Perfect Packin' Pistol?

[slimster]

My idea for the "Perfect Packin' Pistol" (double action) would be a Ruger GP100 with a 5 shot cylinder in .45 Colt. The frame is beefy and with the 5 shot cylinder the bolt notches would be between the chambers and you should be able to run some reasonably warm loads in it, yet it would be much lighter and more compact than the Redhawk. I know that there are gunsmiths out there that are fitting 5 shot cyl.s to the single actions, but is this possible for a double action also? I know that a custom cyl. and barrel rebore wouldn't be cheap, but does anyone have an idea what it would likely cost for this? (Maybe Ruger will see this and offer it as a factory item Okay guys, if I'm way out in left field with this, lemme havit

[salvo]

Your way off, they should make it in .44 Special

[Lefty Dude]

+++++ for the 44 special.

[FWiedner]

What kinda packin" are we talkin' about here?

I've got a GP100 in .357, and IMO it's just about the perfect revolver and caliber for general purpose open-carry uses, but there's no way I'd ever try to conceal it. I've hunted with it and didn't have any trouble gettin' what I was after.

I suppose there's probably some folk of more generous physical dimension than myself who could hide it like a magic trick, but I usually go for compact .45 and .380 autos if I need to conceal. I have a .38 snubby and it's reliable as all get out, but it's lumpy and prints obvious.

[Jayhawker]

In 44 Special, it sounds like you'd be looking for a Taurus Model 441/431. Mine has a 3" barrel and carries great. I thought they made a similar model in 45 Colt, but it's obviously out of production now.

[Charles]

None of the above! John Moses Browning designed the perfect packing pistol 99 years ago in 1911.

[BigSky56]

in checking a gp100 cylinder there is only .590 of steel to chamber a round so maybe and this is just a maybe a 41 caliber, the outside wall thickness on a 357 is .080 as the 357 is a 45K cup and the 41 a 40k cup you might get away with it and it would be a 5 round job. There isnt enough room in the frame to put a larger diameter cylinder.
Buffalo Bore 180s HCGC penetrate just as deep as my buddies 44 BB 305 HCGC do and doesnt buck as much. danny

[J Miller]

Why do people think they are making a gun better when they go from a 6 shot .357 to a 5 shot bigger bore?

They are not. The GP 100 will shoot any of the heavy 180gr .357 mag loads that are out there. Not that you need them.
The Keith 358429 over a healthy dose of 2400 will take care of anything you'll need to take care of.
Even the big bears. If you can't hit the vital spot with a .357, you'll never hit it with a .44 or 45.

Personally in my opinion the perfect packing pistol is the Ruger BH with a 4-5/8" barrel chambered for .45 Colt. From mild to wild in one gun and you got six not five.

Joe

[2X22]

I 'used' to use the 'perfect packin' pistol', a 1959 Ruger Flattop in .44 mag. Then they FINALLY came out with the .44 special on the old .357 frame. Now I have the PERFECTEST 'perfect packin' pistol'!!!!

2x22

[tman]

Glock 27, way

[rjohns94]

When I ran a thread on this topic, I mentioned what I wanted to fit this bill was a freedom arms, 97, dual cylinder in .45 colt and 45 acp. Here it is:




This one will be with me when ever I take to the field.

[Booger Bill]

One of my favorite subjects! First what are you visualiseing useing the gun for? Hunting, defense, belt carry, pocket carry, plinking or small game? I have literaly probley owned somewhere around a 150 handguns and about 30 at the present. Like people or vehicles there aint a perfect one for everything, but if you narrow down the expected dutys of it we can get close.
Heres what I use. For the back country quad rides what I do a lot of, a S&W 24-3 .44 special.

For belt carry self defense, a S&W 66-3 3" ported with trilijon night sights .357 one of 300 made for lew horton.
If I am packing concealed, a old S&W model 40 .38 special.
If I am going for a deer, this rare S&W 29-2 5" .44 mag.
And if I just want to do some cheap plinking this old ruger single six in .22lr.

