# Being Prepaired When Hunting- Is 1 Gun enough?



## achpmt (Dec 1, 2008)

I am a proponent of preparedness and CC but it is hunting season most people feel safe walking around w/a shotgun or rifle, I would like to include this: When hiking in the woods, hunting, fishing or not I always advise carrying a handgun of some sort. Of course my advice is the same no matter where you are, beach, woods, McDonalds… I especially consider it important to carry a second handgun while hunting. It just seems like good insurance. When you set the rifle or shotgun down to get firewood, water, something to eat or dress a harvest it will not give any protection if a hungry bear, big cat, wild big hog or even a bad human decides to take advantage of you. Animals are smart and most associate a gunshot with fresh food, it is important to not be part of the meal.
That said what to carry? Something robust, safe and powerful and that leaves out most automatics outside of the .45Colt design in a heavy load and high velocity or .50 Desert Eagle. That leaves revolvers and the most powerful and safest are single actions in calibers of .44mag, .45LC and most certainly the .454Causull. Giving up a little safety a double action revolver is much faster. Just as important as the caliber, is being able to hit something when you need to, so pick out your handgun and practice, practice and practice some more, from the holster- that is where it will most likely be when an incident arises. In bear country especially it could save your or someone else’s life.
And, don’t forget the ammo at least two full reloads full.
Dr. H


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Excellent advice!
Some "working gun"holsters can be fitted with cartrige loops to hold that reload.


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## RedRocker (Nov 6, 2008)

Makes sense to me.


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## Backwoods (Oct 27, 2008)

Good advice. A good handgun in a serious caliber (Something starting with a 4) on the belt beats one leaning against a tree 20 yds. away when a nosey bear comes to investigate your camp.


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## bonanacrom (Dec 1, 2008)

*prepaired when hunting- is one gun enough ?*

I disagree on a couple of points, first any hand gun you feel comfortable with is the right hand gun for you. Second it doesn't matter if its an auto or revolver but if I had to depend on it for my life I would want an auto because as fast as I pull the trigger is as fast as the bullets come out. Another point is if you ask anyone that hunts bears and knows bears they will tell you its better to keep you rifle with you than to depend on a hand gun as the hand guns only seem to piss off the bears.


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## Backwoods (Oct 27, 2008)

Bananacrom said:


> I disagree on a couple of points, first any hand gun you feel comfortable with is the right hand gun for you. Second it doesn't matter if its an auto or revolver but if I had to depend on it for my life I would want an auto because as fast as I pull the trigger is as fast as the bullets come out. Another point is if you ask anyone that hunts bears and knows bears they will tell you its better to keep you rifle with you than to depend on a hand gun as the hand guns only seem to piss off the bears.


I have to agree what you are comfortable with is best............Unless it's a
.25 automatic. 

Seriously though.........I just like a revolver better for backup carry in the outdoors. My city CCW gun is an auto because it's easliy concealable and it's 15 round mag and two reloads are better for dealing with multiple attackers than a revolver. Out in the woods it's a different story. I'm not restricted to a concealed carry so I can carry openly in a outside belt holster. I can also vary my loads by loading the first couple of chambers with shot cartridges to deal with any snake or small varmints that cross my path with bad intent. Then the next 4 can be heavier loads to deal with anything bigger. I'm not interested in how many rounds I can launch. I want the biggest, heaviest. hard punching round I can load because If I'm ever confronted with a large attacking animal I'm gonna need all the power I can get.....

I'll admit in bear country I would want to keep my rifle with me all the time but sometimes you need your hands for other things and nothings closer than a handgun on your belt. I also do have to say I've known more than a few people that hunted bear (One was an Alaskan guide) and they ALL wore a large caliber handgun as a backup for their rifle. Seemed to work for them...........


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## Big B (Oct 28, 2008)

Whenever I hunt, i have a rifle or shotgun, always a side arm, 40 cal S&W and a large knife or two, at least 7" to 10" blade in a scabbard.
Also a small light pack with overnight supplies.
Better a bit much than not enough.


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## endurance (Nov 26, 2008)

I guess I'm the odd man out on this one. I've been hiking, biking, hunting and backpacking since the mid-1980s when I started working as a forest service wilderness trail crew member. I've spent hundreds of nights in a tent or even just under the stars and covered probably in excess of 10,000 miles of trails on foot or on my bike. In that time I have only seen one bear and two mountain lions in my life. Neither took an interest in me. 

