I want to get another magnum handgun (used to have a S&W .357) for backpacking in bear country.

Any opinions on Taurus revolvers?

Glock 19.

It's medium sized, cheap to shoot, low recoil.

Get some hotter ammo and you can carry it for personal protection.

I want to get another magnum handgun (used to have a S&W .357) for backpacking in bear country.

Any opinions on Taurus revolvers?

Actually, yes. I carried a Taurus .44 Magnum with a 6" barrel, for years when we went bow hunting elk and mule deer in Colorado. It was actually 6 1/2" with the built in compensator.

Mine was stainless.

Here is a pic of my son holding it.


http://i21.tinypic.com/sxy8ux.gif

Any opinions on Taurus revolvers?
Folks tell me that they're on par with S&W these days, my gun (just as soon as all these mysterious bills get taken care of) will be a 4" Taurus Model 66 (.357mag, 7 shot cylinder) firing .38 Special +Ps.

--EDIT--
Obligatory links:
Taurus Product Page (http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?id=275&category=Revolver)
Product Listing at BudsGunShop.com (http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21_50_494/products_id/31302)

I want to get another magnum handgun (used to have a S&W .357) for backpacking in bear country.

Any opinions on Taurus revolvers?

http://www.taurususa.com/images/imagesThumbs/500MSS10.jpg (http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?id=128&category=Revolver) Model 500MSS10 (http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?id=128&category=Revolver)
RAGING BULL, .500 MAGNUM, 5 RDS, DA/SA, REVOLVER IN MATTE STAINLESS STEEL

If this fucker doesnt take down a bear I dont know what will!

Future father-in-law just bought a Taurus .44mag for bear hunting/having around in case of bear while hunting moose, I believe it was 5 3/4 inch barrel. (Saw it once before it got locked in safe, so bear with me...no pun intended.) I ogled it for all of five seconds before he left on the hunting trip it was bought for, but it was a hefty piece of machinery. Now to convince him to come to the "dark" (and plastic) side and shell out for a GAP...so, you know, I can put a few hundred (thousand) rounds downrange. Until then, it's the .32 H&R for me, as all of the rest of my weapons did not make the trip from TX to AK yet and are being stored at the 'rents house. I simply couldn't leave my grandmother's precious weapon, willed to her favorite grandson, so the H&R took the trip boxed up in Allied freight.

And I refused to trust Allied with the Glock or shotguns. No. No way in hades.

Folks tell me that they're on par with S&W these days, my gun (just as soon as all these mysterious bills get taken care of) will be a 4" Taurus Model 66 (.357mag, 7 shot cylinder) firing .38 Special +Ps.

Yeah, that's the great thing about .357s, train with .38, load +P or .357
I really like it since there's no military demand ( little to no LE demand ) for the ammo. Another reason to love .30-06

For a total novice I'd say:

1. Take an NRA gun safety course. Usually $50-60.

2a. Buy a decent air pistol - not an Airsoft pistol an air pistol (ie crossman, daisey...) to practice your fundamentals. It's not cool but it's cheap (Pistol for $50-60 and 1000 rds for < $10), you can set up an indoor range at home in about 2 min. (I use my closet and a blanket as a backstop and set up a paper target stand on my ironing board) and the principals of shooting apply EXACTLY THE SAME. I use this method myself and for my 11 yr old daughter (future olympic medalist) and she regularly outshoots the grown men shooting next to her when I take her to the range for some live fire practice.

2b. Take advantage of shooting as many rounds as you can afford through as many weapons as you can get your hands on without having to purchase a weapon. (range rentals, friends...)

3. Start a thread about what accesories to buy for your new 1911.

Actually, that's close to how I started and I am a fairly good shot. We had a farm, complete withchickens, chicken house, and rats. I was given a pellet rifle as a kid and told to shoot rats. Blam-o, couple years later stepped up to the .22LR. And then on to .222, 30-06, 30/30, etc. etc. But this explains why I am always more at home with a rifle against my cheek rather than a handgun in my palm.

For a total novice I'd say:

1. Take an NRA gun safety course. Usually $50-60.

2a. Buy a decent air pistol - not an Airsoft pistol an air pistol (ie crossman, daisey...) to practice your fundamentals. It's not cool but it's cheap (Pistol for $50-60 and 1000 rds for < $10), you can set up an indoor range at home in about 2 min. (I use my closet and a blanket as a backstop and set up a paper target stand on my ironing board) and the principals of shooting apply EXACTLY THE SAME. I use this method myself and for my 11 yr old daughter (future olympic medalist) and she regularly outshoots the grown men shooting next to her when I take her to the range for some live fire practice.

2b. Take advantage of shooting as many rounds as you can afford through as many weapons as you can get your hands on without having to purchase a weapon. (range rentals, friends...)

3. Start a thread about what accesories to buy for your new 1911.

The BB gun is a great idea. The military trains this way with a system called Quick Kill. Daisy has a complete set you buy for this purpose called Quick Skill.

I prefer pellets to bbs. More accurate and with the rounded or pointed variety they are very efficient varmint killers.

Spend very little time with these training tools as they will not really prepare you for the second shot with the real thing.

"they will not really prepare you for the second shot"

It was bound to come up. I'm just suprised it took this long. Since recoil is negligible you won't have to work as hard to regain sight picture.

Having said that - Practice is practice - whether its with live ammo, air pistol or just dry-firing. The majority of shooters I have worked with have issues centered around trigger control (ie too much or too little trigger finger, jerking the trigger, thumbing the weapon, heeling the weapon...) including anticipation of recoil. Admittedly, the amount of anticipation goes up in direct proportion to "boom" but to a person, beginners do it regardless of what they are firing until the problem is identified and corrected. I recommend pulling the trigger on any weapon (rifle, handgun, air gun, crossbow, bow and arrow, dry or live fire) that is accurate and allows you to practice marksmanship principles as much as possible. But that's just me.

Spend very little time with these training tools as they will not really prepare you for the second shot with the real thing.

I would disagree.

Any training for drawing, gaining proper sight picture, shooting and reholstering is good. It will ingrain the basics in any shooter.

It isnt a replacement for plain old range time, but it is a useful tool for those times whne you cant spend the time/money shooting live ammo.

I disagree. Stuff happens ,so you need an accurate second shot. Nothing but practice with full bore loads is going to give you that.

Do you also need a target that simulates a falling/fleeing/ducking assailant?