ColbyBruce
Member
How about a Colt Army Special with a 4.5" barrel in .41 LC? I had one like that about fifteen years ago.
choosing a smith and wesson for a farm hand
- Thread starter mg357
- Start date
model70hunter
Member
I think a packing farm hand question is too open ended. Please be specific as to time frame and reason for CCW. An example might be; this farm hand is 75 kliks from Normal, he lives smack dab between the state capitol and the Chi-town crooked politicians, he has to be alert after blowing the whistle on the Govenor who currently is on trial. Current time frame might dictate a Model 19 snubby if he is hiding out and has money. If no money a model 10 as many have suggested that he won in a card game would work. Perhaps he hack sawed it down to 2". Pre war or post war might be a 3.5" unregistered mag. What state? What kind of farm? What era?
G.T. Smith
US Veteran
It all depends on his location. If he is building fence where there are bears, or just copper heads, anything from a m65 357 mag, to a semi- auto .22 LR. I would try to give him a stainless steel handgun because of the weather resistant qualities. Are you the same guy looking for a S&W for a green beret?
Peace,
gordon
Peace,
gordon
Mule88
Member
For holster carry on a farm I think a 4 inch .44 would be a good choice. Hey if its good enough for Elmer Kieth, who am I to argue.
Larry from Bend
Member
I'm a farm hand -- at least I have a small farm in NC Montana. Here's my regular, around the farm, carry gun. It's a model 60, a .38 Special.
I used to carry this 34 all the time but the varmints are getting bigger up here.
I used to carry this 34 all the time but the varmints are getting bigger up here.
Depending on the part of the country he lives in. Most logically a smaller, compact, very rugged, short barreled gun that will fit in a close to the body high ride holster that will protect the gun and keep it out of his way as most guns area a pain in the *** for daily wear around the farm and around machinery, (or left in his pick up). If in the East or Mid-West probably a 2 1/2" .357 such as a Mod 19. Might have loaded with a couple rounds of snake shot and the rest with +P hollow points.
Further out west where you may be more of a cattle operation and more open spaces, possibly a 4" .357 or .44, but more probably the same short barreled .357 his Mid-West relative would use, and probably carried in the cab of his pick up rather than worn
Further out west where you may be more of a cattle operation and more open spaces, possibly a 4" .357 or .44, but more probably the same short barreled .357 his Mid-West relative would use, and probably carried in the cab of his pick up rather than worn
Three44s
Member
I'm a rancher and found one gun just did not cut it.
My mainstay is the 629-4 Mountain gun ...... we have cougs and bears.
But as Iggy put it ..... getting tangled up in machinery and fences is more dangerous on a daily basis than all the "bitty scratchy" critters put together.
For CCW ..... you are not going to conceal that MG or any other large frame revolver though.
My cadre of round shooters include the MG ..... several Rugers ...... a M28 also a 4" .......
A K22, a model 48 .......
And right now, my do all without a hint of a bruin around ........
......... a Kel Tec PF-9 ...... it CCW's ....... and it busted a coyote pup a couple of days ago!
If I owned one ........ a Model 60 would be just DANDY!!!!
Three 44s
My mainstay is the 629-4 Mountain gun ...... we have cougs and bears.
But as Iggy put it ..... getting tangled up in machinery and fences is more dangerous on a daily basis than all the "bitty scratchy" critters put together.
For CCW ..... you are not going to conceal that MG or any other large frame revolver though.
My cadre of round shooters include the MG ..... several Rugers ...... a M28 also a 4" .......
A K22, a model 48 .......
And right now, my do all without a hint of a bruin around ........
......... a Kel Tec PF-9 ...... it CCW's ....... and it busted a coyote pup a couple of days ago!
If I owned one ........ a Model 60 would be just DANDY!!!!
Three 44s
feralmerril
Absent Comrade
I am a romantic. Lets see how close I get to your script. This aint the village idiot farm hired hand. He is a sharper type on the run for sompin he didnt do. He needs to keep a low profile and hide out. He also needs to eat. He wants to keep fit and busy to keep from going mad. He knows guns, well experianced as a ex fuzz that got framed for assasinateing some child molester/killer that some other rouge cop offed and hates his old partner that stepped on him for sins years ago. The old partner rouge cop is also part of a cartel and needs to find "jake" and silence him. Jake needs to go concealed in case the cartel finds him while playing hayseed. Simple. He packs his old 2 1/2" model 19. (357) He is a lot like harrison ford or tom sellick playing jesse stone.