If you look at the CDC data for how people really die:
Heart attack= 50.9/100,000
Suicide= 11.0/100,000
Homicide= 6.1/100,000
Accidental discharge of firearms= 0.3/100,000
Animal attacks= .0000008/100,000

Why do I bring all that up? Well, when I go hunting at the age of 42, statistically, I have about a 375,000x greater chance of shooting myself accidentally fatally than getting attacked fatally by an animal (also, do you know the most deadly animal in America? The honey bee, but dogs are the most deadly mammal. Fido killed 33 Americans last year). My odds of getting shot intentionally on the way to my hunting spot are about 20x great, the odds of killing myself are about 1.5x greater than being killed by somebody else, and of course, the odds of me having a heart attack on the way to kill the deer because I have an additional four pound handgun on my side are much greater still. 

So, IMHO, your fears are unwarranted, at least as things are today. Could things change dramatically to the point where people will come and hunt you down after you've brought down your quarry? Yes, but by that time, I'll be hunting with my FN/FAL and that's a far more effective combat weapon than any .50 caliber handgun.


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

I'm not worried about being attacked by animals while in the woods. Yes, we have bears. Black ones, not grizzlies. They are so firghtened by humans that you never hardly see one. I'm only seen three, and I've hunted for over 40 years. Some have claimed to have seen mountain lions, but offically, my state (Virginia) no longer is home to the big cats.

I do carry a handgun. I carry it concealed...even in the woods. I'm more interested in the people I may meet who have dark thoughts than the animals I sometimes stumble across. In fact, a number of people have been murdered on the Applacthian Trail and similar locations while none have been injured or killed by animals.

Snakes? Carry shot loads for snakes? Just get out of it's way. Win for you. Win for the snake. No problem. We don't have to kill everything we see, do we? I can't ever remember being attacked by a snake, although I've seen lots of them.

Even those of you in grizzly country...would you shoot one with a 30-30? Probably not. But a 44mag doesn't have any more killing power! Of course, I, too, would rather have a 44mag than nothing, but you get my point.

Practice the old Norse saying, "Never be more than two steps from your sword" when you set your rifle down.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Anybody check out the Ruger super blackhawk hunter edition?
I've owned lots of working guns over the years and the only thing that comes close is another Ruger,a Redhawk.

I caterogize the Redhawk as a multi-use weapon,its double action,and with "Special"loads or light magnum loads,it would be a formidable fighting weapon!as in one shot drops!


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## Washkeeton (Oct 18, 2008)

bonanacrom said:


> I disagree on a couple of points, first any hand gun you feel comfortable with is the right hand gun for you. Second it doesn't matter if its an auto or revolver but if I had to depend on it for my life I would want an auto because as fast as I pull the trigger is as fast as the bullets come out. Another point is if you ask anyone that hunts bears and knows bears they will tell you its better to keep you rifle with you than to depend on a hand gun as the hand guns only seem to piss off the bears.


I guess you havent ever been to Alaska then... Most of the folks that hunt up here take 2 things..especially when they are caribou or Moose hunting, not just bear...They take their rifle with them and a 44 or larger revolver... Why because when it counts the revolvers wont jam and the semi autos--do and if it is me or them let it be them and me not fuddling with a gun to shoot them with cause it jammed.

There is a lot of human bear encounters on the Kenai when fishing season is underway... believe me there is a lot of bears in the rivers looking for the same fish you are. I have heard tell that the blackies will be the ones up here to come back up behind you and hunt you also... less so the grizzlies. I havent been in blackie dominated country so not sure if that is true by experience. I do know that I had a black bear taking up residence less than a quarter mile from my house and he as well as the local wolverine came through my yard this last summer. The wolverine took me from 30 free range chickens to 7. The blackie dens here by my house somewhere. He hangs out in the close by field and goes down the road when the salmon come into the stream about a mile away. The griz that we had in the neighborhood stayed about 2 miles back by the stream most all summer.

If I am hiking I usually take the 12 gage with the variation of the 00 buck/slug/00 buck then slug slug. The only problem with that is you have to almost be kissing the dangd bear to shoot it and have the effect you want on it.

But again that is just me.


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## bonanacrom (Dec 1, 2008)

I wasn't trying to piss you off I was disagreeing. Of everyone I know that carries an auto hand gun not one has ever had one jam on them not at the range or shooting at stumps in the woods. Can they jam ? yes. Can a revolver click on a dud round ? yes. What are the odds of ether happening ? slim. As for Alaska there has never been a report of someone killing a bear with a hand gun dooring a bear attack, at least none that made the news. And I have talked to Alaskan hunting guides face to face and there the ones that said keep your rifle next to you at all times when hunting because the hand guns piss them off. Plus its a little faster to pick a rifle up than to reach for a hand gun that's in a hustler and draw it .


