Carrying a handgun along with a rifle during hunting season is a topic that gets discussed around our shop. To broaden the discussion, I post it here.

Do you carry a handgun when hunting with a rifle?

Have you ever had a need for a handgun while hunting with a rifle?

If you do not carry a handgun, why? And, were there occassions when you wished you had one?

Yes...I carry a Mod 19 S&W when hunting with a rifle and I am not more then a foot away from it at any given time. I have not needed it while hunting, but have had need of it while in camp on several ocasions. It's intended use was if I was in too close to an amimal to use a rifle for a finishing shot on a wounded animal, but has been more useful as a camp protector from that great preditor...MAN. On one ocasion my partner and I were preparing dinner when three big burly men stormed into camp and declared that we had taken their camp site. Upon rising from my cook fire my .357 magnum became visual and disarmed the situation. Their comment upon seeing that I was armed..."...but we can wait until you leave." We were there for nine days and never saw them again...

I carry my handgun everywhere I go. So I am sure when I find that right perfect rifle that fits in my hands just right my .40 cal p99 will be on my hip.
just finding the right rifle/rifles
a girl needs more than just one. or at least this girl does.
I've come to the conclusion I want a savage semi 270, browning bolt 30 06
and .22 mag henry.
just to start with.
how does one become an FFL dealer??

That is the perfect scenario of why I bought this gun in the first place.
worried about men coming into my camp.

I know babe(T) its the etiquette of the bush to welcome people in camp
but I dont agree with it. I see that as a threat especially after the scenarios like this one.
thanks bushy

.357 magnum add to list.

Keetoowah;if you are interested in a .357 from a long time .357 pistolero...S&W,and Taurus make them with titanium frames,and 7 shot cylinders.I've carried the 6 shooters(stainless) for years and when they came out with the titanium I had to see how LIGHT that they were-kinda like plastic weight!The 7 round cylinder is the fool the bad guy extra shot!
When I go to the"woods" nowadays,the titanium 7shooter is always under my arm-so light that sometimes I don't realise that I have it on!

keetoowah wrote:

That is the perfect scenario of why I bought this gun in the first place. worried about men coming into my camp. I know babe(T) its the etiquette of the bush to welcome people in camp but I dont agree with it. I see that as a threat especially after the scenarios like this one. thanks bushy..

Then don't camp with me, I'm not about to step on a twelve thousand year old tradition. I'm not afraid of anyone. The places where I used to hunt and generally use as my terms of reference were very isolated and when someone showed up in camp, the people there might be the first humans they'd seen in months, on their way back from a trapping or fishing camp (commercial fishing). My hunting partner at the time and I made a point of getting as far away from "highway hunters" and as far back into the lake and bush area as we could. Traveling by canoe we also got to places where powerboats weren't about to get to, northern Manitoba's a pretty big piece of real estate and most of it is still not accessible by roads.

I had one incident in my life where I was out with my hunting partner and we had three young kids with us. Two guys on their way to their trapline saw our fire and came in from the lake. They both knew my partner, came from the same reserve.They were drunk and one of them had a new .30-.30 winchester that he had to keep showing off He was waving the damn thing all over the place and I told him to put it down. He kept fooling around with it and I reached behind me, I had my .303. leaning against a tree behind my back. I popped the clip in and made it very clear that he should not be waving a rifle around in camp. His partner brought his rifle up and my partner brought his rifle up, we were probably a millisecond away from all blowing each other to hell. The drunk laughed, levered all the ammo out of his rifle and put it down. It was tense, but after that they sat down and had supper with us. Of course in Canada, we've got more laws about carrying a side arm than we have for pretty much anything else so I don't carry, but if I'd had one, it's what I would have used.

Save those that can not, due to laws, doesn't everyone carry a handgun while hunting?

When deer or large game hunting I carry a four inch 66 S&W with 165 grain HC SWC in an Andrews custom cross draw, belt rig. The gun sits right under my jacket at about a 45 degree angle. I carry the rifle in my right hand, being right handed.

As to use, I like sitting in an elevated shooting house or tree stand and have had, on several occasions, a deer walk up under me from behind. A 10-15 ft shot with the 165, dead between the shoulders, drops a deer on the spot every time. I sit with the rifle on the front rest and the Smith in my lap.

If I am out squirrel hunting I will have a Ruger Single Six with me.

Never had a problem in camp with two or four legged critters.
Ed

I always have a handgun on me in camp. I'm pretty certain that if anything in AZ is going to attack me in camp it will be either ants, mosquitoes or a human.
Sometimes I also carry it when calling coyotes just in case a close shot prsents itself (not yet, though) otherwise for small or big game I only carry my rifle or shotgun. That said, once in a while, if my pack is light, I will put a handgun inside it.

if you are camping with me then darling thats different isnt it?
not a lone woman in the woods. big burly canadian..

thank you troubleshooter. that sounds like what i am looking for in a gun.
pistalero or a taurus. what is the price range?

Arizona Hunter wrote:

I always have a handgun on me in camp. I'm pretty certain that if anything in AZ is going to attack me in camp it will be either ants, mosquitoes or a human.

Wow! don't ever want to run into them Arizona mosquitoes and ants if you need a handgun to get rid of them

Tracker, you got me laughing, too!
I could have phrased that better, thats for sure.

Hey Keetoowah, I bought my 6" Taurus mod. 66 .357 at a gunshow for $330. You can get them at a gunshop for around $380. I really like the way it shoots. It holds 7 rounds. I have a real good handload that I use too if that's what you decide to get. 1-1/2" group @ 50 yards using a tree branch for a rest.

I always carried a handgun when hunting in Michigan but it's illegal in Ohio. I still do it anyway when out coyote hunting.

Whether it's a shot gun or rifle, I carry my hog leg when hunting. I've used it so far to take out rattlesnakes. When I go off road with my Jeep, I take one of my 45 LC rifles (same cal. as my hog leg) + the hog leg.

Keep it coming...