You are going on a solo Alaskan trek, hunting to supplement your rations. you can take a long gun and a hand gun what do you choose?

Well, I have never hunted Alaska and I doubt you have either. Based upon my limited knowledge of the place I think I'd take a Smith & Wesson Model 617 .22 long rifle revolver, and a Winchester Model 70 .338 Win. Mag. Fishing equipment is a good idea too. Or, for a rifle, I might take a Wild West Guns .50 Alaskan.

But mainly I'd get advice from someone who has been there and done that.

Well, I don't live in Alaska and I've never hunted there, but my Dad did when he was in the military. After a discussion with him (because I actually thought this was an interesting question) I would probably get into a versatile hunting rifle caliber - maybe a 300 Win Mag, maybe even a 338 Win Mag to cover whatever sort of stuff I might have to deal with in a solid dangerous game configuration bolt gun. Then I would probably go with a .22LR revolver, with a longer barrel and good sights. I figure that's what I'm going to use for small game. Birds? Well down here in Washington you can shoot grouse on the side of the road with a .22. If I'm subsistence living I'm not waiting to flush the birds, I'll shoot them on the ground if I can.

I'd certainly like to figure a shotgun in there somewhere, but I'm not willing to limit all of my shots to 75 - 100 yards and in.

Incidentally, I too would be curious what BC has to say on this.

Thinkingblade

If you want a good answer, talk to "Bear Crap" who frequents this site. He frequents it much less these days, and we're all a little worse off for it. Excellent contributor who really knows his... pardon the pun... crap.

I'd choose a 12 gauge pump shotgun and a S&W 460XVR.

My reasoning? If I'm hunting to supplement my rations on a "trek," I'm not necessarily going to want to kill a moose for food. Rabbit, ptarmigan, other small game yes... Big, huge animals like moose or even caribou? Nah. Too much effort and too much waste.

A 12 gauge shotgun is so incredibly versatile that it can go from being a defensive gun that will take down a brown bear one minute to an excellent small game gun the next. All it takes is a change of shell.

As for the S&W 460XVR, it will fire .460 S&W Magnum, .454 Casull, and .45 Colt. That means it has the potential to be used against anything from big bear to smaller animals and still be very effective. I certainly wouldn't want to hunt rabbit with .45 Colt, but being able to hunt something a bit larger might be a good alternative. After all, I heard recently that beaver, when prepared properly, tastes fantastic. I don't plan on trying it, but if it was a matter of life and death...

Anyway, the handgun would probably stay loaded with .460 S&W Magnum cartridges when I was using the shotgun for hunting small game so that I could defend myself from bigger threats if necessary.

Haven't been to AK but we have grizzlies in Wyoming so. I'm not a fan of handguns of any caliber for bears and we are talking about survival here so I will have to go with a .22LR handgun of some variety, almost certainly a revolver.

As to a long gun, I'm going with a .338 Win mag. Its pretty good bear medicine but still has fair ballistics out to 400 yards and I can carry a lot more .22 LR instead of shotgun shells

When you've got a rifle, then that's the go to for defense from big animals (I'd say 30-06, but insert your preferred full rifle cartridge gun here) so no need to go big on the pistol. I'd probably want a good accurate .22 pistol for small hunting and for being able to carry lots of ammo without too much weight.

If I didn't have to worry about money or getting ammo:

Marlin Model 338MXLR in 338 Marlin and a 22 adjustable sighted handgun

If I had a budget, 30-06 rifle and same handgun

If I'm going el cheapo, Mosin Nagant rifle and same handgun.

Mosins are ugly, but they are tough!

Call me crazy but I'd want to take something that would use the same ammo. Like maybe a Winchester 1892 in 44 Magnum and a 44 Redhawk.

If I've learned nothing else from the bubbling crock of crap we call Glacier puke...

The two handguns you can't do without in Alaska are the 5.7 FN and a .380PPK

All rifles should be stainless steel.

And building a parts gun AR requires a certificate in rocket science.

I'd probably tote a 44 mag and a 30-06... But what do I know?

The same as I would have here (Canada) except we aren't allowed to carry handguns in the bush. In Alaska ?....probably a 338 and a Smith 500 or 460.

Marlin Guide Gun in .444 Marlin, and a DE in .44 Magnum.

Because this is obviously fiction.