Considering you already have a M69, I would go with the M60. Personally , I went with a M36-6 target to go with my M696. I feel no need for the 357 in a woods bumming gun, just too dang loud for me. If I'm where I might need the slightly more potent 357 then I'll take my 696. You, having a M69 are in like position. I actually have a 3 inch sp101 and like it , but the M60 is really sweet!
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
having a 357mag capable gun doesn't mean it needs to be fed that ammo, but it sure is nice to have that capability when deep in the woods and far from civilization.
This may sound low rent, but the newer Rossi's are very nice guns for the money. Frame size is just a smidge bigger than an SP-101 and they hold six rounds.
Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.
My Rossi 511 is a favorite woods gun, a Smith 63 clone, and it shoots better than the 63 I had in the 80s. I think they are better built than the Taurus guns, but then I have had limited samples of both!
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
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Last edited by Three-Fifty-Seven; 04-28-2020 at 07:36 AM.
John 3: 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I carry my 5.5" 45 Colt Ruger. Here in the Virginia mountains every sow bear has 2 to 4 cubs. There not shy. Hope I never need it . We have coyotes also but you never see them in the daylight unless your calling them.
I have to admit this thread has intrigued me. I say any gun that you would normally carry for self defense would also make a great kit gun. I have a Taurus 85 5shot 38spl that will shoot +Ps and I've been known to throw it in the pack when out on a hike or camping. Its a familiar gun to me...meaning...I shoot it regularly and I can hit with it. Other than the "need for something new"...I can't see a why I'd switch to anything else...but this may be just ME.
Now...of what you listed for recommendations...I like the SP. But then I'm a Ruger man. I have quite a few of them. Fine built firearm, but easy to get repaired if something does get damaged, and they shoot great. As previously noted...with a good holster you'll never notice the extra few ozs.
redhawk
The only stupid question...is the unasked one.
Not all who wander....are lost.
"Common Sense" is like a flower. It doesn't grow in everyone's garden.
What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger...or mutates...then tries to kill you again!
If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question. - Ronald Reagan
Groo here
I have both an SP101 and a M-60-15 pro.
the biggest thing for either is to find the grips that "FIT"
For me that is the packmyer thin grip that covers the backstrap [ the "compac " is thicker ]
Both my guns have shot from WC loads to "Groo monster maulers" [aka 200gr cast with full pressure loads]
The grip is the key!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For me ,, the m-60 in a Simple Rugged pancake is about the best.
Light , thin, good adj sights and enough barrel to get a 357mag going.
Dillon m134d is a nice revolver little on the heavy side but if weight concerns you you could leave your pants at home I know Im not going to give anybody i bump into out in the woods any guff about not wearing pants that is toting one of those!
I just threw that it because i think that is about the only one that hasnt been suggested yet I mostly carry a smith 625 4” loaded with heavy semi wadcutters but sometimes i go light and carry a 3” sp101 fixed sight. loaded with whatever i havent shot up in my gp100.
I carried a now old RUGER Service-Six with a 3"bbl in .357 from 1977 until 1998 (got busted up, no more "woodswalking"). It's a stainless gun that I round-butted to fit the old Pachmyar Compac grips. I got a ROY'S Pancake holster for it. Carried on a seperate belt I never even felt the weight. 2 .38 shotshells backed by .358429 over a heavy charge of UNIQUE in a .38spl case. That pancake holster really distributed the weight. The 3" bbl is a rarity. If I'd known that when I bought it I'd have never have taken a file to the grip frame.
I HATE auto-correct
Happiness is a Warm GUN & more ammo to shoot in it.
My Experience and My Opinion, are just that, Mine.
SASS #375 Life
I've been thinking about an SP-101 or steel frame Taurus 85 for a woods/farm gun. Compact but with more weight and grip than my little S&W 637 so energetic loads will be easier to shoot. The Taurus 85 is a really good bargain right now, and my local guy sells bunches of 'em with few complaints.
Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.
Since you have gotten 74 different opinions on this I will include mine as #75.
I feel the 38/.357 is inadequate for anything above rodents or small vermin.
My choice for the Woods gun is a S&W 696 in .44 Special, mainly since I have one and love it. I have hit Silhouette Rams at 200 meters with it, so it will shoot. It has a 3" barrel so it is compact as well and the .44 Special cartridge with 240 gr 429421's is a very formidable cartridge suitable for taking large animals if necessary. Nobody can argue against that!
My .02 YMMV
Randy
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
That's so the bad guy will know you have the sights lined up on him! its a Feature!
I like a .357 for woods bumming when Bears are not present That's what I carry while Snow Shoeing. If I'm likely to happen upon a bear I'll carry a .45 Colt or my .480 both of which are Ruger Blackhawks.
My favorite is the S&W Model 10 wearing a 6 inch barrel. In warmer weather the first 2 rounds are shot shell loads, otherwise all loads will be stout WC or SWC profiles.
May as well toss in my nickel's worth. What I pack for a 'woods gun' depends upon where I am. My 'everyday carry' is a 3" SP-101 stuffed with +P 125 gr JHPs. For woodsy walks in this part of the country, I just swap the JHPs for four of 'Skeeter's Load' and 1 birdshot round. In areas where larger, less friendly critters might be encountered, I go with my 3" S&W M24, loaded with five cast HPs and one birdshot.
Bill
"I'm not often right but I've never been wrong."
Jimmy Buffett
"Scarlet Begonias"
kit gun, gotta go with the cheaper option as long as it's bullet proof, runs like old faithful, and won't cause a tear when the grip gets chipped or the cylinder gets a scratch.
Pretty sure the SP-101 is the winner here.
But for my money, the vaquero 45 is what topped the list
If it's too heavy, maybe you need less barrel and gripframe
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |