. Who's really being naive????

 

[BC38]

This makes a lot of sense to me, let's refine the search within my stated desires and purposes - SS revolver, let's say k-frame at heaviest, excluding 9mm, 617 in 22 long or a 38/357? You have to understand this is assuming I WONT be lugging around an N frame, and have a high caliber rifle or shotgun slung over my shoulder simultaneously. Much I as might like to. And I'm not an 'AR' guy. So, within the parameters I expressed. Really it s down to the two I mentioned....

If I am reading you right and you AREN'T excluding the 38/357, and SS is a requirement, then that narrows it down to the 3" M65 or M66 for me. Luckily for me, I already own the 3" M65 pictured in my avatar

The drawback to the 22 is when you run out of ammo, you're done unless you can find more. BUT the 38/357 centerfire cartridges can be reloaded.

You can download the 38 special to be almost as mild as a 22lr. 110gr rounds with a light powder charge of about 7 grains of HS6 clocking at around 800-900 fps will do just about as well for small game as a 22lr without doing a lot of damage to the meat.

At the same time you can load 170gr pills over about 9 grains of HS6 and have a heavy load that will hit 1100-1200 fps and will take down a deer (assuming you're a good enough shot).

 

[Mr.Harry]

Lol. That and a parking lot full of nuke subs at Portsmouth NH naval shipyard. Too funny to me how people think they might never need to RUN like hell and on short notice.

 

[shawn mccarver]

What one gun goes in the bug-out bag?

As you are likely carrying something else, and maybe even an M4 type rifle, how about an Airweight J frame like the Model 642?

 

[THREEDFLYER]

2.5" M66.......I'll second that!

I'd go with a 2.5 inch model 66.

Also would be my choice

 

[bcarroll]

I must say reading people's posts are very limited on thoughts and planning. BOB bags,get home bags and other such names. Too many to try and mention. The idea of one of these bags. Are for emergencys. Lost,civil issue,storms,floods and as always my own stupid actions in the field. So my bag is pretty big! I can trim it down with the situation at hand. What gun is needed? I would say that is personal? Defence,signaling (laying on the side of a hill with a broken leg),hunting. So I am not sure there is a wrong answer here?

 

[saemetric]

Ok if SS is the requirement then my M63 and a brick of .22 hp

 

[Stopsign32v]

4" 686+

But honestly I'd never choose one of those over a good ol Glock19

 

[silversnake]

Also would be my choice

I'd take a 2.5" Model 66 too.

Any situation where I'm likely to bug out is likely to be a short term, localized disaster (eg a hurricane, wildfire, earthquake, etc).

In that case I'd be more concerned about concealability and stopping a human threat than carrying thousands of rounds of .22 LR.

 

[bigchuck83]

For me it would be my Nickel finish 586 no dash with 4 inch barrel, it shoots decent and isn't too bad to carry all day. But for a stainless steel finish i'd be happy with a model 66.

 

[petepeterson]

Ok if SS is the requirement then my M63 and a brick of .22 hp

I would choose between this one, and my 3" Model 60.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Short of TEOTWAWKI.......... or episode 200 of "The Walking Dead"..........................

Then IMHO.........if forced to "bug-out" I'm taking the 4-wheel drive truck and heading to the cabin......w/ wife and 2 teenage (16&19) sons......everyone should be armed with at least a hand gun........

For me.......

A handgun you can and will keep concealed.......unless you need it for defense....................

Revolvers.... my S&W 3" 66 in a Milt Sparks Summer Special. w/2 speedloaders....2 speed strips and a mag wallet.
Auto......my PC Shorty 9 with extra mags.

Again IMHO all others in the party should be armed with compatible arms using the same ammo speedloaders/magazines.

Long gun back up; short of ARs for all..........

My 10/22 take-down..... with 10&15 rd mags..... can be carried concealed in the back-pack...... deployed in about 30 seconds
and/ or
My Ruger American carbine w/1-4x20 scope scope, 22magnum 2-3 9round magazines..... .22 mag has the muzzle energy of a 9mm.... and not to loud...... easy to carry an extra 100+ rounds. Lets you reach out on "varmints" to 150yds.......

 

[wolverine]

Lol. That and a parking lot full of nuke subs at Portsmouth NH naval shipyard. Too funny to me how people think they might never need to RUN like hell and on short notice.

Morning Mr.Harry

If a possible nuclear event is your main worry then what
gun you pack is of little importance (just run with your
daily carry).

You would probably be way ahead of the crowd to put
the gun purchase money towards a good dirt bike with
a decent sized fuel tank.

You won't be able to out-walk, or out-run-on-foot, a nuclear
disaster so you will need some sort of vehicle. Most likely
the roads will be a stationary parking lot so unless the nuclear
event is very small & very contained an automobile will be of
little use.

With a decent dirt bike (& one for your wife also) you might be
able to find a cross country escape fast enough to evade the
radiation.

If your bug-out bag is going to be set up for living off the land
then some light weigh expandable fishing gear & a Ruger
take-down .22 rifle would cover the food procurement needs.

In an emergency like a sudden nuclear event there is a good
chance that you won't be near, or have time to grab, your bug-
out bag so the gun & ammo that you daily carry will probably
be the only weapon that you escape with.

