Carrying while hunting...Any point?

Because two is one, and one is none.
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That math has never made sense.

No one mentioned that bird shot is not considered a good defensive load.

https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box...e-box-o-truth/
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And yet it gets used repeatedly for that purpose and quite successfully as well.

A shotgun loaded as suggested is about as good as throwing a rock at a bear. Well, maybe not quite as bad. I'd imagine the bear would become enraged for certain once shot with birdshot. I'd take about any handgun over birdshot vs a bear.
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You know, there are a lot of factors involved, but even an 11 year old boy can stop an attacking bear with birdshot, sometimes.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elliot-clark-alaska-boy-shoots-bear-charging-family-members/

Birdshot may not be ideal, no doubt about it, but it certainly can be effective. By comparison, we can also look up and find numerous instances of attacking bears requiring multiple rifle shots to be stopped as well. So keep that in mind.

https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/in-bear-attack-hunter-killed-hunter-autopsy-shows/

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With all that said, I look at carrying a CCW pistol in the woods simply as a utilitarian item. It is no more a paranoid consideration to carry a pistol in the woods than it is to carry a pistol on the street. Like others, I my use the pistol to deal with other nuisance animals. I may use it for coupe de grace shots on downed animals still alive. Here, recently, I was able to use my pistol to shoot an additional piglet that could not been seen at distance with my rifle due to high grass, but was taken at very close range with my pistol where my rifle had too much magnification and not enough focus for sighting.
https://youtu.be/ARtp9op9VU8
 
Husqvarna said:
think? why are you browsing the internet when you should be out tracking?
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'Cause here in America, Husky, many folks look at 'yotes as something lower than dirt and don't care whether or not the animal is DOA or just mortally wounded, and suffering a slow and painful death. Many feel the singing dogs deserve to suffer that cruel death just because they kill/eat game animals that sportsmen pursue. Even tho I'm not one of those folks and feel any animal I put my sights on, deserves a quick and humane death, I know of many that feel differently. Kinda like those folks that pull the wings off flies.
 
Birdshot doesn't even come close to the 12" of penetration considered by law enforcement to be worthy. But even the little .25 ACP has been used effectively by some. But that doesn't make it a good choice in most people's opinion just as using a .22 LR isn't considered a proper game cartridge but is used by poachers. And "effective" is different for people than it is animals.
 
think? why are you browsing the internet when you should be out tracking?
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I posted this less than five minutes after shooting, while still in a tree stand. I think it's prudent to wait a few minutes to one half hour before trying to track a wounded animal.
 
'Cause here in America, Husky, many folks look at 'yotes as something lower than dirt and don't care whether or not the animal is DOA or just mortally wounded, and suffering a slow and painful death. Many feel the singing dogs deserve to suffer that cruel death just because they kill/eat game animals that sportsmen pursue. Even tho I'm not one of those folks and feel any animal I put my sights on, deserves a quick and humane death, I know of many that feel differently. Kinda like those folks that pull the wings off flies.
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I don't know you and you don't know me, yet you seem quick to judge. What would you have done differently? Would you have not shot the coyotes? Would you have not posted about the experience while you waited?
 
Birdshot doesn't even come close to the 12" of penetration considered by law enforcement to be worthy.
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It is important to remember that the '12" of penetration' in ballistic gel doesn't transfer to any real world medium. 12" is also used b/c FBI was looking at penetrating things like car doors and light barriers.
Even with these caveats, I am still quite comfortable referring to this as the "Twelve inch RULE" henceforth.
 
Regardless birdshot isn't good even for medium game. If it were there'd be no need for buck shot and those in Alaska wouldn't be armed with even a particular 12 ga slug.
 
I sometimes have to force myself to wait. There was no need to wait on the first coyote but I thought there probably was on the second one. I took a drink of water and logged on to TFL to try and help me pass the time though I badly wanted to start looking right away.
 
Carrying a handgun while hunting, in a situation where concealment is not of utmost importance, is one of the easiest times you will ever carry it. I see no reason not to. I too have used a .357 revolver to dispatch a deer after setting down my rifle. Tracking a wounded game animal, often done on my hands and knees, is easier if I can leave the rifle in my blind.
 
I've hunted squirrel for decades in western Virginia with a .22LR and never carried a handgun. After seeing five different bears this summer I may carry one of my 44 mag.'s this year. The bears really want to stay well away from us, but just in case....:eek:
 
LOL, bears generally do want to stay away from us, except when they are preying on us, which does happen from time to time. However, the most common form of actual bear "attack" on humans is the surprise encounter where the bear reacts aggressively in self defense, inflicting (usually) a short duration brutal attack. Surviving is common, but hospitalization is almost always required.

Just something to keep in mind.
 
Indeed. Though there's been an uptick of problem bears along the Appalachian Trail targeting not so much the people but their backpacks looking for food.

Bear spray is by far the best form of defense. But I'd also want something else just in case as bear spray isn't 100% effective.
 
I always carry a pistol when hunting......anything. Rifles and shotguns can break and I don't want to be out there with only a broken long gun and a pocket knife.

We were headed down to the river once with our shotguns full of bird-shot for grouse and such, I had my 4" Ruger GP-100 on my hip. We happened upon a wild pig, which we had tags for, but not prepared to see. We ended up taking that pig home and cooking it up because of that GP-100, not because of the shotguns full of bird-shot.

We were woken up from a mid-day nap at the cabin by some armed mis-placed "hunters" claiming we were on their property. The long-guns were out of reach, but my GP-100 was under my pillow and in my hand during that "enlightening conversation".

Just sayin', I'll have a pistol on me always.
 
I carry all of the time anyway so why would I not when hunting or just in the woods.It's just part of me and I would feal undrest without it,
 
I never used to carry while hunting. About 20 years ago, I was in the woods of Northern Minnesota and happened to come face to face with a really nice Whitetail Doe which I had a permit to take and so I raised my rifle and looked through its 25 year old Bushnell scope and all I saw was water.

It was cold and raining that day and the scope seals had failed and now my scope was all full of water, so I figured at such close range I could shoot her anyways..... Nope.

I was literally 40 feet away and broadside and could not hit that deer. After 2 shots I tried looking down the side of the barrel and missed two more times. She looked at me and went back to eating and casually walked away!

It changed me. ;-)

So yes I carry while hunting now. In fact it was hunting that caused me to get my carry permit so I could just keep the pistol on when we were driving and such.

In the last several years, there are a LOT of Wolves in Northern Minnesota. I have seen them in the woods and my buddy got stalked by one a few years ago.

He carries a 17 round 9mm in the woods now and got his permit for the same reason as I did.

I carry everyday and will always have my sidearm in the woods while hunting.
 
Every. single. time.

I'm relatively new to hunting, five deer in I believe, but I'm paranoid enough to ALWAYS carry. And I don't feel comfortable without one.
 
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