Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska carry mode for fishermen & hikers

Whole encyclopedia have been written about cartridges for bear guns. But what I haven't read about is how folks who are in non-hunting mode carry their rifles, both in terms of slung/unslung and whether the rifle has a round chambered, hammer cocked etc.

On leverguns, the relatively simple loading operation makes it tempting to carry it with full mag and empty chamber, with the added detail of maybe having the hammer cocked so that the hammer spur isn't sticking out and getting caught on stuff. On boltguns, for me the temptation would be to have a round chambered and safety on, though that's obviously a much lower safety profile to be in.

Part of my ponderings on this is due to my thoughts on a "woods gun" for deer/black bear and also serving as a bear repellent. A .444 levergun is a proven performer but with the Winnie 94 being off the market the Marlin might be a bit heavy for daily carry. But there's a lot of appeal for a compact boltgun in something like .358 Win or .35 Rem Mag. For hunting either way works, but for fending off hungry or scared bears there's the tradeoff between safety and getting an aimed shot off quickly.

How do you Alaskans (Canadians too; those BC blackies sound like they're a handful) carry your rifle when not hunting?

If it's not in your hands, you are unlikely to be able to put it into action in time. If you have time to unsling and take aim, it isn't likely a real charge.

I am oft times unarmed, especially when fishing and not concerned. If they want to eat me they will........

I guess I kind of share Steelhead's philosophy. I often times go out fishing unarmed. But then the areas I fish are often by boat and the limited bank fishing I do has not been known for a lot of bear activity.

When I do carry a rifle for the purpose of fending off truant bears it is most often an older Marlin 1895 stoked with a 405 grain Remingtons at an enthusiastic velocity. I generally only carry it when I am packing out meat and it is in hand at all times, hammer on half cock, chamber loaded and that silly crossbolt safety in the correct position (the firing position).

When I do go fishing armed it is generally with a handgun, heavy, very hard cast bullet, moderate (read shootable) velocity.

Mart

If I am not hunting I am not carrying a rifle.

I carry a handgun many times while out fishing. Taurus titanium 41 mag. Federal castcore hunting loads. 250gr @ 1250.

If it wouldn't draw the SWAT team down on you, I'd carry a rifle everywhere I go.

There's not many better feelings to me than to be out and about with a rifle I like.

Some of the spots I like to fish are nasty thick with brush and bears, so I normally take the .45/70.

While I'm fishing it leans somewhere handy or rides on my back.

If you get a full blown charge in thick brush your gig is apt to be up anyway, and I don't worry about that much more than I do the what if "I'm driving and a drunk swerves right in front of me at the last second".

What worries me is some lazy azz bear wanting to take my fish that I've worked for. I don't buy into the stuff that I'm trespassing in his neigborhood, I've had ones go through my yard and didn't bother them.

Plus I'm apt to have a kid in tow often. Nobody or nothing is gonna harm one of my kids without me at least putting up a fight, even if it's the last thing I ever do.

We've got a .44 mag S&W for Mom to use berry picking, but I'm just not that crazy about handguns anymore. I prefer a rifle.

Doesn't mean the guys that pack one are wrong, just wrong for me.

I just like the comfort that a rifle gives me, even if some of it might seem like false comfort to some.

If I could wave a magic wand our whole populace would go armed always.

I think it'd make for a better world.

I always carry my 454 Casull with me while I'm fishing or hiking around. Not because I feel I need it, just because I like carrying it with me.

I have a Mossie slug gun and a S&W model 629 for bear protection; but have never even fired them and don't carry much at all for fishing. Been lucky, I guess.

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Sounds like a dating philosophy to me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
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I also agree, if its not in your hands, it probably wont do a dang bit of good. I dont carry sidearms anymore (except in town). I dont fish so that counts me out, if I did I would probably carry my 3" 629 in a shoulder rig.

All events unfold over time, a charge can develop after you have warning signs. Will you head the warnings and signs and therefore get the weopon into a ready position? If not dont carry. If you often find yourself surprised by unfolding events perhaps a life of adventure doesn't suit you.

Sorry siski, I gotta disagree with you. you dont always get signs. It all depends on the situation. I carry a rifle (in my hands).

I always have a gun of some type in the boat when I am on the river, but my thinking is a lot like Steelhead if I am gonna get ate I am gonna get ate. I quit packing hand cannons and rifles slung across my back while fishing long ago. I laugh when I see guys fishing in combat mode with a Stainless short barreled extended tube pump shotgun while wearing chest waders ass crack deep in the river and fishing amongst 50 other people, always get a good laugh out of that. To truly enjoy Alaska sometimes you have to forget that there are bears in the woods around every corner stalking you so they can eat you. You got a better chance of having some bonehead swurve into your lane on the way to work in your pickup and causing a head-on collision that you wont survive than getting ate by a bear up here. In the world of emergency responses the latter is seen far more than bear maulings. But it do depend on where in the state your fishing too. I have found that talking out loud and back and forth with your buddies works pretty damn good as a bear deterrent. Have hiked up some pretty nasty alder choked drainages sheep hunting on my own and find myself singing and talking out loud and have heard chitt blasting through the alders, assuming I scared it with my chatter, to me that is way better than stealthily suprising it (bears).

