What is your sidearm of choice in the woods?

[iccyman001]

Whitetail country I am usually just carrying a small snub nose .38 (for hogs and naughty 2 legged creatures)

Elk country I\'ll have either my .40 or .357 with the snub .38 as backup.

I\'ve been looking into some nice.44s too and it\'s tough for me to say no to ol Smith and Wesson

 

[Zpd307]

I just had this convo tonight. I just use my dept issue .40. its the biggest I have.... I would love a .45, but its not in the cards just yet. im not a wheel gun guy...

 

[Tdiesel]

using a .40 s&W in a variety of guns truthfully

 

[elky McElkerson]

I don\'t carry.

I tried my Glock 21 once and it\'s just a dead heavy load after a long hike.

I do want a revolver. A 3\" barrel 357 s/w 686P.



Sent via Jedi mind trick.

 

[elkmtngear]

I don\'t carry

X2...nothing I can\'t take care of with a stick and a string out there.

If I hunted Grizz Country...I\'d have to re-think it. :think:

 

[atfrith]

Springfield XD 40

holster attached to the webbing on the hip belt of my backpack, so I can hardly feel the weight

 

[mtnmutt]

Nothing.

For one season, I did carry bear spray to ease my family\'s concerns. It was the summer when bears attacks were up, so I caved in. The next year, I ditched the bear spray and conveniently forgot to tell my family.

 

[Deertick]

Nothing here, either.

If I\'m with horses, I usually have my .38, in case of injured animals. Thankfully, I\'ve never used it.

If I hunted grizzly country, I\'d reconsider.

I see people in the woods with huge sidearms ... and I\'m just not sure why that is, but some of them are big enough to just scare away critters by their sight alone.

Two-leggeds are another story, and having protection against them in some areas might not be a bad idea. I think women, in particular, should consider carrying for that very reason. There are some very deranged folks out there. That said, the density of people where I hunt is pretty low ... too low to make that a concern.

 

[iccyman001]

I am not a fan of carrying giant hand cannons either.

My .38 snub is micro and my .40 S&W is a sub compact.


Where I hunt, the drug dealers use the back roads for transactions, the local poach and the locals don\'t like outsiders.... especially \"gringos\"
I pass a sign every time I head up there that says \"gringos turn around and go home.\"

I\'m not real concerned with other hunters.


I want to throw out an alternate reason I carry, because I think too many people over look this and think people just carry for bears.
I\'d say 80% of where we all hunt, we don\'t have phone service and you cant legally carry two-way radios.

It\'s always known in my camp, that if you hear 3 evenly spaced out shots, it mean help.
That is partly the season I carry my .38 as a back up.

We had a green foot get lost up in the north Maine woods one time.
He was freaking out and turned himself around into the nastiest stuff you can imagine.


The only reason we found him was because of signal shooting.

My 2....

 

[mtnmutt]

Deertick makes a very good point about women alone in the woods. Homeless people frequently camp in National Forests. Drug dealers use National Forests to grow pot.

Some people have been concerned for my safety because I mostly hunt alone. I do not carry a sidearm or taser. My brother almost convinced me to carry a taser. His girlfriend in college was knifed in the forearm by a guy on drugs in university woods at night because the guy mistakenly thought the woman was his girlfriend. Yeah, drugs do weird things to people\'s minds.

Here is some information that may be helpful.

In cities while walking at night, I kept my car key in between my knuckles. A cay key in an eye is not pleasant. Women who keep their heads down while walking is not good. Put the phone away and always pay attention to your surroundings. If you have a wife, girlfriend, sister, daughter, granddaughter, niece, please tell them to always keep their head held high, especially when out at night. Criminals look for easy targets. I haven\'t even carried pepper spray. I am short 5\' 4\". No one has ever bothered me. I pay attention and avoid dangerous situations.

I spent years in East Coast cities on streets with gangs and drug deals going down on street corners and 24 years of mostly solo hiking in CO woods. I have yet to encounter a case where I needed a firearm. I keep my head up and scan for problems. It has worked great in cities and in the woods. If I hunted woods with drug runners or woods used for illegal pot growing, I may be inclined to change. I have encountered homeless people in the woods and in cities. I have encountered intoxicated individuals and people on drugs. On drugs is more dangerous. Those encounters have not changed my mind about carrying. I keep my head up and always keep an eye on strangers I encounter in the woods. I don\'t turn my back on them.

I am not advocating that people leave their sidearm at home. IMHO, people should do what is best for themselves for their level of comfort and safety.

I don\'t care for the extra weight. I already carry too much stuff. Besides, a woman going through menopause is much more dangerous than any other person in the woods.

BTW, rattlesnakes freak me out. I would rather encounter a mountain lion than a rattlesnake. With a mountain lion, I can say \"Here kitty kitty\", scratch it behind the ears and we will be best pals. roblem:

 

[mtnmutt]

It\'s always known in my camp, that if you hear 3 evenly spaced out shots, it mean help.
That is partly the season I carry my .38 as a back up.

Excellent point.

All my packs have a non freezing whistle attached. Don\'t buy the cheap ones and test them out when no one is around. They are LOUD!

 

[Wake26]

I carry a Taurus 44 mag 4\'\' barrel. Gives me a little more piece of mind.

 

[Swede]

Only occasionally do I carry. This year I will have a 38 spc. S&W when I do. I think I am as safe without the gun as I am with it, except on very rare occasions.

 

[bnsafe]

xdm 45 with +P+ solid loads. with that said i doubt there is a real reason to carry, but it makes me feel better. especially after having a bear in camp.