[Chainmail]

Doesn't sound like either one of you have done any serious way-up-in-the-mountains hiking.. I own plenty of healthy caliber stuff but no way would I carry a .45 up Mt. Whitney and 20 miles inland. A good .22LR pistol or AR-7 folding rifle is easier to bring along and protects just fine as long as you are a reasonable shot, keeps rattlesnakes and other critters down, and if you get yourself in that position, can keep you fed too (I even got a good-size trout with a .22 - near the surface - once).

The kit gun is stainless steel, not aluminum... you wouldn't have any durability problems with it. As far as aluminum goes, my little Armalite AR-7 is still going strong since I bought it in the El Toro PX in 1969. I have put tens of thousands of .22 through it and hiked hundreds of miles with it. Great rifle!

[Stoutcat]

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the S&W kit gun, it’s VERY high quality. It was just not comfortable for me to shoot.

We also got the Henry Survival rifle, a GREAT gun that dis-assembles and stores easily in its own buttstock. Light, compact, great accuracy, just toss it in your backpack and go! Love it.

[China Clipper]

Doesn't sound like either one of you have done any serious way-up-in-the-mountains hiking..

Guilty as charged. But I would still not want to be out and about without a bit more punch then a .22, either mucking around a mountain or whatever. But I am not one to commune with nature, I'd rather eat it. Again, JMHO.