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

If the parameters are any realistically attainable S&W revolvers, then I would recommend a 3" 686+

It is versatile, concealable, carryable, but offers you 7 rounds of either 38 special or 357 Magnum. Those two cartridge options can take you very far.

Lots of other great options out there to make a case for too.
 
In my BOB would be my M63 w/ 500 rds, on my hip would be my M&P 9c. The wife would have the M&P full size.
 
The new 3 inch 500 S&W mag.

Seriously though I'd bring my S&W M&P 360 with laser grips. Nice light weight, small and very easy to carry/conceal. Save the weight for extra ammo.
 
oss117 said:
I'll play. Parameters are "S&W revolver" and "bug out bag." I'm going to go with "realistic" instead of "fantasy" on this one.

Why bug out? It's probably a flooding situation. Could be a wild fire. Or a hurricane. In theory it could be massive civil unrest, invasion, or zombies, but the the former are much more realistic. Odds are it's a somewhat organized evacuation and you're on your way to stay with relatives, a second home, or in a shelter. You might need to protect yourself, but it's not likely to be a raging battle against a band of determined marauders. More likely it would be a street crime perpetrated by an opportunistic thug or desperate unprepared person.

If you do it right, your bag will already be pretty full and heavy: water, food, some clothes, ID/insurance/banking documentation, tablet computer/cell phone, flashlight, batteries, chargers. You'll probably be driving away, but walking or biking is a real possibility. Weight is definitely a big consideration. Where you're going to carry it is too.

Consider a big back pack with shoulder straps, chest strap, and waist strap. Most waist band holsters would not work that well. Carrying it in the pack is too slow to access. Ankle carry might make sense, but does it if you're walking several miles? I'm going to go with pocket carry as the best option.

My pick: Airweight J-frame in 38 special with a good pocket holster. Any of the Airweight models would work equally well. They're as light and small as they get and easiest to carry and conceal. I'm even going to go out on a limb and say that one with the dreaded lock would be the way to go. (Let's assume you've put a good number of trouble free rounds through it w/o lock issues.) There may be times in a shelter, at a family member's home with children, etc. when being able to secure the revolver would be desirable.
Click to expand...


Good post here ^. A BOB by definition, has severe weight and volume restrictions, so while it may feel good to SAY you're gonna cram the biggest,heaviest pistol you own, and 500 rounds of ammo inside, that ain't realistic.
Also, a BOB is something you have PRE-PACKED, because time contraints are also a prime factor. SO this gun is going to be something you basically leave in the BOB, nearly all the time.
Also, in nearly all of these internet-fantasy scenarios, the assumption seems to always be that non-stop gun battles and running out of magazines and ammo are going to be the most pressing concerns. But, other things, like hunger,dehydration,exposure to the elements,infection,etc are much more realistic things to obsess over (and pack for).
As for which gun is best....there ain't one. There are a hundred excellent choices, that will all serve as well as another.
Personally, i would just want something light and reliable, that used the same ammo as whatever I would normally already have in my pocket or on my hip. Basically something in 38 or 9mm, and I don't much care which one. ;)
 
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Why bug out? It's probably a flooding situation. Could be a wild fire. Or a hurricane. In theory it could be massive civil unrest, invasion, or zombies, but the the former are much more realistic. Odds are it's a somewhat organized evacuation and you're on your way to stay with relatives, a second home, or in a shelter. You might need to protect yourself, but it's not likely to be a raging battle against a band of determined marauders. More likely it would be a street crime perpetrated by an opportunistic thug or desperate unprepared person.
Click to expand...

It's always treacherous ground to mention that a TEWOTHAWKI might actually occur but here goes anyway. There is a way that we all go straight back to the start of the 19th century or worse. Our "friends" in Iran are building Nukes. N. Korea has nukes and missiles to deliver them. I'm not so much worried about an all out nuclear strike because we'll all be dead anyway if that happens. What worries me is the possibility of an EMP type attack. We are vulnerable. All those things you say aren't likely would become very likely very quickly. I don't stay up nights worrying about this or anything. But it is possible.
 
This guy probably has a idea or two might want to check out

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA-O9iyggVQ[/ame]
 
Mr. Harry...apparently we are in the same neighborhood...

My take on bugging out. Sometimes you just can't stay home. As far as the appropriate firearm goes, in studying the Katrina debacle, it needs to be concealable yet big enough to persuade two legged vermin to find a softer target.

Since we are talking only S&W revolvers, for a BOB it would be the same as I use for backpacking and fishing...S&W 60-10 3" .357 Magnum with adjustable sights. The 60-15 is the same gun but has the IL. Had this one modified by TK Custom to also shoot 9mm and .38 Super via moonclips....so it is a four caliber gun.

I don't even think about hunting under most "emergency" vs. "survival" situations. A couple of snares or foothold traps and knowing how to use them will provide more food than most people will ever kill with a handgun for far less energy. That and the noise of shooting is going to draw unwanted attention...

For something a little larger I have a 66-2 3" set up the same way....any time you would like to try them just send a PM...

