[LOAH]

Hello. I'm not the most experienced person out there when it comes to firearms, but I've spent plenty of time shooting. I've never owned a handgun, but my Dad used to take us shooting quite frequently with his 380 auto and his baby, an old, perfect Ruger .357 Magnum (not sure what the model is, but it's from the 60's before the recall). I've also shot the Glock .40 (23) and did quite well with it when my friend bought one.

Now that I find myself in the woods more often and would like to take a scared wife camping from time to time, I've convinced her that we need some protection for our excursions. My biggest fear is that we encounter a large predator (bear, cougar) in the middle of nowhere that decides we're a threat. My second biggest fear is that I have some backup, but it isn't effective enough to handle the situation.

A long-time outdoors man that I work with offered to sell me one of his revolvers. It's been kept in great shape and he's the kind of guy that takes care of his toys.

It's a Ruger .357 Security Six with a 4 inch barrel. It's blued with a stainless inner barrell. He says he'll part with it for $250.00.

Does this sound like a good deal to you?

And on a side note, what steps does one need to take in order to obtain (qualify) for a CCP?

I wouldn't necessarily want to pack it around town, but it would be nice to go fishing without freaking people out that pass by. Plus it would be much more convenient inside my jacket rather than bulging from my belt in plain sight.

 

[burge]

Yes LOAH you should. The new ruger revolvers are more than double the price he is asking. The CCP will require about two hours and $45 (depending on the instructor) and a written test. Then you will need to send the feds your CCP app and $60 (i think) along with fingerprints and 3 letters of recomendation from non-related individuals that state you are competent and would not use it unless it was needed.

 

[LOAH]

Thanks! I think I'll set up the "deal", today.

I'd better go buy some cheap .38 rounds for practice...I'm probably rusty and my wife has never fired a weapon.

 

[threshershark]

.357

It's true, they did remove the letters of recommendation requirement (which I actually thought was an important part of the process).

.357 is one of the best calibers you could select for this type of intended use. The gun will be very reasonable in size and quite concealable, but pack plenty of punch for cougars and black bear if it came to that. A revolver will have better velocity, range, and accuracy for conditions you may find out in the woods. You can use .38 Special rounds for plinking and teaching the wife to shoot, and soup it up with .357 for the just-in-case stuff.

 

[truemule]

LOAH I would take that deal in a heart beat. That is a great gun and a good price. I carry a 357 magnum S7W 686 w/ a 4 inch barrell on all my outdoor activities for a couple reasons. One- it is a bit lighter than its bigger relatives the 44 mag and such, two- When loaded with a 200 grain CORBON bullet, it has enough energy to take down just about anything we have in the mountains around here, three- when you want to just plink you can throw some cheap 38 specail rounds in and shoot all day and not kill the pocket book or your hand. IT is a great all around gun.

Also did the requirements by BCI change? When did they start requiring letters of reccomendation and written tests?

 

[burge]

No letters huh? I had to when I got mine 4 years ago, if I remember correctly. :wink:

 

[FROGGER]

I still have copies of my letters but that was 7 years ago, wow time flies, i have already had to renew mine... but money well spent IMO.....

Yes, the gun is a good deal, if you dont want it i will buy it for $300 :lol:

 

[truemule]

I got my CCP 2 years ago and there were no letters or wriiten tests. Finger prints and a background check were the only requirements. I received mine within two weeks of submitting my application.

 

[Nibble Nuts]

I got my CCP 2 years ago and there were no letters or wriiten tests. Finger prints and a background check were the only requirements. I received mine within two weeks of submitting my application.

Same with me.

 

[Al Hansen]

That is a steal. Buy the gun NOW.

 

[IcatchEm]

LOAH I would take that deal in a heart beat. That is a great gun and a good price. I carry a 357 magnum S7W 686 w/ a 4 inch barrell on all my outdoor activities for a couple reasons. One- it is a bit lighter than its bigger relatives the 44 mag and such, two- When loaded with a 200 grain CORBON bullet, it has enough energy to take down just about anything we have in the mountains around here, three- when you want to just plink you can throw some cheap 38 specail rounds in and shoot all day and not kill the pocket book or your hand. IT is a great all around gun.

Also did the requirements by BCI change? When did they start requiring letters of reccomendation and written tests?

I miss my 686...

 

[.45]

I like the 686.....i kinda miss mine too !!!!

