Carry a sidearm while archery elk hunting?

I always carry a gun no matter the situation. Granted, it is a little 380, but still always packing the heat.

Some have hunted 25 years and never come across a situation where they needed one. Personally, I have never needed one either.

But I would hate to have that one situation where I could have used it and not have it.

This is an interesting question and there was an article I read the other day that talks about this. I am not saying you should or shouldnt pack a sidearm because I have packed one in the past.

The article makes a good point......if something were to happen and you had seconds to pull out your gun and shoot how accurate would you be? That would be an incredibly intense moment when it happened and to be honest I dont know how many of us would be accurate and be able to make that shot when it counts. I would probably trust myself more with bear spray not to mention the weight difference.

I have posted the article to read....

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1012&sid=19497732

Something you need to look into is whether or not it is legal to carry a side arm while archery hunting. I know of a couple of states that you can't, but in states that allow it I wouldn't carry anything less than a .41 mag. A .45 ACP will only piss off a grizzly more than it already was.

JMHO.

I do carry a XD .45. Better have it and not need it than need it and not have it. ](*,)

I have always carried a pistol just in case and had never had the occasion to use it until two years ago. A bear made a run at my son who was shed hunting with me. I unloaded my pistol into a tree by me, not even aiming at the bear and he did break off and high tail it out of the area. Maybe because of the pistol or maybe not but I am a believer.

"Tonoonyi" wrote:I have always carried a pistol just in case and had never had the occasion to use it until two years ago. A bear made a run at my son who was shed hunting with me. I unloaded my pistol into a tree by me, not even aiming at the bear and he did break off and high tail it out of the area. Maybe because of the pistol or maybe not but I am a believer.

I have no problem carrying when out and about but during archery or muzzle loader seasons, one needs to check the regs to make sure it is legal first.

And I'm glad you and your son are fine after the bear rushing you. One of the best reasons to carry when out and about.

"ABert" wrote:Something you need to look into is whether or not it is legal to carry a side arm while archery hunting. I know of a couple of states that you can't, but in states that allow it I wouldn't carry anything less than a .41 mag. A .45 ACP will only piss off a grizzly more than it already was.

JMHO.

Great point. I have a CCW for the states I hunt: Utah and Nevada. For both states you are only allowed to carry a firearm if you have the weapons permit. Otherwise it is illegal.

That being said, if I was deep in the backcountry,CCW or not, I would still bring something along. But again, that is my opinion. It may not be the same among others here in the board.

I carry a sidearm when bow hunting. There are a number of bow hunters in this area (Western Wyoming) that have problems with lions coming in when cow calling. They have all successfully deterred lions by intimidation with noise and motion, but I could have my sidearm at the ready in a couple of seconds if that did not work. I also figure the most dangerous predator is of the two legged variety. Better prepared and never need a firearm than otherwise.

Bear Spray for me. Why be a statistic. Research it, the number dont lie. Bear Spray will give you a better chance of staying alive, whether its a bear, wolf, or lion. It will stop any one of those critters.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I think I'm going to carry my sidearm, its just a little more versatile. With any luck, I'll never have to use it. Wish me and family luck on our first elk hunt.

Good luck. lol

I think its kind of silly to carry a pistol. Statistically you will never have a problem. However I live and hunt in colorado where we dont have grizzleys and wolves.

I'm sorry, I know I'm a little late on this posting but I cant help not post a response to this. I was elk hunting in Wyoming in 2009 with my brother when the two of us walked up on a Grizzly sow and her two cubs in their bed eating four bags of hay cubes they had just stole off of a pack train of mules heading to an outfitting camp. Fortunately for us they had a good escape route and chose to take it rather than making us their entree. I always carry a sidearm with me and had one when that went down. That was the closest I've come to using it in the woods but i'll never leave camp without it.
It is true that the physiology of your body undergoes some major changes during an extremely stressful scenario but this is a survival mechanism built into us that allows us to do some pretty amazing things. I would be happy to go more in depth with this if anyone is interested but for now i'll leave it at that.
A 45 ACP is more than capable of bringing down a bear as are most other underestimated cartridges. The flip side to that is the users level of knowledge and training with that sidearm. You've got to get out and train with it. Again if anyone is interested I would be happy to share some good drills to help condition this type of response. Give yourself a fighting chance and carry that sidearm, don't allow yourself to get attacked without putting up a fight.
I hope you had a great, safe hunt and got an elk.