I recently started a thread over at THR in the handgun section. Long story short, I asked members which gun of a list of three guns I already own - Glock 19, Glock 21, Smith 686 - they would recommend I choose to take on a five day backpacking trip in the Daniel Boone National Forest. I described the purpose of the handgun as being like the first-aid kit I carry...don't want to use it, but don't want to need it and not have it. I mentioned I just wanted one for SHTF situations. My reason for the debate was in my own mind, deciding if a revolver (no mags needed, just ammo) or an autoloader made more sense.
Some sample responses I got? "Taurus Public Defender aka the Judge in .410. Perfect for snakes and such without worry of 'zinging' rounds out."
"Buy a good serios caliber autoloader(not a 22) and keep a couple spare mags on hand, and buy one of thoose nagant revolvers as a back up, i dont think it is even possible to make a nagant revolver fail to fire."
"22 revolver. Take your pick of action, barrel length, etc."
Other than a few posts with some good advice, the rest was a heated debate about the durability of autos vs. revolvers, with one poster stating that you have to clean an auto several times a day in a dirty environment to keep it functioning.
Meanwhile, I'll just keep it in mind whenever I have a gun question...come here first.