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## Washkeeton (Oct 18, 2008)

You didnt piss me off. My friends hubbie always carries a 44 or larger and he is a guide.. That was his suggestions as I was out buying for my own home. I asked him what he thought. He lives in the bush, 80 miles from the nearest road... the only way in or out is by chartered plane. He is in that high black bear area up here. That is mostly all what they eat is black bear. There isnt any moose really left in the area because the bears pick them off. 

We had quite a few bear attacks on the trails this summer especially around Anchorage. The bright and intellegent folks that were attacked didnt carry any sort of firearm... They did however have their dogs with them.. which probably the bears were interested in and more so than not prevoked the attack. There were also a quite a few wolves attacking dogs on the trails this past summer. There was a couple of scarry moments on the Kenai with a mom and her cubs. Bears come in size large here, even the blackies.


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## bonanacrom (Dec 1, 2008)

I am well aware of the size blacks can reach if there's good food for them, I live in PA and most years this is where the record sized bears are taken. The last time I was looking at records taken here was in the 90's I think and the record was over 800 pounds, that's bigger than the average they claim for grizzlys in the Midwest of 750 pounds.


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## Denny (Oct 14, 2008)

Before jumping into it, you also might want to check the hunting laws for your area. There are some places that don't allow a handgun while hunting.

I do agree on using whichever firearm you feel the most comfortable with. Being former law enforcement, I can tell you first hand that it makes a night and day difference when it counts.

I disagree with the part about not being able to rapidly discharge the rounds of a revolver. My first choice is always my Glock23, but my Taurus Ultralite .357 can be emptied just as fast (revolvers come on double action too). Autos do jam. It happens to the best of them, but that's what going to the range is for. If you don't have trouble at the range when you unload a few hundred rounds every month or whenever, then the likelyhood of it happening in your time of need is very little. I'm in a comfort zone with my weapon of choice and ammo of choice. I think I can unholster and squeeze of two in the chest and one in the head faster than I can pick up a rifle and sight something in.


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## bonanacrom (Dec 1, 2008)

I believe the origanal post had mentioned having to put you rifle down when doing something as in skinning an animal when hunting. My comment about speed was in that area, I believe (personally) that you can get a shot of faster if your only picking up your rifle and pulling the trigger than having to release your handgun from a holster, draw and shoot, not how fast you can empty the gun. As to hand guns while hunting ? If you have a concealed carry permit then you can carry your hand gun with you while hunting regardless of the game laws about hunting with a hand gun. You just cant hunt with the handgun.


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## JeepHammer (Oct 10, 2008)

Magus said:


> Anybody check out the Ruger super blackhawk hunter edition?
> I've owned lots of working guns over the years and the only thing that comes close is another Ruger,a Redhawk.
> 
> I caterogize the Redhawk as a multi-use weapon,its double action,and with "Special"loads or light magnum loads,it would be a formidable fighting weapon!as in one shot drops!


I have carried Ruger revolvers for years, they are TOUGH, SAFE, DEPENDABLE and Reasonably Priced.

Bill Ruger understood and kept the natural balance in the firearms, but used new and improved materials when they were available.

My .357 Mag GP 100 in stainless was a 'Gimmie', I won it at a shooting match and I really didn't care for it when I saw it...
After handling it, and actually going out and shooting it, It's still one of my favorite handguns after nearly 30 years!

I also like the cylinder change versions, in the single action guns.
It's REALLY NICE to be able to shoot surplus .45 ACP ammo in a .45 Long Colt revolver,

Or 9mm/.38 ammo through a .357 revolver.
Sure knocks back the price and recoil of practice in the back yard and saves having to load 'Target/Practice' ammo and full power 'Hunting' ammo!

I'm not really a 'Pistol' guy, but I am a Practical person, and for my money, Ruger anything is hard to beat!
Amazing usefulness and durability for the price, and anytime I've sent anything back to the factory for any reason, I've received AMAZING service!


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## JeepHammer (Oct 10, 2008)

bonanacrom said:


> I believe the origanal post had mentioned having to put you rifle down when doing something as in skinning an animal when hunting. My comment about speed was in that area, I believe (personally) that you can get a shot of faster if your only picking up your rifle and pulling the trigger than having to release your handgun from a holster, draw and shoot, not how fast you can empty the gun. As to hand guns while hunting ? If you have a concealed carry permit then you can carry your hand gun with you while hunting regardless of the game laws about hunting with a hand gun. You just cant hunt with the handgun.


I hunt in Alaska where there is a real Bear danger.
Bears actually move towards the sound of a shot. They have learned there is a free meal there, so if you don't field dress and move out pretty quickly, Chances are good you WILL encounter a bear.

