What gun for hiking in SE Wisconsin?

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TomJ

TomJ

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I currently live in the Chicago area but have been going to the Delavan area for decades, as my ex and her family have homes on Lake Delavan and my oldest son, daughter in law and grand daughter live in the area. I'm staying in the Chicago area until my youngest son finishes high school here, but am buying a house in a rural area of Elkhorn at the end of May. When he finishes high school we'll make the move there full time. I'll be spending about half my time there and will be doing a lot of hiking, much of it in Kettle Moraine. In all the years I've been there I've seen one garter snake and a lot of deer, but no other wild life. I carry a Shield Plus with 124 grain HST +P's. Is there any reason to change that while hiking, such as venomous snakes (I've carried a revolver with snake shot for that) or other wild life I should watch for?
 
Anything you are comfortable with and can shoot well should work. I am not one for killing snakes unless they are poisonous and near my house. Snakes have a job to do by keeping down the rat and mouse population. So they get a pass from me. But a do-all gun to me is my GP-100 with 4" barrel and midrange 357 loads. Those are 158gr hardcast loaded to around 1100fps. They penetrate very well and cut a full caliber hole.
 
Not many bears or wolves down there so anything you'd feel good for 2 legged critters will be fine.

I usually have a .45 on my side pheasant hunting in the Madison area, but mostly because it gives me a reason to carry my 1911s that don't get any EDC time. 9mm would be just fine.

If course, since it's the Elkhorn area, you might want to pack silver ammo for werewolves :)
 
JR24 said:
Not many bears or wolves down there so anything you'd feel good for 2 legged critters will be fine.

I usually have a .45 on my side pheasant hunting in the Madison area, but mostly because it gives me a reason to carry my 1911s that don't get any EDC time. 9mm would be just fine.

If course, since it's the Elkhorn area, you might want to pack silver ammo for werewolves :)
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You’d think sellers would be required to disclose that there’s werewolves in the area.:)
 
We have friends living on the east side of Lake Winnebago. I find that area unique to what I’m used to here in Missouri. We love visiting there but refuse to go near it in winter. Every crossroads has 3 bars and a supper club, a very enjoyable place to be. I own 357s and 9MMs but see little use for them in my woods. I carry a Rossi 22 revolver, if it won’t kill um it usually scares the off. I have a shoulder rig for it. IMG-0948.jpg
 
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DDDWho said:
We have friends living on the east side of Lake Winnebago. I find that area unique to what I’m used to here in Missouri. We love visiting there but refuse to go near it in winter. Every crossroads has 3 bars and a supper club, a very enjoyable place to be. I own 357s and 9MMs but see little use for them in my woods. I carry a Rossi 22 revolver, if it won’t kill um it usually scares the off. I have a shoulder rig for it. View attachment 991874
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The camera angle makes that the largest handgun I’ve ever seen.. must be a Paul Bunyan custom ! :rofl:

Stay safe.
 
I second what ThomasT stated. Regardless of caliber it must be a gun that you can hit your target with if not it just becomes something you can throw at like a rock. The old superman movies I remember that the only thing that would make superman duck was the criminal throwing an empty gun at him.
 
Biggest I have to worry about is a tweaker. I usually carry a SP101 with a Speer shot load first and four swc moderate loads after that. Mowing lanes I get a shot at a rat or other varmint at close range.
 
Haven't seen anything of concern in that area, but then there is always an exception. Only snake of concern is the timber rattler and they are located more in western part of the state. It's best to carry something you are most familiar with and your ammo will handle anything you will run into.
 
TomJ said:
I carry a Shield Plus with 124 grain HST +P's. Is there any reason to change that while hiking, such as venomous snakes (I've carried a revolver with snake shot for that) or other wild life I should watch for?
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Except for the werewolf there isn't much to worry about in that area. A decent pellet pistol makes hiking around there a little more interesting as you can get some quiet plinking in.
 