[slimster]

Er,um, let me rephrase that. Lots of various ideas on a PPP here. I borrowed that phrase from Mr.John Taffin because I like the idea of a light and compact big bore handgun on the belt when kicking around the outdoors. He seems to prefer single actions while I would prefer a D.A. I have a GP100 4 inch 357, and love it, and just got to thinking how nice that configuration would be. I do have a Taurus Tracker in 45 Colt, and when I bought mine, the factory stated in the manual that they were ok to use +p ammo in, though they no longer state that. It just seems a little light for anything other than std. stuff. The cyl. and frame on my GP 100 are noticeabley larger in dimensions than the Taurus, so my thoughts were that that would make a nice little gun, that would handle the +p's. As far as cal. goes, I just like .45.

[J Miller]

Slimster,

How about a 4 or 5" S&W 25-whatever in .45 Colt? Maybe one of the Mountain Guns.
I have the older 25-5 4" and to my way of thinking it's the best balanced big bore double action revolver I've ever handled. That includes the various Mdl 29s. The later ones had the endurance package upgrades and will stand heavier loads a bit longer than the older one such as I have.
Mine has the heavy bull barrel but I'll tell you one thing. Once you're used to it you'll never feel it on your belt. I used to drive armored trucks in Phoenix and carried mine until I left the job.
I never regretted the weight of it at all.

Joe

[Meeteetse]

The Perfect Packing Pistol is the one you like and will always have with you when bumming around in the woods or anywhere else. As several have stated, the best one is the one that fits the task at hand. I personally prefer SA types most of the time when in the country. I guess that comes from growing up in Wyoming and enjoying the idea of being a cowboy. My personal preference is a Blackhawk 45 Colt/45 acp with a 4 5/8" bbl or a SBH .44 mag with the same barrel length. I have also carried a Ruger Vaquero Sheriff's Model .45 Colt with a 3 1/2" bbl.

There are times when I like a DA. On those occasions I choose either a S&W .45 Colt Mtn. Gun or a .44 mag Mtn. Gun shooting mostly .44 specials. When I need a small packing pistol I usually choose a J-frame S&W.

The exception to all of this is when I am hunting and carrying a large caliber rifle. I usually carry a .22 revolver of some type. The one thing I am sure of is I do not like nor do I carry any type of semi-auto as a PPP. For me they just don't fit the situation.

[Griff]

Colt Combat Commander, in a caliber that begins with a 4 and ends in a 5!

You other guys are talkin' about the "Perfect Packin' REVOLVER!"

[J Miller]

Samuel Colt called his new revolvers "revolving pistols". I figure we can call them pistols if we want.

That's a bit better than "bottom feeding jam-a-matics".

Which brings up another thought on auto pistols. I love them, to a point. Especially the 1911a1 and it's commercial versions.
But as a general species I do not trust them like I do revolvers.
I've had a couple 1911s that would feed ammo with any shape of bullet you can think of. And one that would feed empty cases out of the magazine all day long. I used to practice failures to fire drills but sticking an empty case somewhere in the mag.

But, there are just too many things to go wrong with auto pistols for me to trust carrying one out in the boonies. It's just a personal thing, but it's just as valid to me as my like for single action revolving pistols.

Joe

[Streetstar]

Colt Anaconda 4" barreled .45 Colt ? Or is a dedicated large frame bigger than you were going for ?

[slimster]

Streetstar, the Anacondas are really nice looking guns,and a friend once had a 4" in .45 colt. It was a really heavy gun. Joe, same goes for the N frame Smiths, they are heavier and bulkier than what I would really want. The Tracker I bought was what I was hoping would fill the bill. They are really closer to a K frame Smith in my opinion. I am just a little leary to run a 250 gr. @ 1150-1200fps or a 300 gr. @1050-1100 (cast bullets) which are what my goals would be.

[Booger Bill]

Hey joe, I have one of those 25-5s too. I need to work with it. I have owned it many years, yet only took it out a few times! Nothing at all wrong with it, for some reason I just always grabbed another gun. I am going to start packing and shooting this one now. Probley passed it up for my lighter 24-3 with smaller less bulky grips. Think I will put magnas on it and try again. (Its the same size as my 29-2).

[bsaride]

My all time favorite camp/field gun was the Lew Horton 3 inch 624, 44 Special that I had Fuzzy Farrant make up a set of grips.
Fit my hand perfectly!