Buy it LOAH..!!!!! And buy some earplugs for the one's you love !!!!

 

[LOAH]

That is a steal. Buy the gun NOW.

Okay then. Looks like I got it! I told the guy at work to bring it tomorrow and we'll do business. He's such a good guy that he won't take my money until I've gone and tried it out for the weekend.

I stopped at Wal*Mart after work tonight and picked up a cleaning kit (no, I didn't already have one...no need ), some earplugs, and 100 .38 rounds FMJ. I'll pick up some good personal defense type rounds in the .357 caliber a little later. No need to rush.

It sure will be funny watching my teeny little wife shoot it...unless, of course, she's as bad of an aim as she is a driver. -/O\-

Here's my new pistol, as of tomorrow:

BTW: I obviously didn't know what I was talking about earlier. The barrel isn't stainless inside (duh)...For the record. I like the rubber grip look better than the original wooden grips. It's a little beefier, more rounded. I dig it. 8)

 

[LOAH]

Oh yeah...Thanks for the added confidence in purchasing this fine weapon. I was pretty set on doing it, but I thought I'd give some experienced gun fans a chance to talk me out of it first. Looks like I ended up just showing off the jewel.

Thank you.

 

[truemule]

Very nice you will not be sorry, My only advice is if you like the rubber grips. Look into some after market grips. I have some hogue grips on mine and I love them.

 

[Frisco Pete]

Those Security Sixes were good strong revolvers and slightly lighter than the current GP100 which is nice for packing in the hills over an extended time.
I would also opt for Hogue rubber grips over those ones on the gun now. Hogue is my favorite of the rubber type. They aren't very expensive. The factory wooden grips would punish you with recoil from what I remember shooting my bud's old Ruger.
For woods use I would use heavy 158-180 grain bullets. The Speer Gold Dot has a good rep for staying together on bigger stuff because it is a bonded core bullet.
Two-legged varmints fall best to the #1 manstopper of all time - the 125-gr. JHP. Any major brand will do here.
Use the .38s to practice with. Just stick with lead bullets here. SWC (semi-wadcutter - flat nosed) or SWC hollowpoints are the most effective of the .38s for stopping if you ever need to use them. .38 lead round nose (LRN) are the worst for this.

 

[LOAH]

The grips on the gun right now are rubber. They're the ones in the pic. It feels good, but I haven't had the chance to shoot it, yet. I was going to take it over by the Spanish Fork River Park and try it out, but I won't have much light left by the time I get there.

I guess I'll just have to wait until the weekend. Maybe I'll try it out at the fishin' hole while I'm there...If nobody is around. Wouldn't want to scare anyone.

So being just a normal, non CCW citizen packing a sidearm, am I okay to have it loaded in a holster while I'm on the trail? In plain sight, of course.

I'd really rather not get into any trouble but I don't see a point in carrying it if I have to stop and load it. It seems like I'd be okay to carry, as long as it's visible, right?

Sorry...Noob.

 

[Nibble Nuts]

That is correct. As long as it is in plain sight on a holster you will be okay. Tuck your shirt in to make sure that nobody can call it an attempt to conceal without a license.

 

[Finnegan]

And if you decide to go ahead and get the concealed weapon permit, get a good instructor. I mean, since you need to jump through the hoop anyway, why not make the best of it? You can get through the course in an hour with some instructors, but that doesn't mean it's an hour well spent. I shopped around when I did my course and ended up taking a 6 hour course. I'm glad I did - I learned a lot and enjoyed it.

The processing period is supposed to be 60 days, but it's 115 days now because of the backlog. BCI doesn't get to keep the money they take in, so they can't increase their staff to meet the demand and there are a lot of out of staters wanting permits from Utah.

 

[Treehugnhuntr]

And if you decide to go ahead and get the concealed weapon permit, get a good instructor. I mean, since you need to jump through the hoop anyway, why not make the best of it? You can get through the course in an hour with some instructors, but that doesn't mean it's an hour well spent. I shopped around when I did my course and ended up taking a 6 hour course. I'm glad I did - I learned a lot and enjoyed it.

The processing period is supposed to be 60 days, but it's 115 days now because of the backlog. BCI doesn't get to keep the money they take in, so they can't increase their staff to meet the demand and there are a lot of out of staters wanting permits from Utah.

Craig Ball at Impact is great for this.