Who carries a sidearm while hunting?

S

shafter

New member
I'm not sure if this is a recent phenomenon or not but it seems like more and more people are looking for a hand cannon to go along with their rifles in the hunting woods. It makes sense if your hiking but if you've got a good rifle than why bother with a pistol?

If you carry while hunting please talk about why you feel it's necessary.
P.S. I'm not really refering to guys like myself who occasionally pack a 22 handgun for picking off partridge at noontime:)
 
I've always left my handguns at home when hunting with a centerfire rifle, mostly because there wasn't anything "more" I could do with the handgun than I could with the rifle or a second shot from the rifle (why dirty up another gun to clean?).
 
Yes, I do ---> and No, I don't.

Let me explain. I bow hunt and gun hunt. A 5-6 years ago, black bears started getting to bothersome population levels. 3 years ago we started seeing more bears than deer nearly every time we were in our woods hunting. 2 years ago, I was bluff charged a couple times, and had stare downs with bears while coming out of the woods. Not little ones either. 350-450 pounds. Let me tell you, when you have your stand over one shoulder, pack over the other, light in one hand and bow the other (arrow in quiver and release in the pack) and you see a big bear 30' in front of you and you have to shine the light UP to see it's face -- it get's your attention.

And that bow in your hand with no arrow nocked feels pretty wimpy when you're staring at big bear that is staring at you and chomping its teeth. So, after that I started carrying a pistol. In the pack, double wrapped in zip lock bags to hold the smell in. It's in my hand on the way in and the way out.


When gun hunting, there is no need to carry a pistol. It's just extra weight that is far less accurate with 1/3rd the velocity and 1/9th the energy.


Couple pictures. One of me seeding a plot area and one of the visitor to the area (with captions for the inevitable caliber wars). I'm 6'2" and 210# barefoot and nekked. The bear is somewhat larger.

MDGC9047.jpg

MDGC9222.jpg
 
Always. I used to pack a full sized .357 then a .44. That got to be tiresome due the the bulk and weight. Then, I picked up a snub nose Ruger .357 and it fits on my hip perfectly. The first two cylinders are loaded with CCI snake loads. We get some big cottonmouths and rattlers down here and the hunting season weather is almost never cool enough to put them down.
 
Always. My concealed carry piece is always on me, even while hunting. It has nothing to do with the hunting, it's just there all the time.
 
I have carried a revolver while rifle hunting with the intention of taking a close range shot with the handgun. I had an older cousing who carried his 45 to "finish off" rifle shot deer. Pretty sure he shot them with the 45 even if they were already done. Seemed silly to me. I'm hunting in Colorado muzzleloader season this year where black bears are known to be around. Possibly camping for a few nights on the ground. Definitely going to carry my SBH 4 5/8" 44 mag just because you never know when you might bump into a mad mama. I've carried a 44 when packing out elk quarters after being followed for quite a distance by a cougar with tracks the size of a saucer.
 
I tried carrying a revolver a couple times

IMHO any advantage is outweighed by the discomfort and added weight. I carry a pistol while hiking, rifle only when hunting.
 
I carry a handgun any time I'm dressed, and it goes the same for hunting.

Which one depends on what I'm doing, and where.

Carrying while hunting started for me when I started calling bears with a hand blown predator call. Things can get up-close and personal real quick, and the though of tracking a bear through thick cover, carrying a long barreled rifle doesn't appeal to me.

When hunting deer and such, I simply carry a smaller SD type handgun. It doesn't weigh enough to matter, and it's always with me if I need it. Too many illegals and drug smugglers in this part of the country.

But I've been doing it long enough that I feel sorta naked without a handgun on me. Now I carry one like I wear socks, a wristwatch, or carry a cell phone. It doesn't matter whether I need it or not, it's there if I do.

Daryl
 
I do now. First shot with snake shot (lots of rattlers where I go).

Had one hunt where I set my rifle down to take a leak.....deer walked up 50ft from me. If I had my revolver with me I could have bagged him...ugh.
 
I do... because I always carry..and when Im on the way to the hunting property and on the way back from hunting,,,Im always carrying.
 
I do. I used to carry a .22 for a brain shot in case of a not do dead deer, until I found out that you can't even carry one in deer season. (essentially, there are caliber/cartridge minimums, and you can't even carry a gun that doesn't meet those minimums, even as a back up)

So, I left the .22 at home and from then on carried the .38 wadcutter, and later switched to .357 158 grain hunting loads for reasons other than a possible brain shot on a wounded deer.
 
MY Gp-100 is my constant companion while hunting birds or deer. I have taken 1 deer with it. It was in a pine plantation so I left the 7mag in the truck and carried the GP-100. I also hunt around a fair amount of wolves and lots of black bears.


Mwal
 
I'm not sure if this is a recent phenomenon or not
Click to expand...

I'd have to say that depends on the person. My father always carried his .357 with him when, and was still doing it when I began hunting with nearly 40 years ago, so the idea isn't exactly new....
 
I usually carried my 44 while fishing in Alaska. But the handgun stayed home on hunts. I really see little logic to having one on most hunts. The snake thing is interesting but like many things, just think about it...
 
I always have my little 642 in my pocket> I don't see any reason to take it out just because I'm hunting.

I have used it to pop a rabbit for the pot, dispatch a rattler here and there, and even finished off muffed shots on deer.

Mainly its a habit to carry always so I just feel uncomfortable if its not in my pocket.
 
If I remember correctly from my hunting class, in CT. you cannot carry a sidearm when hunting. Unless of course you are hunting WITH the pistol during pistol season (which was just recently re-opened).
 
I have killed a couple of bucks with my wheel gun when they got into handgun range; could have used the rifle but the pistol was more fun.:D
 
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