What back up do you carry in the field?

I usually do not carry a back up when I am tracking deer. I know they are dead because I shot them. We do not have any predators around here that will attack man under normal circumstances.
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....thing is, in the OP's case, because he does not want to scratch his rifle in the thick brush, the second he leaves it behind, his back-up is no longer a back-up, but his primary weapon. I think this is where he's going with this.....:confused:
 
Used to none or a 9-shot Taurus 94 .22lr 4" revolver. But recently moved to (brown and black) bear country, so now I will keep a large OC spray on right hip and one of two handguns in crossdraw on left hip: 4" Redhawk in .45 Colt, or 6" Witness in 10mm. That's if hiking or hunting with bow, shotgun, or rimfire. If hunting with rifle, then none (except still have OC spray).
 
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I really enjoy buying used guns with at least one ding in the stock for hunting. Much less painful pushing through a thicket that way.

I usually carry a 9mm Glock if using my muzzle loader. Using it to finish a deer isn't legal in Ohio. A second shot on a writhing spined deer at close range with a scoped rifle might not be as simple as a round from a pistol though.
 
Not all of my rifles are that way. I have beat down briars with more than one. I do apologize for calling it a back up when it is just being used for tracking deer thru a thicket that might need a finishing shot when I get to it. Youth hunting is big down here in louisiana. And there on lies the problem. When it's time to get out of the stand it's very common for a buddy to have texted asking for help because his son or daughter has made a bad shot. If I have one of my nice rifles I take my pistol or carbine.
 
Ruger LCRx 3 inch in a Simply Rugged pancake holster (also fits the my sp101 22 if I care to bring it). Gun weighs less than a pound so I hardly notice it. It's loaded with buffalo bore 38 special +p Outdoorsman which gets a 158 gn Keith bullet to anemic 357 mag velocities. Can handle anything other than a grizzly, and there haven't been any of those in my area for fifty years. Don't have hogs either but we are starting to get wolves.
 
when I'm in grizzly country, I pack the biggest thing I own with the most ammo capacity: a Springfield XDM 45. yes yes, 45ACP is incapable of killing the T10,000 terminator grizzly manufactured by cyberdyne, but that's just the biggest thing I own and better than nothing. however I rarely travel in grizzly country, most of the time, the biggest thing I could ever expect to run into is a black bear or a cougar, both of which could be dropped with a 9mm, no less 45 so I pack whatever is handy.
 
Ruger Alaskan in .44 mag, with hand loaded 305gr hard cast lead. It took some time, but I developed a load that does 1200fps out of the short barrel. It's a handful, and shoots quite a flame, but there are two known grizzlies touring my unit that weren't there a few years ago.
 
I need to update and say that the ruger sp101 in 327 4 inch is a shooter. The perfect size and wait for clipping on the belt and taking off thru the woods. 100 rounds after receiving this handy new tool I can consistently put all 6 rounds in a 2 inch bullseye at 25 yards. I normally use my sidearm or back up to finish off a deer with a shot to the head or base of the neck but after shooting a few water jugs and wet phone books I wouldn't hesitate to put the coupe de gras right behind the shoulder. My wife is plotting how to take this gun from me as I type.
 
Mine varies on what i'm doing in the woods. A lot of times though its between my 629 Smith, GP100 or Remington R1. With one of those in SE SC, I never feel undergunned.
 
Among the most accurate revolvers I own is a Ruger old model Blackhawk in .30 Carbine. Soda cans face certain death at 25 yards. I know a guy that killed an 8 point buck with a similar revolver and he says his is hyper accurate as well. For belt carry this might make the cut. Probably performs similarly to 327 mag.
 
I typically carry a Ruger Redhawk in 44 mag. Occasionally my primary weapon is a Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 Casull. Occasionally I also carry a Ruger Single Six 22 lr for grouse or rabbit. Can you tell I like Ruger?:D
 
Depends on the mood I'm in. Sometimes it will be the 686 Smith and Wesson,the colt Python, or the fnh,fnx tactical.
 
Pistols aren't allowed here. Where I hunt or rather hunted since I don't anymore the most that would be on our 160 acres would be five and no kids. I don't own any guns so nice I won't take into the brush. If I need a finishing shot which is rare I just use whatever I brung to start with.
 
If I am hunting with a rifle, why do I need a backup? My rifle is many, many times more powerful and accurate than a handgun, it is more reliable, and it is already in my hands. Why do I need to add more weight to my load? Oh, for that quick follow-up shot? Right. Put the rifle down, draw the pistol, fire, put the pistol away, pick up the rifle. Hmmmm. Sounds complicated.
 
I guess some people put more sentimental value in guns than others. The only reason I carry a backup pistol or carbine is for getting on your hands and knees tracking a wounded deer thru a thicket. I'm not taking a rifle that my grandfather and or father kept in pristine shape for all those years to scratch it up. I have much newer rifles that I don't want scratched up. I have plenty of old beaters and synthetic stainless guns I do use but sometimes it sure is nice to take grandad old ought 6 out to the stand to shoot a big fat doe. It's rare that I have to track a deer myself but I have 4 kids and a wife that hunt also. I have several friends with multiple kids that also hunt. Tracking jobs do happen here a handful of times each year. Also I pistol in a holster on your hip will never get a barrel full of mud. It doesn't get in the way when dragging out a deer to where we can load it on the sxs. Some people only have one deer rifle and therefore don't have the option. Here it is legal and for several reasons it just makes the job at hand much easier. This is a forum about guns so I never thought I would be criticized for using one.
 
The primary reason I carry a sidearm on the hunt is for protection from black bears and wolves. Two years ago a woman was on a four wheeler in the same canyon where I hunted this year and two wolves attacked her by surprise *while she was on the fourwheeler*! One got hold of her leg and caused a large enough gash she required several stitches. She gunned the gas and got away. DWR got out there and shot both wolves within two days. She had a rifle strapped to the fourwheeler but of course could not unlash it and bring it around fast enough to protect herself. That's why I carry a sidearm in addition to my rifle while hunting. It is also by my side in the tent while sleeping and on me while I'm cooking in camp, etc.
It also comes in handy for shots on potguts, grouse and rabbit. (I've used it on all of them.)
 
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Although I and my son do have c/carry permits I haven't hunted on public land in many years. My son and I hunt my privately owned and posted land only. Nor do we two find it necessary to carry a sidearms when we are hunting as were always in contact with each other via our Cell Phones. Frankly: Never found any animal in the woods that wanted to harm me or mine. Can't say those dangerous animals don't exist where humanity resides.
 
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