Saw Mongo Hunter's 629 for sale, for me thinking I might need to upgrade my kit when going ashore on Baranof, Chichagof and Yakobi islands. Saw coastal brownies on each of those this summer, and thinking if I send the deckhand to shore with my Colt Woodsman the only thing it will be good for is a noise maker to help me find the body.
With the pink run really weak last summer, the bears got very aggressive on blacktail kill sites. A couple of trollers I know that took a week off in Oct to deer hunt had to discharge their weapons to discourage overly curious bears before they gutted their deer. They are convinced they were being followed, considering the speed the bears showed up at the kill site.
I want a dual defence/hunting gun. Pretty set on 44 mag - they are proven for my intended uses, and ammo available by the truckload for those up there. Have always wanted a 629, so looking at those first. But there are Rugers, and Taurus is available at a steep discount. Don't know enough about the options, looking for advice and suggestions on what to look for. It has to be ss to survive the environment. I want enough barrel to be a legit hunting pistol, but not too much to be cumbersome when you have a brownie deciding he's going to run right through you.
Thoughts? Hoping to keep enough cash in the bank to buy another long gun I'm lusting after, so if all else is functionally equal I'll take the cheaper of the options.
Thanks in advance.