Do you carry a side arm while elk hunting/regular hunting?

I

iccyman001

New member
Apr 30, 2014
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For you guys hunting in cougar or bear country, do you carry a side arm?
Do you carry one for those two legged creatures that cause trouble?

If so, what do you carry?


I usually carry my .357, but I think I may buy another gun for the mountains specifically.
I already have plenty, but I am always looking for an excuse to buy more. :upthumb:
 
I don\'t carry one. Started thinking about it more after some guys had a couger sneaking up on them.I don\'t worry about the bears. The thing that bothers me more are the rattlesnakes. We have been seeing more every year.
 
No, I don\'t ... lots of extra weight.

I think it\'s reasonable to have one in camp, and I usually have a .45 Colt ... the main purpose would be to put down an injured horse if that occurred. When with horses, I usually at least have my .38 for such a purpose, but usually packed away in a pack, and only sometimes on my hip.

I had a bear in camp a couple years ago that really made me rethink this, but even with that, I just think it\'s a lot of weight I don\'t need.

As for bears, I\'d rather use spray if I could. I\'d rather not have to deal with taking a day (or more) away from a hunt or a camping trip to explain to a warden why I shot a bear, especially out of season, or without a tag. Even if everything goes well, it\'s still a lot of time and effort that is not what I took time off work for!

Now, if I were in NW WY, where grizzlies are more common, I\'d have spray and a sidearm at all times. But I don\'t go there, and that\'s one of the reasons why!
 
John,

I haven\'t talked to many people who take out horses. Are injuries common where you might have to put one down?
Do you generally bring a spare horse in case one is injured or does the person who was riding that horse resort to walking the rest of the trip?
 
I rarely carry my 357M. I may change my mind, but like Tick I don\'t care for the extra weight. Tick, why would you not put your injured horse down with your hunting weapon?
 
\"iccyman001\" said:
John,

I haven\'t talked to many people who take out horses. Are injuries common where you might have to put one down?
Do you generally bring a spare horse in case one is injured or does the person who was riding that horse resort to walking the rest of the trip?
Click to expand...

I\'ve certainly never been in that situation, but, as a friend told me once: \"Have you ever tried to kill a horse with a rock?\"

I have had friends in this situation. Tying an injured horse to a tree while I walk for a gun would be a horrible thing to do. As the cartoon says, the \"treatment\" of a horse\'s broken leg is lead therapy. Luckily, the only broken leg I\'ve ever dealt with was on a 3 week old foal, and it was fixable at that age. But horses can and do get themselves into some bad situations. I was reading on Bowsite of a guy whose horse was being led by a friend when something happened, and the horse panicked in some deadfall. One of the rear legs was broken. I don\'t know much more because I couldn\'t bring myself to read the rest of the thread. (If I ever have to shoot one of my four-legged friends, don\'t get between me and the bar, and don\'t expect me to speak for days.)

As for the spare ... well, they\'re kind of bulky. The \"spare\" I use would be my feet, which I would use to go get another horse to come back and pack out the saddle and other gear.

(As a side note, horses get a bad rap for their fragility, IMO. Being asked to carry me (200+ pounds), a saddle, gear, clothing, and maybe a rifle, at speed over uneven ground while constantly being told what to do, and how to do it would be tough. Take a LIVE kid that is 20% of your bodyweight and add another 15-20 pounds and have that kid be the one in charge while you negotiate a tricky, loose-gravel slope all the time with a bit in your mouth and reins in the kid\'s hands and tell me you\'d be surprised about a sprained ankle or a bad attitude after a while.)
 
\"Swede\" said:
I rarely carry my 357M. I may change my mind, but like Tick I don\'t care for the extra weight. Tick, why would you not put your injured horse down with your hunting weapon?
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I think a bullet to the brain would be much faster than an arrow in the heart. I couldn\'t do that.

Also, it\'s not like I only ride while hunting. Most of my riding, like most of my camping, is outside of hunting season.
 
I carry a Glock 40cal. Its light and bombproof (literally). I carry it for piece of mind more than anything else.
 
I always carry everday of the year just cause I can and you never know. Deertick we use horses a lot being on a cattle ranch. We did have one horse have a heat attack on the hill one day and finally when he got that glazed over look we shot him because there was no need for him to suffer. Have put down others for other reasons but they were all back at the home place. I would rather have the gun and not need it rather than need it and not have it. that goes for two or four legged critters. Most people won;t ever need one but one time you might be the person that does.
 
No sidearm...and I\'ve been stalked by a cougar before when calling. Black bears do not concern me, and if I was hunting grizz country, I would opt for the spray. Weight is everything to me when I\'m doing \"elk aerobics\" and covering 2000 vertical feet over the course of 5+ miles a day.
 
I don\'t when I am carrying my rifle, but if I\'m out scouting I will be carrying my Glock .40. Like has been said, better to be safe than sorry, although I understand the extra weight component. If I were an archery hunter, that would be a difficult decision to make...
 
I carry a Ruger LCP everyday always. Sometimes when hunting I carry a S&W 99 in .40. I don\'t mind the weight, but I haven\'t found a great way to carry the .40 on my pack yet so probably just stick with the Ruger in my pocket.
 
Here ya go Steven. Easiest way to carry that I have found. You won\'t even know it is there.
 

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Tick, since the thread opened with the question about carrying while hunting in cougar and bear country, I was not thinking of camping outside of hunting season. That said, your reason for carrying a pistol makes perfect sense.
Over the years I have heard several hunters that use a rifle, say they carry a pistol to finish off game, or to kill their horse if it needs it. My 357 is too heavy to carry for just that situation. Cougars on the other hand may be worth more consideration.
Olympushunt (my son) had a very close, night time, face to face encounter with a cougar last September. He did not say, but I have a feeling he needed a clean pair of shorts when he got back into camp. Oly was glad he had his sidearm close at hand, when he saw the kitty in his headlamp.
 
I\'m not buying the weight factor a reason that some don\'t carry.
I bet there are more frivolous items in your daypack that weigh more than a sidearm.
What are we talking? A pound or 2???
Come on man.

As far as bear spray.
My buddy in Alaska told me once that it is useless inside a tent or if it\'s windy.
Those factors don\'t matter when carrying a sidearm.
 
\"cnelk\" said:
I\'m not buying the weight factor a reason that some don\'t carry.
I bet there are more frivolous items in your daypack that weigh more than a sidearm.
What are we talking? A pound or 2???
Come on man.

As far as bear spray.
My buddy in Alaska told me once that it is useless inside a tent or if it\'s windy.
Those factors don\'t matter when carrying a sidearm.
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I have nothing in my daypack that heavy. And it\'s still 25 pounds of crap.
 
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