Sidearms, anyone?

[ozstriker22]

Does anybody carry a sidearm for backup while hunting?

I don't, personally. But one of my friends doesn't go without one.

Guess he fancies himself to be Clint Eastwood. Ha Ha Ha - you know who you are:-}

 

[Rancho Loco]

For hawg hunting I'm using either a 30-06, or a M-94 Timber Carbine in .444 Marlin.
I figure if I can't put anything down for good with one of those, and some critter wants to come back to even the score - I'll deserve the ass-kicking!

 

[Speckmisser]

I pack my .44. I don't think of it so much as backup as it is for those tight places where a scoped 30-06 just won't do. Spend enough time where the hogs live, and you'll be in plenty of spots where you can't swing a rifle, much less get the scope on a pig.

It goes with me when I'm quail hunting too, since a load of bird shot ain't gonna do the trick if Porky comes boiling out of cover.

I also carry the .44 when I'm bow hunting hogs (where it's legal). I figure if I just can't get close enough with the bow...

As I get better with the .44, my plan is to leave the rifle in the truck more often, especially when I'm hunting mostly thick cover. Right now, I'm barely confident at 50 yards. I'd like to get consistent out to 75 before I go purely handgunning.

 

[bighorn67]

I'll be packin' my Ruger .357 to the Ham Slam. Like Speck says if you are in the thick stuff it could come in handy.

 

[DKScott]

I keep thinking about it but never do. I carry enough crap as it is. I toyed with the idea of carrying a .44 when bird hunting in pig country, but with a dog running in front of you, the chances of seeing a pig, let alone getting a shot are remote. Then you have to deal with getting it out, etc. Better to make a separate hunt.

I only worry about two things: crazy or criminal humans and mountain lions, which have gotten very bold and diurnal in my neck of the woods. I worry primarily about one going after my dog. My friend packs a Model 27 Glock .40 cal. which is small, light and out of the way. At defensive ranges it is more than adequate for either man or ML. Seems like a decent solution.

 

[Freedivr2]

ONLY when hunting hogs, not deer or elk. Wish I had a 44 mag, but my .357 I found at close range does a real nice job (when stuck in the ear). Easier for me to point a 6" bbl at close range than my scoped rifle, too.......

 

[reddog5]

i like to carry my Glock20 anytime i'm in the field hunting ,or not(if its legal). My 30.06 is my huntin rifle first, but it only holds 5 rounds. My Glock 20 can hold 11 rounds plus with 2 spare mags, thats a lot of lead! Also in a decent holster you hardly know its there.

 

[theseacow]

I carry my sig .45. I barely notice it being there, am quick on the draw with it, and Im a farely decent shot with it. I think that if its, feasable, its better to be safe then sorry.

 

[Shot]

Hell ya, my dad and my grandpa

 

[raidernation]

Colt .45 Double Eagle/Double Action - It's a little too big, But my fears are Pot growers and Mountain Lions with the latter being my biggest worry. For the last 3-5 years I have had this Phobia of a Lion stalking me. Probably all the stories I've read in the "close encounters" sections of those damn hunting mags that my wife is always telling me to put down!! I have a couple of friends who have also had some close encounters with a cat while they are turkey hunting also. Anyways I need to get something smaller like a 6 1/2in. Ruger .44 Mag

 

[Bishop]

Normally I do my big game hunting with a handgun. If I'm running around with the varmint rifle, shotgun, or .22, I've got a 4" S&W .44 mag with me. With my luck the only time I'll see a pig is when I'm quail or rabbit hunting.

 

[BDB]

I now carry a Ruger Redhawk in .44mag whenever I can legally. Like others said for lions, two legged critters and bears ( in that order). Although I suspect most times by the time I notice the lion he has already snuck up from behind and has his jaws clamped firmly around the back of my neck. Hopefully not the case mind you

I would like to do more little hunting with it, pigs and deer. I still need LOTS of practice though. I can put FAR more arrows in a 6"circle at 40 yards than I can bullets from my .44 at this point !!

Plus I find it a heavy beast to carry around. I need a better holster for starters. I may also pick up a light auto in a decent caliber or a .357 for just carrying while hiking with the wife and dog.

 

[One Track]

I've been in some tight spots hog hunting. I pulled out the .44 a half dozen times at Tejon, while belly crawling through their bedding. A long gun wasn't going to do me much good.

I'm tired of carrying it though. Super Blackhawk, .44, 4 5/8 inch. It gets heavy, and gets in the way. Dang nice piece though. I'd trade it for a smaller .44. I saw a Titanium Smith in .44. That would be the perfect back up! But, for $759 bucks, I dunno.

Need to make a trade.

 

[hntboar]

I usually hunt hogs with a handgun. Matter of fact, my buddy asked me the other day when was the last time I bagged a hog with my rifle. I had to think about it for a while. It had been a few years.

Over years of hunting, I have not been lucky enough to have pigs in the open. I have always had to go in the brush after them. Using a rifle is quite difficult when chasing hogs in the brush.

Back in the 80's I used a 44 Mag untill I shot a large Boar (250 lbs. +) at the shoulder at about 20 feet. It parted the brush like it was the Red Sea and was never seen again. Good blood trail and I tracked it for miles, but plenty alive.

So I switched to a Freedom Arms .454 Casull, Magnaported with 7 1/2 barrel. I have never lost a pig after shooting it with the Casull.

Not a handgun you would consider using for target practice, but is a well designed firearm and it has some suds. Kicks like a mule!!

 

[DILPRXO]

I like to carry a handgun as a back up. I use a Kimber Eclipse in .45acp...carry it in a Galco highride holster....flat..easily to carry ..stainless steel...works out well for me.

 

[brainlessfool]

I got a S&W 629 years ago when i used to go looking for pigs with my bow. never got close enuf to one for the bow so never had any need to use the .44. it was just for back up. I use an under arm holster for it when I was going out with the bow, got in the way of the bow less. P.S. the barrel is 6", got to be to use for hunting in calf. feel lucky pig?

 

[Buck-eye]

Since I have no sidearm as of yet, I guess I am left with either the Crocodile Dundee finger mezmorizing method, or the Jason Elam place kicking method.
Basically I am screwed.

 

[Zbearclaw]

Hey Buckeye, just pretend the piggy is one of those idiots trouncing around the mountain destroying the hunting in a cardboard box, that should fix you, and if you do the finger thing while doing the Jason Elam, you willl be set.

Back home I carried my HK Tactical .45 in a thigh or highrid holster, the thigh was better for me, has taken a while to get used to that and now that I am the highride is out of place. I have busted a wounded one in the forehead with my oldman's .38 super when I was fifteen, I think, that gets the heart thumpin.

 

[sportyg]

I carry a black hawk in .41 mag as a back up.. Heck when I lived in Long Beach I carried it every day..

 

[doghouse95]

I only carry when I step out my front door. One thing nice about living in the far north state is that they still give out CCW's.
A 45 LC in a ruger blackhawk with the +P loads works pretty good on about everything I've come up against. Carried in a cross draw holster, it's out of the way and handy.