Deer Hunting with a rifle, Do you also carry a handgun?

[Shooter973]

Do you carry a handgun when hunting with a rifle? I carry a large bore handgun when I hunt and if given a reasonable opportunity I'll use the Handgun as my primary weapon . If the range is fairly close and the target is not moving I'll use the handgun and if it is to far away I'll use the rifle. I only use iron sights on both the rifle and the handgun. Using a scope sighted Hi-powered rifle is just not enough of a challenge for me anymore. Cast bullets in both rifle and handgun too.

 

[dakotasin]

for the most part, no. handgun adds a lot of weight, and offers no shooting advantage. there are exceptions, though... if i am hunting an area that is not far from the truck (farmland, for example), i will bring a handgun along for the challenge in rolling coyotes at range (longest thus far out of my 357 has been coyote at 80 yards, skunk at 65)...

but, if i plan to be further from the truck, or gone for a longer period of time, handguns don't come along.

 

[TallPine]

I always carry handgun, hunting or not.

 

[Art Eatman]

Sometimes, but I really would rather travel light. Don't need the extra weight during a few miles of walking-hunting...

Art

 

[Steve in PA]

When I handgun hunt.....I handgun hunt and leave the rifle at home. When I rifle hunt I usually have a small .357mag with me. I'll use it to finish off an animal (if need be) or more importantly, I carry it in case something happens to my rifle/scope.

I was hunting a few years ago.....typical rainy first day here in PA. Come daylight I found my scope had fogged. So instead of having to quit and head back to the truck I just picked an area which suited the pistols range and continued hunting.

When I'm carrying my rifle as my primary hunting tool I use it as such. Trying to go back and forth between rifle and pistol could cost a person a deer of a life time. Now, chances of that happening are slim but thats what I do.

 

[Grayrock]

Yeah- I'll stick my PT-99AF on my belt or in my backpack. I was hunting in south Texas last year and got bored on the tower blind. Started walking thru the cactus that was up to my shoulders. Got an eerie feeling knowing there were more than deer out there, so I shouldered my Weatherby and got out my side arm and eased my stress level. Walking thru the wild with all that cactus was made much easier. Also, with the eTrex GPS unit a buddy loaned me it made finding my way back to the pick up point a lot easier. I gotta get me one of those!

 

[Zeke Menuar]

When I am out in the woods, I carry my LW Commander. It is light enough that packing it isn't a problem.

ZM

 

[critter]

ALWAYS.

 

[sm]

Yep, always a handgun regardless of critter , regardless if using rifle, shotgun or handgun...on handgun there is another-concealed.

 

[MeekandMild]

It depends on whether I am hunting in hog country or coyote country. I was out working on my deer stand today and I heard coyotes in the woods. A pistol gives you a nice warm feeling when its just you and the hogs/coyotes. Lack of a pistol makes you feel weird.

 

[Mr. Chitlin]

Always

I hunt on my own property, so I always carry a handgun when I go out. If I am rifle hunting, I usually have a Glock 27 tucked in a chest pocket on my coveralls. It fits perfectly, and is unseen. If I am in the woods, but don't have a rifle with me, (checking feeders, squirrel hunting, just walking), I carry a Glock 20 in a Fobus paddle holster.

 

[Brian Williams]

Yep, I carry a handgun while hunting but not concealed, tis against the law here in PA to carry concealed while hunting.

 

[Smoke]

Always. Mainly in case I come across a critter that I might be able to hit (hogs) or in case I become bored and want to play a little.

Art said:

Don't need the extra weight during a few miles of walking-hunting...

...and I need the extra weight.

 

[45crittergitter]

I always carry a handgun, period.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Yes -- A large bore if I think I might get close to a deer or if I'm shotgun hunting and there may be bears around. A .22 if the deer are sparse and I might get a rabbit or grouse while digging through the brush.

 

[WYO]

The rules around here won't let you shoot any big game with a handgun unless it has over 500 ft. lbs. of energy remaining at 100 yards (even for a finishing shot), so I don't lug something meeting that criteria because it's too much extra weight. I usually carry a compact light handgun in a front pocket, mostly as a signalling device or survival tool if I get separated from my rifle, such as in a fall or slide down a hillside.

 

[Rebel Gunman HK]

Always carry a back up.

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

About fifteen years ago I ran into Zed the hillbillyboy who said "Ah spooked his der he was a trakkin'" ! And proceeded to stick his rifle in my belly. I literally dropped my rifle and begged him not to shoot me. It scared the ghost out of me. I then swore to myself to always carry a sidearm and to always hunt private land.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Always.

And if its deer/elk/bear season its gonna be a pistol that's big-game legal. ilearned my lesson while packing out an elk my dad shot. I looked up from a rest stop we had taken to see a cow elk standing 20 FEET away. All I had on me was a Ruger 22 pistol. My buddy Dick had only a Ruger 9mm. I bought a Vaquero 44 magnum when I got home.

Yes it wieghs more, yes it is a lot MORE pistol than one needs for signalling or shooting a squirrel in a survival situation, but the fact remains that the 44 is a respectable deer killer.

I don't go into the woods without a "serious" pistol of some kind.

 

[Vic303]

I used to hunt in KS, and would carry a 4" Ruger GP100 .357 in addition to my rifle. The land I hunted on last, was known to have some "longtailed kitties" on it at times according to the farmer, who is a friend of mine. Alas, the state of KS refuses to accept the mountain lion has returned (non feral cats too). There was even gamecamera footage of one in Lawrence on the West Campus area last week, and the power-that-be still deny it occurred. Idiots...

 

[Joe Demko]

Nah. Like Steve, when I pistol hunt, I pistol hunt. Here in PA, none of my defensive-type pistols would be legal for hunting anyway (no autoloaders). If I'm going to haul one of my wheelies around, it will be to hunt specifically with it. Since I hunt my own property, I don't worry about Zed the Hillbilly Boy. I am Zed the Hillbilly boy.

 

[bernie]

Almost every time.

 

[Sunray]

"...in case I become bored and want to play a little..." You do any "play" shooting and you might as well go home. Any game anywhere near you is gone. You don't need a "back up" when you have a rifle. If you do, you shouldn't be hunting.
Did you call the police and report Zed's actions? If this is true, he committed a crime and you should have had him arrested. And how would having a handgun helped you when he had his rifle pointed at you?

 

[TallPine]

You don't need a "back up" when you have a rifle. If you do, you shouldn't be hunting.

You keep your rifle in your hands while you are dressing your deer ...?

Besides, last time I went back to bring my pickup closer to where my deer was down. Sure wasn't carrying the rifle back into the woods to get the dead deer.

 

[Art Eatman]

Sunray, I suggest not making categorical statements about deer and guns. On one cross-country hunt, my group of three collected up at the edge of a canyon. It had been a dry run across maybe three or four miles of country. We decided to take a break and then head back to camp.

A mild argument developed over anybody's skill at hitting a white rock, offhand, at about 300 yards. After each of us had taken a couple of shots, we called it quits and started to leave. One of the guys glanced down into the canyon, grinned, and nailed a big ten-point mulie buck that had finally gotten out of bed to look at us. It was every bit of 75 yards.

It was a real PITA getting that big sucker out of the canyon and to a jeep trail.

But, no playing, no deer.

, Art