Most bears are smaller and younger, and can be bluffed,
And I've never encountered a bear that it didn't turn away and leave on it's own...
Personally, I don't like taking the chance.

Bear pepper spray is usually more effective than a hand gun. 
You might think you are good with a handgun until you encounter a bear, THEN you find out you have pudding in your pants and your hand is shaking so badly you can't hit your own toes!!!

Bear spray fogs the area, and you don't need great aim!
You also see the spray and can correct your aim as you spray.

Bear spray won't call in more bears like pistol shots will...
Something to think about if you are practical about things and don't have 'Rambo' syndrome.

Something I learned from the guides,
A bear will *ALWAYS* APPROACH FROM THE SIGHT SIDE, AND HE WILL *ALWAYS* TRY TO BLUFF YOU AWAY FROM YOUR GAME BEFORE HE TRIES TO FIGHT.

And, just for the record,
My rifle is NEVER 20 or 30 feet away from me when I'm in bear country!
If the game is on the ground, my rifle is laying across the neck,
If we hoist up in a tree to clean, my rifle is leaning up against the tree at arms reach...

Hauling wood or water in camp, rifle is always slung across back.
Sawing wood, it's usually leaning against the sawbuck or chopping block within arms reach.

If I'm in the outhouse, it's leaning against the door frame inside with me...

If I'm tenting it, the rifle is laying on blankets next to the sleeping bag, muzzle down...

The ONLY time it's out of arms reach is when it's in the rack in the cabin.

That might just be the Military Training in me, 
It might be 'Situational Awareness',
Or a dose of paranoia, but when I'm someplace I'm not at the top of the food chain, I keep it close at hand!


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## mrboma (Nov 5, 2008)

*Revlovers*

Speaking from experience I would have to say that bang for the buck you should look into the Taurus Tracker line of revolvers.

Also, I do agree with carrying what you are comfortable and accurate with. I personally have Crimson Trace on ALL my pistols. Offhand, weakhand, etc... you WILL hit where the little red dot is. Fantatic training devices for dry-fire drills also.

Just my 0.02

Regards,
Mike


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

Washkeeton said:


> You didnt piss me off. My friends hubbie always carries a 44 or larger and he is a guide.. That was his suggestions as I was out buying for my own home. I asked him what he thought. He lives in the bush, 80 miles from the nearest road... the only way in or out is by chartered plane. He is in that high black bear area up here. That is mostly all what they eat is black bear. There isnt any moose really left in the area because the bears pick them off.
> 
> We had quite a few bear attacks on the trails this summer especially around Anchorage. The bright and intellegent folks that were attacked didnt carry any sort of firearm... They did however have their dogs with them.. which probably the bears were interested in and more so than not prevoked the attack. There were also a quite a few wolves attacking dogs on the trails this past summer. There was a couple of scarry moments on the Kenai with a mom and her cubs. Bears come in size large here, even the blackies.


I find the bear information provided by the two of you who either live in Alaska or spend time hunting there to be very interesting. Indeed, I have read where black bears are actually more likey to predate on humans than griz.
We are having an increase in our black bear population here in Virginia. One recently was in a neighbor's back porch sifting through the garbage. However, the Virginia bears have not demonstrated any agression towards humans to my knowledge. I would, however, be vigilant if having small children out playing in areas shared with bears, as I would be in areas with high populations of coyotes.

The Rugar revolvers are excellant handguns. I just don't happen to own one. I probably should.


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## Backwoods (Oct 27, 2008)

Jezcruzen said:


> Snakes? Carry shot loads for snakes? Just get out of it's way. Win for you. Win for the snake. No problem. We don't have to kill everything we see, do we? I can't ever remember being attacked by a snake, although I've seen lots of them.


What's wrong with shot loads??? Darn right I carry a couple in my woods bumming revolver. I've spent a fair amount of time in the woods and over the years I've had to shoot maybe 2 snakes so.... No.......I don't kill everything I see but I like to be PREPARED for things.


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

Backwoods said:


> What's wrong with shot loads??? Darn right I carry a couple in my woods bumming revolver. I've spent a fair amount of time in the woods and over the years I've had to shoot maybe 2 snakes so.... No.......I don't kill everything I see but I like to be PREPARED for things.


No, I don't have anything against shot loads. Its the intended purpose that some people have as to the reason they are necessary - to kill those awful meanising snakes.

In extreme conditions, such as a flood where snakes by the hundreds have taken refuge in and around occupied dwelling I certainly agree that some protection from those that are venomous and are stressed is warrented. But, in their natural environment killing a snake just because its a snake is ignorant on the part of the person doing the killing. Its hardly ever necessary. Just step out of the way and move on.

Just my two cents on the subject. No insult intended, of course.


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