Carry two rifles

[pete f]

I almost always bring a collection of guns to the deer shack. some just for the fun of showing off what is new. some for back ups. and a couple of extras incase the nephews show up with a newb friend or someone from outof state who wants to go deer hunting.

As far as carrying two, have only done that twice. I had a wonderful tree stand that was more tree house than tree stand but from it I had a commanding view of our creek, the ravine along side it and the open pasture behind me, and while hunting there opening day I saw several house cats. Now we hunt a fair distance from any permanent resident and these did not look like fluffy the pet cat. As we like to keep the grouse population as high as possible on the land, kitty cats are determined to be feral and without value. rather than scare off anything reasonably close, I carried my old springfield .22 with that day and after I got a doe a 7;50 am i spent the rest of the day cleaning out kitties with the .22.

I also usually hunt with a .22 kit gun in my bag. If you spine a deer and want to finish it, a .22 in the ear hole works better than a 300 savage for that.

 

[Steve 48]

2 guns

It really depends on the season what I carry. For deer season, I carry 2 30-06 rifles and a 44 mag handgun. For pheasants, etc.. I carry 2 shotguns and a 22 cal pistol. For Prairie Dogs, I might bring my 22-250, 223, a contender in 223 and a 22 pistol. I always like to have a back-up just in case I have a problem with 1 gun. Steve 48

 

[Dr.Rob]

Carry two? No.

Take two? Often. A back-up rifle is essential in camp or in the truck. I've loaned my back up out several times to camp members who have broken a scope.

We keep a 30-30 Marlin around deer/elk camp for this reason. A Remington 1903-a3 with a sporter stock was loaned out a time or two. over the years more people I hunt with have brought back-up rifles.

During antelope season I've seen some guys take 3 rifles (multiple tags in WYO) just to 'blood' each one.

My 'personal' back up elk rifle is a 12 ga shotgun loaded with slugs... unusual in Colorado but it works. My usual rifle doesn't have back-up iron sights, so if I booger up a scope I don't want to be reduced to hunting only with my handgun. (Ruger .44 mag.).

I almost always have a handgun with me when I'm hunting. When it's big game it's a big-game legal pistol.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

When I go hunting, I take a spare rifle -- and have needed one on occasion. I've also loaned my spare to others who wished they'd brought a spare.

But carrying one rifle is enough -- especially up and down the steep slopes of the Rockies, thank you.

My solution to the appearance of a tasty li'l critter when I'm hunting big critters is the Hammond Game Getter. It slips nicely into a shirt pocket and gets the job done. For .30-06, I use a swaged 00 Buckshot (the swage comes with the Game getter) and a #2 (brown) Ramset blank.

 

[EricTheBarbarian]

im the kind of person that when i go out into the field i like to hunt basically any animal i can shoot legally and is in season, or for things like ground hogs or coyotes where there is no season. I usually carry a rifle and my mossberg 500. A sling is a definite must if you are carrying more than rifle. For squirrels or rabbits on the run I like to use the shotgun if in range but if out of range use my rifle depending on what it is. I have do not have one but if you would like more than one option but with one rifle get an over/under shotgun/rifle, my buddy has one for squirrel hunting. an over under 410 22. definetly comes in handy

 

[LlanoEstacado]

Where I hunt, during firearms deer season it is legal to carry more than one firearm. I generally hunt out of a tree stand. I have only one long gun that's legal - happens to be an inline ML, so that's the only rifle I carry. I do also pack my scoped .44 mag revolver, in the hope of taking a deer with it. So far, the only shots I have had ( 2 - I'm new to deer hunting) were farther out than I was comfortable with the .44 mag. The first time the .44 was all I had (other than a touch of "buck fever") and I passed on the shot. Actually it was after I passed on the shot that I figured out it was too far, I passed because I knew my host's car, which he had loaned me, was directly in line of fire about 100 yards out past the deer. I figured if I missed and shot the car, it would ruin my day! My host later said, "you should have gone ahead and shot - that old car would'nt have cared!" The next time I had a shot, I KNEW it was too long for the .44 & dropped the buck with one shot from my .50 TC. I later stepped off 130-135 yards. The shot was across an open area, the other way was wooded & if I had a shot that way, the .44 would be best. So, 2 guns works for me but don't think I could manage 2 long guns!