Bob

First pic is the 60-10 w/9mm ball at 18 yards DA....second pic is the same but with the 3" 66...
 

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SuperMan said:
Mr. Harry...apparently we are in the same neighborhood...

My take on bugging out. Sometimes you just can't stay home. As far as the appropriate firearm goes, in studying the Katrina debacle, it needs to be concealable yet big enough to persuade two legged vermin to find a softer target.

Since we are talking only S&W revolvers, for a BOB it would be the same as I use for backpacking and fishing...S&W 60-10 3" .357 Magnum with adjustable sights. The 60-15 is the same gun but has the IL. Had this one modified by TK Custom to also shoot 9mm and .38 Super via moonclips....so it is a four caliber gun.

I don't even think about hunting under most "emergency" vs. "survival" situations. A couple of snares or foothold traps and knowing how to use them will provide more food than most people will ever kill with a handgun for far less energy. That and the noise of shooting is going to draw unwanted attention...

For something a little larger I have a 66-2 3" set up the same way....any time you would like to try them just send a PM...

Bob

First pic is the 60-10 w/9mm ball at 18 yards DA....second pic is the same but with the 3" 66...
Click to expand...
Now THAT is awesome. Forgive my revolver ignorance but I didn't know that was possible - modifying a .357/38 to take 9mm too. Best of all worlds there being able to feed all those. Sold on that plan. Cheers!
 
SuperMan said:
Mr. Harry...apparently we are in the same neighborhood...

My take on bugging out. Sometimes you just can't stay home. As far as the appropriate firearm goes, in studying the Katrina debacle, it needs to be concealable yet big enough to persuade two legged vermin to find a softer target.

Since we are talking only S&W revolvers, for a BOB it would be the same as I use for backpacking and fishing...S&W 60-10 3" .357 Magnum with adjustable sights. The 60-15 is the same gun but has the IL. Had this one modified by TK Custom to also shoot 9mm and .38 Super via moonclips....so it is a four caliber gun.

I don't even think about hunting under most "emergency" vs. "survival" situations. A couple of snares or foothold traps and knowing how to use them will provide more food than most people will ever kill with a handgun for far less energy. That and the noise of shooting is going to draw unwanted attention...

For something a little larger I have a 66-2 3" set up the same way....any time you would like to try them just send a PM...

Bob

First pic is the 60-10 w/9mm ball at 18 yards DA....second pic is the same but with the 3" 66...
Click to expand...
Ditto on trapping too! Definitely a coil of trapping wire in The Bag! Don't have any leg-holds but have a nice array of big conibears where I'd be bugging out TO. Not that I'd be carrying any of those suckers around in my bag, lol.
 
Because the 60-10 and 3" 66-2 are kinda rare I bought extra cylinders off eBay and GunBroker to have converted to take the extra rounds. That way both guns can be restored to original preserving their value. Both mine were done by TK Custom but there is another company call Pinnacle that does a fine job also.

I have tested the modified cylinders with both .38 Special and .357 Magnum and had no problem with the ejection of fired rounds...

Modified 60-10 cylinder...












Also had a 649 Bodyguard done...this is 5 yards with 9mm...





10 yards with .38 Super...




Bob
 
wolverine said:
Evening Mr.Harry;

Where are you running to? What are you running from?

If you are wandering onto my property during an apocalypse
your revolver better be able to reach out to over 600 yards
as I won't let you get any closer without putting you down.

But to answer your question; if I were forced to bug out it
wouldn't be about defense as too many people staying home
& defending their holdings so I would probably need to have
a suppressed pistol for survival in the outback. That would not
be a revolver but more likely a .22 lightweight multi-round
accurate suppressed pistol to shoot small game (or close
range protection) without leaving a sound signature giving
my "hide" away.
Click to expand...

I don't usually play the hypothetical apocalypse game but just my 2 cents a 22lr will give your position away plenty. An air rifle would be optimal in those conditions.
 
West916coast said:
I don't usually play the hypothetical apocalypse game but just my 2 cents a 22lr will give your position away plenty. An air rifle would be optimal in those conditions.
Click to expand...

Afternoon West916coast

Actually my suppressed 22LR with standard velocity .22LR
is quieter than my high power air rifle.

On the gun end the loudest part is the action cycling. On the
bullet end what the bullet hits determines the noise output.

Even with super sonic .22 (difficult to get with a .22 pistol) &
suppressed the gun end is quiet but the bullet breaking the
sound barrier gives a crack but the crack is non directional so
pretty darn difficult to pinpoint direction or position.

One reason I don't care for a .22 revolver for stealthy escape
& living is the difficulty in (properly) suppressing a revolver.
 
I'm too old(78) and crippled up to leave.
I'll stay here and take out as many as I can beginning at long range,then medium range, then close range.
I have a hardened position here with plenty of needed rations,arsenal and needed supplies, and will defend my fort, and wait it out till help arrives.
Good luck to the one's on he run.
 