A farm hand= hard work/little pay. His worldy possession are a change of clothes and a old, old pickup.
Weapons:Iver Johnson single barrel 12ga, Stevens B/A .22 single shot, and a H&R 6" .22 solid frame revolver.
Weapons:Iver Johnson single barrel 12ga, Stevens B/A .22 single shot, and a H&R 6" .22 solid frame revolver.
WNC Seabee
Member
First, I would suggest the OP pay attention to learning to WRITE. Did you see his post? Holy run-on sentences Batman! And punctuation is still considered a plus by most editors.
Anyway...the farms I grew up around always had .22s near to hand. So, a K22/M17 and a Marlin 39a would be great. That wouldn't answer the CCW aspect though, so I think a Model 10 sounds like the most reasonable given the OPs parameters.
Anyway...the farms I grew up around always had .22s near to hand. So, a K22/M17 and a Marlin 39a would be great. That wouldn't answer the CCW aspect though, so I think a Model 10 sounds like the most reasonable given the OPs parameters.
m657
Member
....or something old like a #2 or 3 model top break New Defender his grand pappy left him; an Iver Johnson version 5-shot in 32 S&W short maybe...
By "concealed carry" do you intend for "DAILY concealed carry" or "COULD be concealed carry"....lots of choices abound.
good luck, please post us a copy when you're done with it.
By "concealed carry" do you intend for "DAILY concealed carry" or "COULD be concealed carry"....lots of choices abound.
good luck, please post us a copy when you're done with it.
Model29Lover
US Veteran
Since the story takes place in current history, I would go with the 629-1 that he bought at a pawn shop or something similar.
Plain Old Dave
US Veteran
Model 19 or 66, if it's carried regularly. I actually wore a 28 at a gun shop I worked at for a while. Started giving me lower back trouble so it got sold in favor of a beat up 19 I gave @$200 or so for.
My father was a full time farmer in Iowa and rarely carried a pistol, usually just a pocket knife and a plier in a holster. When he did carry it was a Colt Buntline 22 in a western holster and belt with a hammer loop.
I have a farm in Missouri and when I carry its either a Pre 34 model of 1953 or an H&R 922, either in a cheap Uncle Mikes on a leather belt.
I have a farm in Missouri and when I carry its either a Pre 34 model of 1953 or an H&R 922, either in a cheap Uncle Mikes on a leather belt.
Sebago Son
Member
Farm Gun = Belt Gun
I'd say a roughed up 4" Square Butt Model 65 would make a perfect belt gun / farm gun for a hand.
When I had my farm my gun (a 4" PD Trade-In Model 66) usually was in the truck or hanging off the tractor.
If the bears were around my 4" 629 was on my hip if I was out in the fields or woodlot.
I'd say a roughed up 4" Square Butt Model 65 would make a perfect belt gun / farm gun for a hand.
When I had my farm my gun (a 4" PD Trade-In Model 66) usually was in the truck or hanging off the tractor.
If the bears were around my 4" 629 was on my hip if I was out in the fields or woodlot.
John Frederick Bell
Member
What's funny is that I have a similar project underway.
The hand in question carries an old Model 10 round butt with a lanyard ring and a six inch barrel - when he carries at all; usually there's not enough call for a long gun or short. The boss keeping a .22 revolver with a box each rat shot and hollowpoints in the nearest truck is about as close as it gets, though there's heavier iron about if the occasion calls.
...which it usually doesn't.
It's a farm/ranch environment in the latter half of the 20th century. Not the wild west. Nobody carries full time and I don't know that any of them see the point of carrying concealed.
Generally, I selected the available weaponry based on what's practical (read, cheap). A .22, a lever gun in some intermediate caliber, or an unadorned pumpgun is perfectly adequate. For the most part the worst they might expect to face on a bad day is feral animals. Or trespassers if things get really, really sticky.
Shooting in anger is going to be an absolute rarity. Recreational shooting won't be much more since there's not a whole lot of surplus income at that level for ammo.
That's my two pence on the matter, anyway.
The hand in question carries an old Model 10 round butt with a lanyard ring and a six inch barrel - when he carries at all; usually there's not enough call for a long gun or short. The boss keeping a .22 revolver with a box each rat shot and hollowpoints in the nearest truck is about as close as it gets, though there's heavier iron about if the occasion calls.
