Carrying while hunting...Any point?

[North East Redneck]

Wish I could. Illegal to carry handgun while hunting whitetails. Mass has some strange laws.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

I typically bring along my 44 Mag Vaquero. It's much handier than rifle if I need it.

 

[drbill]

I’ve never carried a handgun when bird or waterfowl hunting. No need for it.
I’ve carried an S&W .22lr Kit Gun in the western states when big game hunting with the intent of using it for a head shot if I downed but didn’t kill my prey. Never used it.

 

[jackstrawIII]

The only time I would ever carry a pistol while hunting is if I was concerned about packs of dogs... which sometimes applies in my area. So, I do occasionally, but not often.

 

[FairWarning]

Yes, I carry my 686 .357 Mag and of course my hunter's knife.

 

[bungiex88]

I always have a pistol on me while hunting. With frequent bear sighting in my back yard where I hunt I would not want to run into a cub and momma in the woods I hunt with only a rifle it can get pretty thick until I get up into a stand.

 

[bungiex88]

Even when I’m small game hunting I carry a pistol just Incase of the bears. 12 gauge bird shot might only piss the bear off

 

[rodfac]

I don't bother to carry a handgun here in KY on my own farm, but out in Colorado, when I had the legs, lungs, and energy to hunt elk, I always carried a .44 or .41 magnum. For me, dressing out an elk was a half day operation, working alone, then the packing out began, usually late in the day.

Carrying a 9 lb. rifle with each load out, then back to the kill site was more than I was willing to do. So I was in the habit of leaving my Whelen in the Jeep.

Then I found fresh bear tracks in my outbound trail in 6" of snow....100 lbs of fresh meat on my back and nothing in my hands...I found that 3 lbs of magnum in a 'tanker' type holster across my chest felt a lot better than the cold shivers I got up my spine when I saw that bear sign...

Rod

 

[jamaica]

Carry On

I started packing a Ruger single Six way back about 1957. Yes, it went everywhere with me. Later I got a 44 Spl in a Colt SAA. I built a double holster rig and used to carry both hunting and everywhere else I went where I could get away with it. I quit hunting a few years back but still pack a gun where ever I go. These days its concealed carry.

 

[Irondog54]

I carry all the time. Why is it an issue when hunting?

Exactly. It is easier than you think to get separated from a long gun.

 

[Danoobie]

Here, in Florida, when you step off into the swamp, you're entering the food chain.
Having a pistol keeps you nearer to the top of it.

 

[shootniron]

I always carry while hunting...or doing anything else.

There are more reasons to carry than there are not to.