Second choice woulda been the 44 Mountain Gun I had.

Regretably I had t sell off my guns some time back and just couldn't keep it.
STUPID CA law now says I need a 4 inch barrel to hunt with.

I'm looking at buyin another 44 and there is a Mountain Gun locally that I might
just get and carry a rifle to say I was huntin with the rifle and not that little ole 3 incher.

[KCSO]

In bear country I carry a custom Smith N frame 6 shot with a cylinder cut to take 45 Win mag brass in moon clips with stout 45 Colt loads. This give me reasonalble power and a quick loading gun. In Nebraska where there is no large dangerous game my woods gun is a Cimarron Lightning 3 1/2" barrel 32-20 32 H and R two cylinder. I tuned the action and put on a dovetailed gold bead front sight. It shoots dead on at 20 yards and will hold under 2" at that range with most loads and will cut into 1 1/2" with some. I usually carry it in a hip pocket holster a friend made for me.

[J Miller]

Streetstar, the Anacondas are really nice looking guns,and a friend once had a 4" in .45 colt. It was a really heavy gun. Joe, same goes for the N frame Smiths, they are heavier and bulkier than what I would really want. The Tracker I bought was what I was hoping would fill the bill. They are really closer to a K frame Smith in my opinion. I am just a little leary to run a 250 gr. @ 1150-1200fps or a 300 gr. @1050-1100 (cast bullets) which are what my goals would be.

Slimster,
Yeah I know. My 4" 25-5 weighs more than my 7.5" Ruger BH.
But it's sooooo handy and I like it.

Hey joe, I have one of those 25-5s too. I need to work with it. I have owned it many years, yet only took it out a few times! Nothing at all wrong with it, for some reason I just always grabbed another gun. I am going to start packing and shooting this one now. Probley passed it up for my lighter 24-3 with smaller less bulky grips. Think I will put magnas on it and try again. (Its the same size as my 29-2).

Bill, Don't turn your back on those grips. I'm tempted to reach through the internet and snitch 'em. My 25-5 wears an ugly set of Pachmyres:

J Miller's 25-5 b.JPG

I put 'em on because of the steel armored truck and they work better for me than the factory checkered ones.

Joe

[Booger Bill]

I bought those grips a long time ago for I think $60s at a gun show. I cant find a name on them but they are faux ivory. It was a dealer that had many more to fit other guns too.

[J Miller]

I bought those grips a long time ago for I think $60s at a gun show. I cant find a name on them but they are faux ivory. It was a dealer that had many more to fit other guns too.

Bill,

I've seen grips like that at gun shows. But never when I had the money to spare. And not in a very long time.

Joe

[rodeo kid]

Well, I know I'm dreaming, but I would love for Colt to bring back the Python and chamber it in .44special. I have an Anaconda and it heavy to carry all day. The Python with Buffalo Bore heavy .44 specials would be the bomb for me. God Bless.

[NonPCnraRN]

For a PPP for SD purposes my Springfield Armory Milspec 1911 is the same size as my Birds Head Vaqueros and is a lot slimmer. It can be set up for 45 Super but right now it is set up for Buffalo Bore 45 ACP 230 gr truncated cone fmj at 950 fps (+P). I also can use the BB 255 gr hardcast FP at 925 fps (+P). With a 7 round mag and one in the chamber that is 8 shots approximating the original 255 gr 45 Colt load. Like I said it could be set up for 45 Super with a different Springco Recoil reducer, but there isn't anything in CA that the BB ammo won't handle except for politicians demanding lead free ammo. If I want a PPP that can be used for occassional hunting purposes then I can use the Birds Head Vaquero with North Fork 260 gr cup point solids. When I say occassional hunting I mean that me and an edible critter cross paths. For a dedicated hunting handgun I have a SBH with a 4.6" barrel. It doesn't weigh much more than the Lipseys 44 spl Flattop, so it might be considered on the heavy end of a PPP.

[Booger Bill]

Just for the fun of it, here is a similar set I bought at the same time for a colt single action. Dont feel bad about the goodyears, I have em on about 5 various handguns. I just take pictures with better looking grips. Actualy for feel and service they are hard to beat.