Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Do you carry a sidearm while deer hunting?

That choice makes less than no sense....but whatever blows your skirt up.

Most of the time, always during bow season. As one poster put it evil can be anywhere.

Started carrying my 1911 last year for that same purpose.

Four things go in or on my pants every morning...........pistol-pocket knife-wallet-keys...........Feel naked if any item is missed. And yes I carry a sidearm while hunting with long guns and it's usually a big bore.

while we don't have snakes to worry about, I've often considered this option for the GD red squirrels that infest some of our stands.

My Wife doesn't like me to carry, but after being accosted by a pair of teenage meth-heads back in 2004 while I was trout fishing, I always travel armed. Like they say, better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.

Why does your wife not like for you to carry?

I carry every day all day , am always in reach of a handgun . Any place I can't carry I don't go .

Depends on the rifle. I carry one when I'm muzzleloader hunting. I carry one sometimes if I'm hunting with a centerfire single shot. I carry one if the rifle cartridge is a .224 or 6mm centerfire. Depends sometimes on where I'm hunting even with slightly larger rifles. There's one spot that's about "spooky" ... something big in there, not sure what it is, but it leaves turds that are about 30 inches long, maybe inch and a half diameter, and seem to be made from meat. 'til I'm sure of what it is, I'll err on the side of caution. Once I'm packing a .270, .280 or bigger 7mm, .308 or bigger .30 cal, etc, then I just pack my rifle.

Why in the world would she have an opinion at all, let alone a negative one?

That's some super weird logic....

Always! You should always carry a handgun in a caliber which begins with at least the number ".4x!" And you should always carry a good, reliable backup gun! These serve me well.





L.W.

I never paid them much mind in the past but Sept 17 of this year I was "jumped" by a cougar right in our frickin' yard.

Not sure it would have come for me in other circumstances but it was dark, I saw the eyes reflect in the flashlight same clear but slightly blue color as a deer and about the same spacing, but bobbing and weaving, then ducking in and out behind a tree kind of weird so I went over to take a closer look. Too close. Couldn't make out exactly what I was looking at but I got the itchy feeling and had the gun out and up my last couple steps. When I truly realized what it was, even if it "couldn't be, not in my yard" (TM), I was about 25-27 feet away. I took one slow step backwards and it came around the tree then straight at me closing distance in that low pre launch cat crouch. I couldn't see the sights but I pointed and fired 2 shots anyway. I was above it a little .. one broke it's back and I think the other went into the body somewhere.

I've been a fair bit jumpy ever since.

So what did your dept of wildlife say about that? Mb

I know it isn't completely within the context of the OP's parameters, but I think it is important to mention that in Idaho and some other states it is (or used to be at least) illegal to have a pistol or any gun on you when bowhunting. I am not sure if a shotgun is or was allowed. I am also not sure if the increase in grizzlys has made Idaho drop that rule, but it at least used to be that way.

As far as folks here carrying handguns just for cat/bear protection, assuming the animal isn't on top of you, why would you pull a handgun when you have a rifle on you? Exceptions make sense such as when breaking an animal down and your rifle is leaning on a tree 10 feet away, or for whatever reason your rifle isn't immediately on your person, but some of the responses here seem as if you'd throw your rifle to the side to pull out a handgun. That makes zero sense to me, from both an ability to hit and a bullet energy perspective.

Depending on proximity and circumstance, it would likely be considerably more effective to do exactly what you suggest. A long, heavy, scoped rifle makes a very poor close quarters weapon, for a number of reasons. Given the choice, I would gladly ditch my hunting rifle and its ability to get one shot off in deference to a sidearm that works much better up close.

All of this is stated with the assumption that you actually train with your pistol and not simply wear it as a talisman.

TInman makes a good point, in that at one time here in Wy anyway it was against regulation to have a firearm in your possession while archery hunting. I believe the change in that came about after the shall issue ccw laws, etc come around. I also suspect that the increase in the grizzly bear played a part. Now it just says it's against regulation for any person holding an archery permit to take a big of trophy game animal with a firearm during the archery season.
But keep in mind that even in firearm season, if you use a handgun to finish a downed animal off, that is the firearm the G&F considers to be the one used to "take" the animal, so if for some reason they discover you popped a deer, elk or antelope with a handgun cartridge that isn't "legal" for the purpose of taking big or trophy game there could very well be a fine coming..
Shoulder holster, and a light weight handgun in legal caliber are the best way to go.

About 15 years ago I was archery hunting and ran into a big black bear by MT standards. I thought it was a cool experience since he was going the other way at 50 yards, I told my wife about it when I got home thinking she would like to here it too. Well, the first thing out of her mouth was, "Did you have your pistol with you. One of the few times I didn't which I told her. She said, "You will always have your pistol with you from now on." She was really upset that I didn't have it with me. Wants me around awhile I guess.

I would never throw my rifle away to shoot a critter, but like has been said I can always have the pistol with me, but not the rifle when doing certain chores.

When I hunt South Texas I carry a sidearm while deer hunting. For obvious reasons. This is one of the few exceptions where I have a long gun and feel a need to have additional firepower. When I’m carrying concealed ( with a sidearm ) my objective is to defend myself until I can get to a long gun. Guns are great tools. I also carry a side arm when squirrel hunting. You never know when you’ll need more “firepower”.