Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Alaskans...Do you carry a handgun when in the field?

Yes, a M629 6" 44 mag W 300g sierra fp @1050fps.
<br>This also my Halibut dispatcher!!
<br>

HI,
<br>
<br>I will move to Alaska in 4.5 years or sooner,I would carry a handgun.I have sent a ss bisley to MR. Clements to have converted to a 500mag, 500 linebaugh. It will have a 5.5 inch barrel and a night front site on it.I think it should work well it needed, Thanks,Kev

Almost always, I have run into bears in the bush, but the only thing I have drawn on was a cow with a calf that charged my 4 wheeler when I was out riding. I went out bird hunting yesterday, didn't pack a sidearm, and it could have cost me. I was walking a trail, and someone had strung up moose parts in some trees, didn't see them until a bear in some where in the thick alders started huffing and popping his jaws. A mighty poor feeling having only #7 1/2 birdshot in my O/U, and my SS Bisley in 45 Colt absent from my hip. When 4 wheeling I generally carry a SRHK 454 in a shoulder rig. I will mention that I shoot at least once a week to ensure that I am extremely proficient at handling my firearms, I shoot both long and short guns on these outings. I currently have a SS non-ported Marlin Guide Gun on layaway, with a good sling, should carry nicely.

Generally speaking, yes. What I carry depends on what I'm doing. If I'm hunting and carrying a rifle or shotgun, then I go with a 4" stainless .22 revolver. If I'm just hiking, berry picking, or whatever, I usually carry a 4" .41 magnum titanium tracker. It's lightweight enough to make carrying it almost unnoticable, yet sufficiently powerful for last-ditch efforts. I'm under no illusion that any handgun caliber is the equivalant of a big-bore rifle, but it is infinitely preferable to no weapon at all.
<br>
<br>As others have noted, it's not generally the bears you ought to worry about anyway.

I carry a Sig P220 45 when I'm out running around in the woods. It has nothing to do with bears.
<br>
<br>The only times I worry about bears is when I'm hunting, flyfishing or dip-netting. I always have a 12 guage pump nearby while doing any kind of fishing. If I'm hunting, I always happen to have something along.
<br>
<br>

I've never taken one out into the field with me.

Very seldom. I have a .357 mag around here somewhere for two legged varmits, and a couple .22s, one of which I used to put my dog down a couple months ago. Other than that, I haven't carried one afield in years, unless hunting grouse. Otherwise, I'm either nekkid, packing a hunting rifle, or my '94 .30-30.
<br>
<br>When I lived in Denver and went up in the mountains every weekend on sanity trips, I never left home without something. Trust me, Alaskan wilderness is way safer than the Front Range, which is a hundred times safer than Denver itself.
<br>
<br>My hunting partner never goes anywhere without his .44 Mag, no matter what else he is packing - a wasted 5 pounds in my opinion, but diffrent strokes.....