Russ,

No problem, I have a different setup for big water. A lot of bush flying in Canada and Alaska is over small water. Especially if you are flying on floats, any landing could end up being a "crash". The pilot tries to stay over water as well. Particularly when ceilings are low. You are usually close to shore (even by cold water standards). I know of several where the plane flipped and the water was not deep enough to fill the cabin.

Respectfully,

Jerry

Russ. I have an exposure suit I took on the boat. But had considered it to bulky for a small planes limited cargo space. I have decided not to go the bush plane route. He can fly out to see us. Safer that way, and less being hen pecked by my better half. I am however going to invest in a few vests. I'm looking at the Switlick for the boat since space and getting off the boat is less limited. For future flying I'm considering the mesh vest I was linked to over an inflatable.
As for the pistol I had considered a Taurus .44 magnum or a .454 Casull magnum, both of which I own. Someone had suggested the Taurus in .444 but I'm unfamiliar with this round. Is it the same one Marlin used to chamber a lever action rifle in?
Also any ideas on a PLB? Thay all seem rather expensive. The cheapest I've found is the SPOT.

Jerry
I respect your opinions and experience and value your advice. I wasn't arguing, merely disagreeing with some points. I value every bit of advice I have received on here, That's why I ask questions. If I gave you the wrong impression then I apologize for that. You raise man valid points. Beside the pocket gear I carry, I have a Doug Ritter kit repacked into an altoids tin in my FAK. Just like my back up piece, I'd hope I'd never need to use the large handgun, but would feel a lot better having it on me, rather than in my gun safe back home.

You've all given me good, solid information on this subject and I thank all of you. Obviously a PLB is a piece of equipment I must seriously consider on land or sea. And while the chance of crash is rather small it's best to be prepared for the worst. Thanks again.

Deathwind,

Please do carry a firearm if you want to, I always do. I am of the opinion that the .44 is more than enough with proper ammunition. Not necessarily the hottest. See Randy Garrett's (the former ammo maker)discussion at: http://www.garrettcartridges.com/defensive.html I think he has the right idea. On the other hand if you can handle the .454 quickly, it will certainly work. Just don't trade the power of the one shot for the ability to fire again quickly. I am not suggesting spray and pray, but repeat accurate shots if the first one does not work.

The SPOT is not a PLB, and although it can do some things better, at this point it should not be considered a replacement (see the many discussions from Doug Ritter). It is also, in the long run more expensive because you have to have a subscription where the PLB licensing is free. In just a few years the difference is gone.

Respectfully,

Jerry

I was looking at PLB's sometime back and found them extremely expensive. But will look into them again. I'm very large and muscular, and the best shot here in all modest,so recoil isn't a problem with the .454, nor a follow up shot. The problems with the .454 are reduced capacity and the slow unloading and reloading due to it's antiquated design. I had thought to load it with heavy solids or partitions with shot and squib loads for hunting smaller game. My friend who lives in Alaska carries a Judge and rarely ventures more than a few hundred meters from his cabin without a .375 H&H magnum. And has had to use bear boards at time to keep the bruins off his porch. Thanks for the link.

I wouldn't consider the SPOT for myself. I'd either get a true PLB (like the FastFind) or the InReach. Both have global coverage. One is subscription-free and works with COSPAS/SARSAT, the other has text messaging and works with Iridium.

Recoil on the .454 Casul is stout but manageable for many folks. I'd be more inclined to go with something that had more capacity and was easier to practice with. A full-size striker-fired .45 might work well.

Chaos
Thanks. Yeah recoil is not a problem at all, but the capacity and reload time are a real concern.
Thanks for the tip on the PLB's. Any ideas on what the least expensive but reliable models run?
Also I've been considering a radio of some sort to summon help and communicate with them when they are in the area. I would welcome any ideas on this, the most powerful and compact versions would be what I would consider.

I had mentioned that I would be more worried about the reserve air supply being caught during egress and someone had said they hadn't mentioned a reserve air supply. I have seen them on several vests including the switlik which is why I had brought that up. While nice to have thatwould be far down my list of essentials, well after a PLB and sealed FAK.

Thus my suggestion for a striker-fired .45. That doesn't work for everyone -- pistols that work well for me don't work at all for other people, and vice versa. Every pistol class I've ever taught has had at least one student with a gun that was wrong for him or her. I recently took an advanced class with the same issue -- you'd think that someone who made it to the advanced class would have a gun that he could shoot!



Fastfind runs around $250, lasts for five years without battery replacement, and carries no subscription fee. You do need to register it. It has two modes, "off" and "mayday!" COSPAS/SARSAT runs the satellites and the United States Air Force runs the Rescue Coordination Center.

InReach runs $300, takes AAs and requires a subscription starting at $10/mo. It lets you send tracking information, and text messages. During an emergency you can not only send the "mayday" with your location, you can communicate interactively with GEOS. GEOS is a private rescue coordination center. They don't have as long a track record as AFRCC but they've got some good saves to their name.



If you're on a boat, you should have a marine handheld. If you're a pilot and flying places, you should consider an aviation handheld. If you're flying over water, you should consider having both.

If neither the boat nor the aircraft are in your plan, your best bet may be an amateur radio (ham) handheld, depending on your location. For that you'd need to get an amateur radio license.

While you cannot legally transmit from an amateur radio on the marine or aviation bands normally, it's legal for a licensed amateur to transmit out of band in a life-threatening emergency when that's the best way to pass emergency traffic. With that said, as a ham, I would carry a marine radio for boat use -- I'm not a pilot, so I'm not licensed to transmit on aviation bands.