Now would be the time to figure the normal prevailing wind
direction & plan an escape route that others won't completely
block with cars & trucks. (a narrow nimble vehicle will be your
friend & savior here)

 

[Smith657]

Of those already in my gun safe it would be a 3" 317 22lr and 3" 396 Mountain Lite in 44 Special. That might change in a day or two as I have a SW22 Victory TB on order.

 

[Green Frog]

Baby Chief in a suede-out pocket holster (RF pocket) then a 22 in my BOB as a true BUG. Ammo wallet w/10-15 rounds for former, 100 round box of ammo for latter. Likely stay close to home though, as I'm on a hill, have well with pump, a generator, two fireplaces, etc.

Froggie

PS. "Home is where the food is!"

 

[Arik]

It also amuses me a little that some seem to think I'm anticipating an unrealistic or fantastical End Days scenario in this query. While the realty is a good Ice storm and week or 2 loss of electricity could spur the conditions. And afterall, this isn't a "survival sword" thread either. Lol. So suspend your 'disbelief' and humor me. Christ! There's a multi-tool and even an old M1 bayonet/fighting knife in The Bag.... but no katana or throwing stars

Had this 2 years ago. Massive ice storm. Trees covering roads, downed wires, no power for 2 weeks....Etc...Etc.. You know what happened? NOTHING! People went to work if they could, if not they went to relatives in other parts of the state or to those who did have power. Stores ran on generators. There was a run on small home generators.

There were no shooting, no looting, no one stole and stores didn't run out of anything except flashlights and batteries. Those of us who didn't have work found things to do. I went to Home Depot, bought a giant Rubbermaid container and put all my food in it. Then took it out on the deck and hurried it in snow. The next few days I'd go to a friend's house, we'd go to the mall, or bar or whatever. Basically anywhere there were generators powering the buildings. In the evening I'd turn on the stove and let it run for a bit. It didn't help much but it didn't hurt either. Kept the kitchen warmer and provided some light.

In those 2 weeks nothing happened except hotels were sold out, salt was sold out and there were no generators, flashlights or batteries to be found. That's it!

Here it is a week later, after most roads were clear.

Now, you may think I live in some small town community where we all know each other. Nope. I live in a 6 million strong metro area. My county has over half million people. My township has almost 15k people. The next township has about the same and the township after, which is a different county, has 1.5 million. Any which way I look there are people, traffic, road construction, office buildings and suburban developments.

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[Arik]

As to your revolver question.

I wouldn't carry any gun in my backpack if I weren't already carrying one on me.

I wouldn't be packing a revolver over a semi auto but I would put one in as an.. another one.

The revolver would be one that can shoot both 38 and 357. As far as frame goes I don't care.

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[Mister X]

These posts don't answer the question of why I'd grab a revolver the OP suggests over a much preferred Glock given the scenario?

Why a revolver? A lot of reasons, but maybe a revolver can make the most sense when we look to 21st Century revolver design and provide ourselves with a superior range of application of say a 327 TRR8. Mounted with a weapon light/laser and even optional small optic you get power, protection, and range that a Glock will not match in a package with accessories at under 3 lbs. total. Then you have a revolver solution. You get serious hunting chops in powerful 800 ft. lbs. .357 Magnum with 100+ yard accuracy with your Aimpoint; and with a swift 8-shot moonclip exchange, self-defense ammo giving you a premiere protector with range. The entire system can take incredible abuse and submersion. Now you have a reason. Limitation is cost: the TRR8 ($1,329), Aimpoint T-2 Micro ($863), and weaponlight/laser ($345).

Second, I think there's confusion here surrounding what a bug out bag actually is. A bug-out bag is a portable kit that normally contains the items one would require to survive for at least seventy-two hours when evacuating from a disaster (Katrina). It is not a doomsday / civil unrest focused solution as this thread seems to be at points. The focus of bug-out bags is on evacuation, doing well in say a natural or man-made disaster until you can be reached by rescuers rather than long-term survival.

Some of these posts are apocalyptic and assume a level of civil unrest, not really the purview of a bug-out. And, I would expect members of our culture will generally help each other in a crushing disaster - but there will be those who exploit it, even with violence. So a bug-out bag is different than a survival/defense kit, a boating or aviation emergency kit, or a fixed-site disaster supplies kit, each of which might include a fire arm.

Why would someone need to resort to hunting for survival in a short duration scenario? If someone is preparing for such events, they should have a few days food immediately on hand. If the op has a cabin in the woods or whatever was mentioned, he could easily store weeks or months of food there.

And why would you need extended range capability in a Katrina type situation? I can't see a likely need for pistol sniping, but would think a Glock 19/17 would be very much capable of wherever came up.

Revolvers in general simply do not tolerate harsh conditions very well. That's actually a big reason why militaries went to autos early on. Moonclips are exceedingly fragile. Most of the folks stranded during Katrina were impoverished. Just about everyone on this forum has resources and would have been long gone. If not, it's a case of bugging in. Something like a Glock would(and did) tolerate such conditions much better than other handguns.

 

[lrrifleman]

​

Jesus! Thinking more about getting away from people than taking their stuff. Sure, I don't want them
taking mine either, but I think the whole intention of 'bugging out' is escape rather than 'engagement'.

I can appreciate your sentiment, it is my Army training kicking in. The bottom line is survival, period! The opfor will ALWAYShave more ammo at hand than the average person can carry. In a bug out scenario, you carry a finite supply of ammo, opfors is indefinite compared to yours. Having trained for LRPs, old habits don't die.