I wanted to do an EDC set up for the wilderness for a day hike. Meaning something you take with you out in the woods for a fishing trip, a picnic, a couple hours of observing nature. I wanted a knife and side arm combination for less than $200, that would be light, and reliable. I also wanted the set up to be in orange. I saw the old survival packs for Smith and Wesson with orange grips on the revolvers a while back and have been obsessed with them since. But they are in the $1500-$2000 range if I remember right.
For about $700 or so, you can get the J Frame 357 magnum version.
Since I have to foot the bill for my own productions, I decided $200 was a decent amount to spend. I also figure anyone on a budget, or a younger person just starting out could afford $200 as well. Why orange? If you have lost a knife or walked around for hours/days looking for a gun which “was just right here” or “how did that come out of the holster”, you know that a black or even stainless gun is tough to spot on a forest floor. I like the concept. I don’t have any orange knives or guns, and they look neat.
So I looked around for the things I wanted in my kit gun and knife (whatever else is left over in the $200 budget, I will use towards “survival” stuff to go with the items, or an orange case) for no more than $200. I just ordered this Cold Steel from EBay for $23.14 delivered.
The 2nd half of the gun/knife combination will be the Orange and Stainless SCCY CPX-2. It’s going to be about $170 or so after taxes and rebate. So that will put me at $193.14.
I’m shopping for a new one. If I happen upon a used one in good condition, I’ll settle for used. Keep in mind this has to come under the self imposed $200 budget, and the SCCY Gen 2 is 9mm, and is rated for “limited” plus P usage. It will be able to handle hot ammo with a 10+1 capacity. That is plenty to take down 2 or 4 legged critters found in Arizona. The reviews on the SCCY have been more to the good than bad.
This will be a fun project.