I carry a Colt Commander 1911 .45, I backup shot a sheep with it and have shot some snakes with it .
No one ever said they were scared, but your gun jams, breaks, becomes malfunctioning? I just find it intelligent to carry a backup. Each to their own though, I just prefer to be prepared. I don't need a concealed carry permit but I have one and has nothing to do with being scared...just sayin'
I'm bow only.. so my "gun" don't jam :archer
Me too. If I get caught up in a predicament with another hunter and he pulls a gun, I would simply to a Judo roll while nocking an arrow comin up full draw! :phear
Read through this entire thread and it has been very intersting. Personally I have never carried a handgun for hunting, not even as a back up. Have there been a few times I "wished" I had had a hand gun on me, Yes! My father who is still lives in Western NY about 30 miles South of Buffalo has always carried a handgun for hunting. A Ruger Blackhawk 5 1/2" .357 Mag, right on his hip along side his Remmy 870 20 GA shotgun with slugs or with my Remmy 760 Carbine .308. He always wanted to kill a deer with it but hasn't ever been given a great opprotunity, or so he says. I have called BS on him at least 20 times, especially when he takes those head shots at deer with the 20GA slug gun at 30-50 yards and the deer falls dead. I think he just isn't as comfortable with the handgun as he is a rifle or shotgun, but he'd never admit to it. As far as predators, we've never ran into anything up north which required a hand gun except on two occasions when we were recovering two deer on two different occasions that my old man had shot on State land (same as a WMA). On both occasions we tracked the deer, in the snow, within a hundred yards of my father shooting them and found another hunter standing over them. When you walk up on a situation like this and have a handgun stapped to your side, especially up North, the first thing people think is your a LEO or the game warden since you have to have a permit in NYS to possess as handgun and it's a lengthy procedure that sucks and isn't awarded to all. Dad has had his permit for over 30 years now and knows and understands NY Pistol permit rules and laws better than most government officials who deal with it on a day to day basis.
I think I am going to start carrying a handgun as a "back up" based on running into some knuckle head, meth freak, or pissed off hunter who decides to claim my game. I normally carry a Carbine rifle or shotgun with slugs for hogs in the "thick stuff" while stalking hogs and if that's can't take care of the situation I am going to be in dire straits if I need to use a hand gun.
Now a large frame .22LR Revolver, to finish off an animal, is another story. My grandfather who passed away in 1992 carried a H&R .22LR long barrel revolver everytime he went hunting and I remember it as a kid. He always told me it's for finishing off an animal. He only owed one hand gun and carried it strapped to his side like it was a .44 Mag, again in Western NY and with a permit as required. I never seen him use it to finish any game off but I did notice as I have with my father in the woods or country that everytime we ran into someone in the woods, on a road in the country, at our camp, or on State land and they had there handguns strapped to there sides, that the folks we encountered were always the nicest people you would ever want to meet.
I think the moral of the story is having a handgun while hunting, can take game, kill a critter who has an issue, finish off game, etc. but it's usefulness IMHO is the impact it has when you are approached or approach someone in the field.
This would make a good back up side arm :shifty
http://fohaf.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=7649
Yeah man, it sure would minus that scope....
