Do you carry a sidearm when you hunt?

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Yup, except during archery season, when it's illegal to have any firearm in your possession. Then, it's likely locked out of sight in the truck. What I carry varies by season and temperature. Most often a Glock 23, but sometimes a Ruger GP100.
 
I carry a Dan Wesson 7460 Revolver loaded with either Winchester 260gr. HSP .45 WinMag, or Georgia Arms 300gr. FMJ .460 Rowland. Sometimes I even mix the 2 rounds in the same moon clip.

Never had to use it for defense though.
 
I have a real sweet hunting area way up in the mountains that is game-rich. When shotgunning for mountain quail, I carry a Taurus 941 22 mag 5 inch revolver which I use for tree squirrel, rabbits and other small game. I hunt deer and wild boar with a .454 Casull and carry an '06 as backup or for the long shots. When around bear or boars, I always carry the .454.
 
I always carry, even if I'm just headed to the mailbox in the front yard.

When hunting deer, I mostly carry my SP101 (.357 mag) in my front right pocket. If hunting upland game I wear a gunbelt with a full size handgun (.357 mag GP100, Springfield Armory 1911A1 milspec .45ACP, Ruger P90 .45ACP, Redhawk .44 mag) w/ a Cold Steel Master Hunter. We have a rather large and unfriendly population of feral hogs, not to mention feral dogs and coyotes. I'd hate to have to deal with those fellas with a 20 gauge and # 8 shot.

Of course, I CCW on the way to hunt.


Clif
 
If I'm in the woods I generally have a sidearm. If I'm big game hunting that sidearm needs to be big-game legal, otherwise it's just a signalling device, rather than a back-up gun.

Sure a .30-06 packs more whallop than a .44 mag, however I had a day where I was packing out a quartered elk, and ran smack dab into a cow elk at 10 feet away. All I had on me was a 22 pistol. Not legal, nor ethical to try and drop an elk with a 22, so next season I bought a .44.

The next thing I knew everyone in camp had a .44. Well, just call me a trendsetter.

Seriously, even when grouse and turkey hunting I usually have a pistol of some sort, and thanks to running into a bear at close quarters, armed only with a shotgun and a .22 pistol, it's a .357 or bigger.

Colorado allows open carry for self protection (even if you aren't hunting) as long as the firearm is not concealed. Hence, I have a fishing/backpacking gun too.
 
If you'd seen some of the hogs and coyotes I've seen in these swamps and hillsides you'd carry too! It is too much trouble to always have a tree picked out to climb!:what:

I'd look pretty funny hanging out ten feet off the ground on a small pine tree covered with sap and with charley horses in the legs from the effort!:uhoh:

38 or 44 depends in large part on whether I'm in a bear area.

(Oleg, not telling you what you should or shouldn't do regarding hunting, but deer meat doesn't have growth hormones, steroids nor antibiotics in it.)
 
I carry a Glock 30, Super Blackhawk or occasionally a Taurus M94 .22 revolver. The Glock is my campout/night predator hunting pistol due to the Meprolights. My Super accompanies me on deer hunts for deep brush use. The Taurus goes canoeing sometimes in lieu of the Glock. It's good water moccasin medicine. I do have to keep it away from the wife when she sees water rats or muskrats. She hates 'em!
Carrying a .22 pistol for unaware squirrels makes a fun and lightweight alternative to the 10/22.
 
Absolutely. Boar hunting defiantly. Where I live its really thick underbrush. I’ve stepped on them one time. Also you never know what kinda of deliverance boys are out there in the mountains 60-150 miles away from any town.
 
I always carry a Redhawk or Super Redhawk regardless. They don't add that much weight when carried correctly. I tromp all over nasty terrain going to and from some areas, been known to travel 8-9 miles in a day when in the scouting type hunting mode. I prefer to shoot with my handguns but, usually take a rifle too just in case.
 
I'm with Labgrade on this one. I used to pack a pistol when hunting, but then I did a whole lotta backpacking here in CO and figured out that the four-legged types were of almost no threat at all, but I always felt a little uneasy in a campsite near civilization. So I switched. I don't carry when hunting, but I DO when hiking.