...which it usually doesn't.
It's a farm/ranch environment in the latter half of the 20th century. Not the wild west. Nobody carries full time and I don't know that any of them see the point of carrying concealed.
Generally, I selected the available weaponry based on what's practical (read, cheap). A .22, a lever gun in some intermediate caliber, or an unadorned pumpgun is perfectly adequate. For the most part the worst they might expect to face on a bad day is feral animals. Or trespassers if things get really, really sticky.
Shooting in anger is going to be an absolute rarity. Recreational shooting won't be much more since there's not a whole lot of surplus income at that level for ammo.
That's my two pence on the matter, anyway.
Well, it was a ranch and not a farm, but I can tell you what the armament was on our place in west TX the 1940's-50's.
My dad's Remington Mod. 8 in.35 Rem.; my Remington Mod. 141 in .30 Rem.(our deer rifles); a Winchester Mod 69 bolt action .22 (given to me by my uncle before he died in WWII); My dad's Remington M11-48 12 ga.; my Mossberg bolt action 20 ga.; a Stevens single shot .410 pistol (that rode in a hand made holster on my dad's saddle for snakes); an H&R Mod. 922 .22; Later, I got the two Colt SAA's in .45 Colt and .38-40 handed down from both of my grandfathers. Except for during deer season, the old Winchester .22 rode in a rack in the pickup. As you can see, handguns were pretty scarce.
Since this is a farm instead of a ranch I agree that the protagonist will spend a lot more time on a tractor than a horse. The danger of getting some appendage (either one of his or one that he has hung on his belt) hung up in machinery is very real! Unless he will be actively dealing with large farm animals like horses and cattle that might injure him or themselves and cause him to have to shoot them, there is little need for a handgun. If I had to choose what I would carry on that tractor, it would be the H&R M922 .22 (pretty undramatic, what!)
Since it was long before the advent of radios or phones, one use that we always had in the back of our mind with our guns was for signaling back to the ranch house in case of emergency...three quick, evenly spaced shots would bring anyone in hearing distance running.
Bob
PS If you are going to be realistic, remember that firearms on a ranch/farm are just a tool. Don't attribute the romanticism that the movies have done. They are no more or less than a saddle, tractor, hammer, etc. and the proper tool for the job is the answer. Just decide what the job is for the handgun of your character.
My dad's Remington Mod. 8 in.35 Rem.; my Remington Mod. 141 in .30 Rem.(our deer rifles); a Winchester Mod 69 bolt action .22 (given to me by my uncle before he died in WWII); My dad's Remington M11-48 12 ga.; my Mossberg bolt action 20 ga.; a Stevens single shot .410 pistol (that rode in a hand made holster on my dad's saddle for snakes); an H&R Mod. 922 .22; Later, I got the two Colt SAA's in .45 Colt and .38-40 handed down from both of my grandfathers. Except for during deer season, the old Winchester .22 rode in a rack in the pickup. As you can see, handguns were pretty scarce.
Since this is a farm instead of a ranch I agree that the protagonist will spend a lot more time on a tractor than a horse. The danger of getting some appendage (either one of his or one that he has hung on his belt) hung up in machinery is very real! Unless he will be actively dealing with large farm animals like horses and cattle that might injure him or themselves and cause him to have to shoot them, there is little need for a handgun. If I had to choose what I would carry on that tractor, it would be the H&R M922 .22 (pretty undramatic, what!)
Since it was long before the advent of radios or phones, one use that we always had in the back of our mind with our guns was for signaling back to the ranch house in case of emergency...three quick, evenly spaced shots would bring anyone in hearing distance running.
Bob
PS If you are going to be realistic, remember that firearms on a ranch/farm are just a tool. Don't attribute the romanticism that the movies have done. They are no more or less than a saddle, tractor, hammer, etc. and the proper tool for the job is the answer. Just decide what the job is for the handgun of your character.
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A 1948 vintage M&P in a Loboleather flap holster is an eminently practical outfit for carrying a gun on the farm and not worrying about getting it tangled up in equipment, wire, etc.
Here, it isn't tangled in the wire, just using it for a photo prop.
Here, it isn't tangled in the wire, just using it for a photo prop.
snowman
Member
I grew up on the farm and will confirm what other posters have indicated: carrying a handgun while doing most kinds of farmwork creates more problems than it is worth.
Andy
Andy
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