I wil admit though that at one time I tried the Anaconda on the hip and chest, 18" shotgun with slugs across the back. Then kinda realized how silly I was. Was way too cumbersome.

Thanks for the responses. I know this general subject gets contentious pretty quickly. Joel brings up a pertinent point, the threat from two-legged varmints. In my region, that's the only real menace aside from west nile virus and equine encephalitis. There's a healthy black bear population, but they're very well fed and well behaved. Argues for the revolver, since its always right there, doesn't weigh a ton, and is very useful against lowlifes.

I know I"m not the best source of info. But if I"m not hunting and in possesion of a rifle of some kind I carry my 329PD. Its loaded with 270 or 300 hard cast bullets. But I carry a hand full of 240 cast bullets that its dead on with. Can snag it and get a rabbit,grouse or whatever. Down here we carry a few rounds of snake loads too. I prefer to go around snakes in the woods, but sometimes the dogs are along and then snakes get shot DRT.

I"m not so paranoid of much of anything, yet the 329 is light, compact, easy to shoot and can take on most anything up to deer size easily. Last big use was finishing a caribou instead of burning another 338 win mag round on a friends bou....

Anyway its kinda like a leatherman to me. Ain't nothing in my mind says it'll keep me from being ate up, but easier to carry a leatherman for fixing whatever, than carrying the whole tool box.....

Jeff

Alaska is quite a bit bigger,than "large" and within that grandiose parameter...relative Danger DO change as per location.

There are places where I'd not fret a thing and others,where the hackles on my neck would be working OVERTIME 24/7.

Pistols are always a concession,the rifle is never NOT King........................

ALong the same lines as BS, there are some places where I carry some type of weapon such as a rifle or shotgun and some places where i don't carry anything. Depends on the locale and what type of activity you are pursuing.

Yes, this does get contentious quickly. I don't want to add fuel to the fire, but will offer a couple of my observations.

1) In answer to your original post, you might want to look at the Marlin Guide Gun. It's no heavier than a Win 94, and with its good recoil pad and porting it is very manageable even with HEAVY (e.g. Garrett Hammerhead) .45-70 loads.

2) I used to backpack and fish a lot in Banff Natl. Park and Kananaskis Provincial Park, roughly late 60's thru mid-90's. I saw a LOT of bears, both black and griz, up close sometimes, was charged a couple times, but never actually mauled. I personally know two guys who didn't hike/fish 1/10 as much as I did who were mauled, one quite badly. A good part of avoiding bear teeth is knowing about bears. Read Herrero's book, "Bear Attacks" and you'll get 90% of what you need to know about bruin safety.

3) Herrero (among other bear students) point out that griz are far more likely to maul you for territorial reasons than blackies, and are rarely predacious on humans. Blackies, however, have an established but not well-publicized tendency to hunt and eat people, more commonly than griz.

4) Most handguns are not powerful enough to save you if a bear wants your @ss. The ones that are powerful enough are hard to shoot well, so you need to practice with them a lot. The rifle is king, as others have said. I killed my first blackie with a .303 Enfield, but I prefer bigger/faster bullets now. Despite the fact that I fished/hiked a lot in the Parks unarmed, whenever I fished in the Swan Hills area I carried a rifle slung over my shoulder. There are some places that raise your hackles (and I don't mean the ones on your flies!) and the Swan Hills is one of those places.

5) Where I fish most nowadays in WI and MN, the bears are less of a concern than the two-legged varmints. I carry a .44 Mag or .45 Colt DA handgun at all times in those areas. I have been comforted by it more than once, and BTW it wasn't because of bear proximity.

Just some observations. Hope this helps.

I was kinda thinking about a 444XLR. Lop 4" off the barrel and hollow the buttstock a bit and maybe it'll weigh less than 7 lb. The other option would be a short-action boltgun in something like .350 RM with a 20-22" barrel and synthetic stock. Soemthing usable for deer, but enough to discourage a bear.

I know about Herrero's book but haven't read it yet (I'm thousands of miles from any bear threat). The threat from black bears is in a way more troubling, in terms of direct predation and coming to the sound of a gunshot in search of a dead deer. The latter case is a higher risk situation than normal but at least its known to be higher risk; the predation thing could happen at any time AIUI.

The only hackle worth fishing with is garden hackle. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

For most fishing and general poking around I always carry a 4" 629 stoked with 300gr hard cast loads in a chest holster along with two speed loaders a small knife and 6p surefire light. It is a molded kydex holster and is quite easy to draw and yet not have to worry about falling out. If I'm way off the beaten track or in bear congested areas I carry my stainless guide gun with 405gr kodiak bonded at 1925fps with surefire 9p mounted on the front. It is great for late in the year when it gets dark fairly early.