Can't wait to get my little G29 working again. Good trail gun.
 
I CCW when hunting

Just to be on the safe side - anything from a .45ACP to a .22LR
Don't need a backup for anything I'm likely to bump into on 4 legs, but there are some methlabs and pot patches back there with some seriorusly disturbed people with bad attitudes hanging about. :uhoh:
Lions? Too well fed on deer and backyard poodles - they are gone if they see/hear/smell you.
Bears? Too busy sponging off tourists over at Yosimite.
Cranksters? :evil: Definately carry CCW.:fire:
 
No I don't carry an additional sidearm while hunting. I do carry sheath knife and small pocket knife. I don't want to be burdened with the extra weight and if I'm stalking, it's just in the way. My focus is on my rifle or shotgun that I'm carrying.
When I'm at the camphouse I always have a second firearm available, usually a pistol, which is sometimes carried, but never as a back-up to the primary weapon while actually hunting.
 
I carry a 629S&W mountain Pistol in .44mag or a G-20 in 10MM. I did use the the .44 on a mad little hog one time after drying out the rifle but I could hardley say it saved my butt. kinda bad on the hog though. I've also used the .44 many times for back up shots when hound hunting bears and cats.
I just feel kinda naked without a side arm I guess. I've also used pistols on several occasions to let visiting critters know to leave the camping area please.
 
I always carry a sidearm when hunting or fishing for defense against two-legged predators. It would be irresponsible not to considering the type of people I've encountered while in the woods or at the lake.
 
I always carry when hunting. Ruger Vaquero .44 mag or sometimes my 629 Mountain Gun. If I'm blackpowder hunting, I take my Ruger Old Army along.

The rest of the time, I rely on my Kimber Pro Crry II.
 
Yes, I do.

And all the rest of the time, as well.

During sporting activity, what and how I carry varies with the locale and activity. Bird hunting, I usually have a 2" .22/32 Kit Gun in a pocket. Handles the occasional snake and crippled bird, without chopping it up with a close range charge of #8s.

Afield with a .22 rimfire rifle, I usually have a .357 or .45 Colt sidearm. Most of my deer hunting is done just sitting and watching a trail at a crossing. Might carry a large sidearm for a close range deer, or a small one just to have. One thing I learned about going up and down long, steep, slopes in Colorado-- A lightweight Commander is a LOT easier to carry than a big, heavy revolver!

Best,
Johnny
 
I hunt a lot in swamps, and along the creeks that feed or drain them. I hunt often in thick palmetto, between planted pines. I still hunt off the roads, following deer trails.

There are many time, when hunting terrain like this, that a long gun is just to cumbersome. The Smith 25-5, with .45 Colt hand loads, the .44 Mag Smith 629, or one of the large caliber Rugers is a comfort then.

I tailor my long gun, and hand gun to the game I am going to be hunting, and the terrain I will hunt in. For me, 'one size does not fit all'.
 
When hunting with a rifle, I carry a revolver in the preference order of a .41 mag., a .45 long colt, or a .44 mag as a last option.
 
Always. I hunt a lot of the time with only a handgun. Which one? Depends on the mood I am in. .454 SRH, Ruger 4" GP-100, G20.
-Mike
 
I carry everyday. Like mentioned before, it just carrys over from daily wear. It has come in handy tho... cause you might not have your rifle with you when you need it!

It has happened to me, rifle on one end of the truck and you on the other...but handgun on your waist. You really don't even know it's there half the time.
 
we should all be armed always. besides isn"t our country at war?
 
I carry a sidearm when deer and elk hunting for taking a wounded animal out of its misery at close range. I never liked firing a rifle at a close target and a handgun round to the back of the head is safer and more effective than using a knife.

-- Dizos
 
I typically carry my Government .45 but I don't carry it for any other reason than predators of the two-legged variety. I'll admit that last year I broke tradition and took my GP100.

I always hunt with my M1 Garand so I figure I've got the game animals in my area covered and it also gives me comfort in the face of a possible bear encounter. The pistol is just there for problems that may occur in camp at night when my M1 may be out of my reach.
 
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