Hunting Side Arm

[180ls1]

First Thread! sorry if this subject is beat.

What do you all like for a side arm when hunting? In bear/lion/boar...whatever country. I have heard a lot of guys say they like a glock 20 in 10mm because it is hard to beat 15 rounds of hot 10mm loads and a clip to spare incase you need another 15.
I have also heard that you just want a big revolver like a 41 or 44+ in size because you will never get 15 shots of at something attacking you anyways and six much bigger rounds will do a better job.

Both ideas make sence lets hear what you got to say.

[510shooter510]

a lot of 22's believe it or not. Hunters typically just take what they have in the line of pistols. Most of their cash goes into long guns.
You will see some 1911/Glocks out there, but I mostly see and hear of 22's and revolvers of many different calibers.

[happy_gunner]

I carry my full size 1911 .45 during the season. I hunt in the Mount Shasta area, to date, we have only encounter bears and they were far enough where the rifle will do the trick, only time it got close is when my buddy fell asleep near a creek, the bear according to him was only about 50yds away, and my buddy just got up and ran away. I've also seen mountain lion tracks about 400 yds from camp. I figure bear and the two legged bi-pedal animal is what I worry about, mountain lions for the most part strikes from behind, so I think I'm still a goner, I should carry sometime like a 44 mag, but I shoot a whole hell of alot better with the 1911.

[Carnivore]

I agree with 510 I just carry one of my G17s with me because it is what I already have. If I can't scare, drop or slow down something with 19 rounds then my time was up anyway.

[DRAB_81]

I bring my G20sf with 6" LWD barrel and 200gr WFNGC DoubleTaps. I would be willing to bet I can squeeze off 15 rounds of 10mm as fast and accurate as I could fire 6 rounds of 44mag...

It might be a bigger backup gun than some like to carry, but I like to think my life is worth it.

[Quiet]

My dad carries a S&W Model 10 (6" barrel) loaded with snakeshot when he goes dove hunting. Because, rattlesnakes are more of a concern than bears.

So, a sidearm while hunting all depends on what kind of terrain and kinds of animals that are located in that area are.

[Cougar]

a glock 20 in 10mm because it is hard to beat 15 rounds of hot 10mm loads and a clip to spare incase you need another 15.

Welcome 180ls1!

one of my G17s with me because it is what I already have. If I can't scare, drop or slow down something with 19 rounds then my time was up anyway.

I bring my G20sf with 6" LWD barrel and 200gr WFNGC DoubleTaps. I would be willing to bet I can squeeze off 15 rounds of 10mm as fast and accurate as I could fire ....

[jeffb502]

Cougar: Possession of a +10 rd capacity magazine in California is not illegal. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these people owned their +10rd capacity magazines before it became illegal to lend/sell/etc them.

[sierrawoodsman]

I hate to ask, but curiosity has the best of me…. How are ya’ll working around the 10 round mag capacity limit for us non-LEO, civilian, inmates of the PRK (Peoples Republic of Kalifornia)???

They could have had them before 1-10-2000

As for your question, I use a 30-06 or 30-30 while deer hunting so I carry a single six as a side arm. It will finnish a deer cleanly and works like a charm on grouse.

If I have a shotgun or .22 rifle I will carry my 1911 or glock.

[RedFord150]

I only hunted a couple of times many years ago. No luck at all. The guys who took me were more experienced than I (By a LOT). They did have success on trips that I was not a part of.
Anyway, everyone in my group was carrying a .357 mag revolver. The loads were on the hotter side, I cannot remember exactly. General thought was the .357 would do most of what could be expected from it and everybody already owned and shot 1.
Just my 1 cent...(not enough experience to call it 2 cents).
Good luck.

[Cougar]

I wouldn't be surprised if some of these people owned their +10rd capacity magazines before it became illegal to lend/sell/etc them.

You're right... I did not own any Semi's before 2000, so I have a mental block on that point....

... and lately as as I've been looking toward a new purchase, I've been getting pretty steamed about this limitation...

[El Gato]

I like to hunt with BP and single shot rifles... 45-70 etc... but even when hunting with a repeater... I carry a handgun... not for "bears" but for goblins...either way - bears or goblins - the rifle is way more powerful than any handgun anyway... having said that...I have met the goblin in the forest and he/they were more impressed with my glock than you could imagine and that made for everyone going home without a fight... I am convinced on several occasions I have been left alone as I was well armed... and I have two friends who have come accross active marijuana grows in the Kern area... one recently had a "mexican standoff" with guns pointed until the apparently non-english speaking types apparently decided it was a good idea to head back south... scary times......having said that, a .22 is probably more common than not... and will make dinner out of rabbits and in the proper place and time, grouse...I still carry the glock 20 most of the time in the woods...

[Rover]

Depends on where I'm hunting. Norther Californian forrests are bear country, .357 wheel-gun up there and probably my new .44 once it's out of DROS, I'd crap my pants out of shock if I ever saw a bear in the high desert or down south, but tweekers and other less than sociable individuals are a major concern, so I carry my XD9 down here, when I hunt back east, it's pot farmers and moon-shiners, XD9 again out there.

Bears scare me the least of all things I mite encounter while in the back-country, I've had them pass 5-10 feet away and they know I'm there, they just don't care. You just have to be aware of your surroundings, if you get between a mother and cub, and she thinks you're a threat, you'll likely wind up eaten no matter how much lead you hit her with. In the desert, snakes are a concern, but after years of mountain-biking, I've gotten really good at spotting them and avoiding them, I still carry snake-shot for the rare instance they can't be avoided, but I'm not too worried. People, who also have guns, and who don't want to be found scare the bejesus out of me, and they aren't like animals, once they see you, you have a problem.

[hybridatsun350]

I usually take my Glock 17 loaded with some 147gr. Federal Hydra-Shoks. I'm more worried about the two legged creatures than anything else.

[CA_SHARPSHOOTER]

ruger single action 44mag on my hip because its coool