Count me as another who would grab my well worn G19 and my old duty belt. But, playing along with the stainless revolver game, I'd take my 3" Model 65 in a pancake holster and a maybe 100rds of 125gr Golden Saber .357 Mag. I blew 2 disks and I'm not going to be walking too far out of the suburbs or too fast anyhow. A .22LR is useless to me for hunting as I live in a suburb of Minneapolis - even the liberals here hunt, and within a week of the delivery trucks stopping, all the game with 100 miles of me would be taken or have run away. Anyhow, I'm just looking to keep my head down as stay low key until it all blows over or all the bad guys kill each other.
 
SuperMan said:
Since we are talking only S&W revolvers, for a BOB it would be the same as I use for backpacking and fishing...S&W 60-10 3" .357 Magnum with adjustable sights. The 60-15 is the same gun but has the IL. Had this one modified by TK Custom to also shoot 9mm and .38 Super via moonclips....so it is a four caliber gun.
Click to expand...

I considered doing the same thing, to have one revolver that can handle several calibers. How accurate is it between the different loadings?

Edit: For some reason I missed the other post with the groups, looks like it performs well.
 
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I think some people watch way too much television and drink way too much of their own bathwater. Bug out bags are for military people in combat zones. Did your car suddenly not have gas in the tank in your driveway? Bug out to where? Whats better than where you are.

In a nuclear war situation you don't want to be outside if you don't have to be. Fallout is deadly too. The zombies are not going to come in and get you. I often think some people have way too much time on their hands.
 
flintsghost said:
I think some people watch way too much television and drink way too much of their own bathwater. Bug out bags are for military people in combat zones. Did your car suddenly not have gas in the tank in your driveway? Bug out to where? Whats better than where you are.
Click to expand...

Depends where you live. If you live in an area that gets hurricanes or other natural disasters it's not uncommon to leave the area temporarily until the danger has passed. Not every instance of bugging out requires combat.
 
In the spirit of the way the question was framed I'll make a choice.

First, the assumption is that this is a bag you grab when you have to make an IMMEDIATE exit, no or almost no time to grab anything else except your EDC kit.

I would choose a SS 3 or 4" K-frame magnum with at least 100 rounds of .38Spl, .38+P, and some .357 magnum. I'd prefer an adjustable sight but could live with a fixed sight which shoots to POA at reasonable pistol ranges.
 
In a nuclear war situation you don't want to be outside if you don't have to be. Fallout is deadly too. The zombies are not going to come in and get you. I often think some people have way too much time on their hands.
Click to expand...

The nuclear attack I mentioned would be a single bomb exploded at a very high altitude. It's the electromagnetic pulse that destroys all electronics that would cause the problem.

There's plenty of other things that can bring down civilization. In 2008 we very nearly had an economic catastrophe that would have made the Depression look like a picnic. Then there's the possibility of hack attacks on our energy grid. I could personally disrupt the water supply for millions of people with nothing more than a shovel. I would never do it but I know where it can be done and I do stay up nights hoping no terrorist figures it out.

Then there's global plague. We barely dodged that bullet just a couple of years ago when ebola was spreading all over parts of Africa and being brought back the USA too. The flu in 1918 killed 1/3 of all the people on earth. The Black Death had a far greater influence on civilization. It will be like small pox ravaging the Aztecs. One day you wake up and 95% of your people are dead. The way to survive in that situation is to isolate yourself from everyone. That means bugging out.

I hate to hijack this thread so I will only say one more thing. You should watch the documentary series by James Burke called "Connections". The first episode is available on YouTube. Burke is no fly by night loon either. He's a highly acclaimed science historian and the series was heavily promoted by the BBC. We're not talking Alex Jones here.

This will be my last post on the subject but I still say those that think we're invincible are the ones who take too much for granted. Here's the first show of the Burke series:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zti7Eo9LEWE&spfreload=10[/ame]
 
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mrchuck said:
I'm too old(78) and crippled up to leave.
I'll stay here and take out as many as I can beginning at long range,then medium range, then close range.
I have a hardened position here with plenty of needed rations,arsenal and needed supplies, and will defend my fort, and wait it out till help arrives.
Good luck to the one's on he run.
Click to expand...

We rode out the last hurricane. Sounded quite powerful and dropped a large oak on our home, but we were fine. Don't think a gun would have slowed the hurricane or the tree down, but I was ready for whatever. I did have a 27-2 6" loaded with high test amongst the others.
 
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Revolver? A nice idea, but no thanks. If I'm going off tippy-toeing around through the wreckage of my city, I'll take this with me on the way out of town:

034cab54_zps017ab1e8.jpg
 
If I could ever get my Taurus 85SSUL .38 Spl +P back from my elder daughter, it would go in my BOB. As it stands, a Marlin 15Y wearing a Weaver K2.5 (.22 scopes are useless.) with a 555 round box of .22 LR HPs is in the bag.

My carry guns (3) would go along, of course. My wife would have her 4 inch S&W 681. Some .357 Magnum ammo, but the bulk would be .38 Special.
 
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