Thanks for the responses. They're pretty much what I expected, but it's good to get some confirmation.
 
Well, the obvious answer is that you're in Wisconsin so what you've really gotta look out for is the beast of bray road dogman.

Your basic 12 gauge with silver dime load is what you're looking at here, now let me check and see what we've got in the back..
 
S&W mountain gun loaded with .44 magnum LSWCs. I carry one in the woods and feel it adequate for the task at hand.
 
TomJ said:
I currently live in the Chicago area but have been going to the Delavan area for decades, as my ex and her family have homes on Lake Delavan and my oldest son, daughter in law and grand daughter live in the area. I'm staying in the Chicago area until my youngest son finishes high school here, but am buying a house in a rural area of Elkhorn at the end of May. When he finishes high school we'll make the move there full time. I'll be spending about half my time there and will be doing a lot of hiking, much of it in Kettle Moraine. In all the years I've been there I've seen one garter snake and a lot of deer, but no other wild life. I carry a Shield Plus with 124 grain HST +P's. Is there any reason to change that while hiking, such as venomous snakes (I've carried a revolver with snake shot for that) or other wild life I should watch for?
Click to expand...

I'm wrong guy to ask:rofl:.
As you know, I roam chicagoland . I shoot at Delavan sportsman club and do the majority of my outdoors activities in southern Wisconsin . trouble is, I'm a big bore nut. There's never been a time I thought I needed a 454 casull double action revolver loaded with the heaviest bullets available , sitting on a full case of h110, I'll carry it anyway.

I don't think there's much you'll find in our area that a 9mm won't easily kill.

With that said, about 6 years ago I lived in crystal lake . I smoked back then and was on my front porch at about 1:00 AM smoking. No doubt about it, a cougar/mountain lion (whatever) came walking right past me , no more than 50 feet away. Crossed the road and kept on walking. No doubt in my mind what I saw.

A 9mm will kill a cougar, you're good.

Either way, I like more gun than I'll need and I usually pack a big revolver for wilderness adventures. I have carried my 10mm glock at times but I figure that if I think I'll need more than my regular in town gun , I'll just bring something huge and nasty.
 
I used to ride motorcycle in the river valleys and up and down the Mississippi. Had to keep an eye for deer in the evenings but never saw anything the least bit threatening. A Mountain Lion was also spotted in Southern Minnesota years ago. They are very rare but do travel very far. Bear and wolves from here seem to be slowly drifting South.
 
Obturation said:
With that said, about 6 years ago I lived in crystal lake . I smoked back then and was on my front porch at about 1:00 AM smoking. No doubt about it, a cougar/mountain lion (whatever) came walking right past me , no more than 50 feet away. Crossed the road and kept on walking. No doubt in my mind what I saw.
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At some time in our lives we have all seen a few cougars (whatever) at 1 in the morning........
 
sevt_chevelle said:
The only cougars I've ever seen at 1am are leaving the bar.
I personally believe people over think the notion of needing a "bear" gun.
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I like having something with a little more precision and penetration than #6 shot up here grouse hunting if we have dogs, never know what they might get into it with.
 
I think a J frame .38 would do for that country. Or even a .22. I grew up in Northern Illinois.
 
I think your 9mm will be fine. I don't know what type of 4 legged predators are in that part of the world but even if black bear are present 9mm has proven to be enough. I stopped carrying heavy magnum revolvers outdoors years ago opting for a G29 in 10mm if in bear country and various 9mm pistols anywhere else.

If larger predators are a possibility I'd recommend investing in some of the 147 gr hardcast bullets at 1000-1100 fps available from several manufacturers. Even outdoors threats from 2 legged predators are still the bigger risk.
 
I think that your 9mm Shield is a great option for hiking in that part of the country. Your biggest threat is going to be of the two legged variety.
Of course if you are looking for an excuse to buy a new carry gun we can help you there :)
 
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