[Amadeus]

What kind of pistol do you wear on your hip as a back up to your rifle or shotgun? Make/Barrel/Finish/Caliber? And what's that thing loaded with?

[sumpnz]

I carry my Ruger .40S&W pistol with 155-165gr hollow points. It's not so much a backup to the rifle as it is a defensive sidearm available if the rifle is not appropriate or practical for the situation. If a downed animal needed a finishing shot, I would probably use that at close range rather then my rifle.

If I lived where woods hunting was typical, I might carry a .357 or .44 Magnum carbine with a matching revolver as backup so that if my rifle was rendered inoperable I could continue the hunt with the handgun.

If I get drawn for hunting this year I will take two rifles with me. One will be my primary and the other a backup so that I can still hunt if something on one rifle or scope breaks down. Obviously I would only actually carry one at a time though.

[RCL]

When I carry a back up it is either a Ruger Bisley Vaquero in .45 Colt, or a S&W Mountain Gun in .44 Mag. Both are stainless with short barrels. However, quite often, when deep woods hunting, a revolver is my primary weapon, and I opt for something with a longer barrel.

[smokemaker]

I usually carry a SS Dan Wesson .357 with either the 2 1/2 or 6 inch barrel, depending what I'm doing. With the 6" tube I use 150 grain cast bullets and HS 7. ( A copy of Skeeter Skelton's favorite .357 load, but different powder) With the shorter tube I use Federal 125 grain factory stuff, as it shoots that stuff best with the short barrel. The long version of the gun goes with me when I'm deer or small game hunting, and the 2 1/2 barrel usually is for hiking and scouting.
But I recently learned from my new canadian friends on THR that a sidearm when black bear hunting is absolutely unnecessary and even foolish, so I'll be sure to leave the gun I carry almost all the time at home if I go bear hunting.:neener:

[gbran]

I do a lot of handgun hunting. I generally carry a 454 SRH for critter defense. When I hunt quail in the mountains (w/shotgun), I also carry a 22 mag scoped revolver for squirrel, rabbits and varmints.

[Dan the Man]

I carry either a:

Stainless Ruger Vaquero 8" barrel in .45 colt loaded with Buffalo Bore
325 gr LBT-LFN (hard cast lead flat nose).

or

S&W Model 27 5" barrel in .357 magnum loaded with 180 grain Winchester Supreme Partition Gold.

The Ruger clearly is more powerful. The M27 is very accurate. If my belt were bigger, maybe I'd carry both. :)

Regards
--Dan

[Vick]

"I generally carry a 454 SRH for critter defense"


Wow, I have to say I almost feel out gunned:D .
I usually carry my glock 20 stuffed with either 175gr silver tips or the 170grn norma load. I realize this is a slightly smaller round than is common for woods use, but I get the LE full capacity mags, and have practiced A LOT with this pistol, I know exactly where and what I'm going to hit. So, if it came down to something big and angry with lots of teeth (not common here in GA ) or something geeking, angry, and full of chemicals ( very common here in GA ) I feel very comfortable with this gun. I don't know if I would recomend this particular round to someone unless they had a good bit of time to prctice. It has a little jump to it. Probably not as bad as some of the bigger revovlers, but in the light plastic frame you know it's not a 9mm. I have had good success with the round against deer and dogs though. I have yet to introduce it to a hog, but I feel pretty confident it will work. At our last qualification, it penetrated a Chevy truck door ( I know Big Deal after all It's a chevy, a Yugo would have stopped it though :p ) and then a level 2a vest, so hopefully the gristle plast won't be a match for it.

[Mr. Chitlin]

Glock 27 loaded with 165 grain Gold Dots.

[MacPelto]

Ruger Single Six .22lr I mostly hunt with a shotgun, so I like to have a .22 for the occasional squirrel. Finishing something off with a .22 saves some mess, too.

[gbran]

I do use the 454 for hogs and bigger animals in addition to critter defense. Will be taking it to Alaska in a few weeks. But I agree with you that a good 10mm is very good for critter defense. I've considered a G20/G29 combination. One for range, hunting and other uses and the other for ccw. I can't imagine anything in your neck of the woods you can't take with the 10mm. But....... hunting an animal is different from defending youself against that animal. The 454 gives me the ability to shoot at longer ranges, it has a fairly flat trajectory and still has lots of energy at the longer ranges.

[gbran]

You're not helping me fight off my fever to buy 10mm.

[H&Hhunter]

I've carried a alot of different stuff but my current and long time favorite is a G-20 in 10MM. I find it to be the most awesome combination of power, capacity and compactness available. I LOVE the 10MM. 200gr XTPs make this little bugger into a .41special that carries 15+1. What a pistol...Oh and did i mention it's accurate as can be as well?

I also carry a SW 629 mountain gun in .44 on occasion.

[CAPTAIN MIKE]

My preferred sidearm backup is a Kimber .45 CDP in a Fobus Holster, loaded with Extreme Shock .45 ammo.

[JOE MACK]

:confused: Back up? What back up? The handgun has been my main hunting arm for more than 3 decades.;)

[Art Eatman]

Every blue moon or so I'll carry a handgun along, but generally, not. Already got an '06...

:), Art

[H&Hhunter]

Already got an '06...

Art.............

There you go spoutin that gol dern common sense again.

Woukld you quit it... Before none of have any reason to buy anymore guns you ole kill joy!!:D

[Vick]

Gbran,
"You're not helping me fight off my fever to buy 10mm."

Give in! You'll never regret it.
I love mine. It began out of necessity. When I went through the acadamy, I had to purchase my own sidearm. The 10mm was cheapest, because of low demand. I even sold it at one time, but like that old girlfriend, I had to give it one more go :D . You'll cuss me if you try to buy cheap practice ammo off the shelf, but I guess with the 454 you're used to that. I generally by mine by the case from a couple of local factory reloading companies. Anyway, it is a great gun. I'm partial to the glock, but you can still find S&W's around, EAA started chambering the witness in it ( heard bad things though ), and there are a couple of others out there. I'm still trying to find a 10mm carbine. Now that would be fun!

H&H HUNTER,
"Oh and did i mention it's accurate as can be as well?"

My favorite trick is to set empty snuff cans at the 25yrd line and knock 'em down. I once had a Cheif Deputy who was a competition shooter. One day he hollars " hey Vickery, let me see that thing ". He walks to somewhere between 40-45 yards and commences to empty a mag into a siloette(sp). Every one was a head shot, most cranial vault, but he was one H%LL of a pistol shot. I still can't make it do that.

I know carrying a rifle is much more useful, but a sidearm does have some uses. Last year I took a doe in some really thick stuff that my scope wouldn't pick her out of clearly due to the shadows. I have used it when the shot was so close movement with the rifle wasn't practicle. Besides, I honestly can't remember the last time I haven't carried some form of sidearm anywhere. I guess it just seems normal to me. Kind of like wearing my watch.

[Art Eatman]

I have been known to occasionally tote a Delta Elite. Generally, though, the dope smugglers stay out of the back country during deer season; and, if you don't bother them, they won't bother you. But it's awful rare that another human sees me before I see him.

When I'm quail hunting in the back country, I carry a Redhawk in case an irate buck attacks. 7-1/2 isn't a good deer load.

(South Texas hunters have been known to blind a buck with quail shot. The ensuing rodeo of trying to cut Ol' Bucky's throat is an exciting time.)

Art

[one-shot-one]

ruger super blackhawk 7 1/2" bbl. blue.
rem. 240gr. soft points.

[HARLEYCOLT]

Nothing like a Delta Elite loaded with Norma full power 200 gr bullets. cept maybe a HC 10mm:neener: with some DT's :fire:

[Newt]

I don't carry a backup very often, but when I do, I carry a S & W .357 wheel gun. It's for them times when that 4-speed just ain't gonna spit 'em out fast enough.

[Dr.Rob]

.44 Mag Ruger Vaquero in glossy stainless, with a 7.5 inch barrel in a crossdraw flap holster and buffalo horn grips. Stoked with Winchester 240 gr soft points. That's for deer/elk/bear.

On an antelope hunt I'll strap on whatever pistol suits my mood.. from a custom .45 to a Luger.

[JShirley]

In the past, I've carried a Glock 23 loaded with 155 grain XTP's or a Smith 657 most often.

This year, I believe I'll be carrying a Blackhawk 4 5/8" or a 9x23mm.

There have been times when the light was fading in the woods (still legal), and it looked like I was about to get a shot at a close deer. I've been glad to have a pistol at those times.

John

[DigMe]

Ruger Blackhawk .357 mag SS w/ 4 5/8 barrel loaded with Remington 180gr sjhp's.

brad cook

[Turk]

two years ago while Elk hunting I carried my Smith 44 Classic with a cast 300 gr. LBT sytle bullet. My thougt was if I had a close in shot (50 yards or less) I'd take it with the 44. But after two days of humping up and down the ridges I stopped carrying the 44 and only carried my 9.3 x 62mm.


Turk

[Guns_and_Labs]

It used to be an S&W 629 (.44 RemMag) Mountain Gun with 300 gr hard cast bullets. I just picked up a S&W 329 Sc and am trying to find a magnum load that doesn't make my hand go numb. If I find one, I'll switch, but it's not looking good so far.

If I'm in dope country instead of bear country, I find myself wondering about those G20 10 mm's.

[ReadyontheRight]

Ruger Redhawk in .44 mag. I have not yet shot a deer with it, but this year it kept me in the stand an extra few hours.

It was -12 F on opening morning. I got to the deer stand an hour before sunrise and stayed ther until 10am or so. I climbed down to get some blood flowing to the frozen feet -- removing the cartridge from my bolt action .270. I reloaded and still-hunted along the edge of a field for a while.

When I returned to the stand, I removed the cartridge and climbed up. When I tried to reload, I couldn't get the bolt closed. The bolt had frozen. It cleaned up and worked nicely back at camp with a little Rem oil, but my sidearm allowed me to stay up in the stand through the lunch hour when other hunters sometimes kick up deer walking back to camp.

Really, I just like carrying the big old .44 in the woods whenever I can because it's fun and reassuring.:)

[Harve Curry]

Either a Colt SAA in 44spl or 45lc, both with my own handloads.
Hardly go anywhere without one or the other.

[Greybeard]

Depends on what and where huntin'. Most common is airweight 5-holer with .38 shot loads keyed up in first two chambers.

[org]

When I'm in the backcountry I carry a 1991 Colt. When I'm carrying my rifle, I replace the 1991 with more water. I find it's more useful and actually weighs LESS as the day goes on.

[birdv]

I carried a little 380 until I had to use it. A 380 just does not have the stopping power that I want when my friend takes it upon himself to shoot a boar in the butt instead of the heart or head.

Now I carry a Sig p229 in .357sig and don't hunt with people that can't shoot.

[SapperLeader]

I still havent made it out on a hunting trip, but my backcountry sidearm when hiking/backpacking is my xd-9 with gold dot 124+p. Its more for two legged predators anyway. I really want a 10mm 1006, but that will probally have to wait until late fall, as Im getting garand and 03 springfield this summer from cmp.

[halvey]

.22 Buckmark. To finish off small game.