Packing Heat-What Caliber?
Elk
For over 20 years now my son & I pack a pistol in all scouting & hunting ventures. We wear them on a hip holster, super comfortable, don't even know they're there! Both of us pack .357 with 3" barrels. No Grizz in our elk country so far!
How about you hunters, do you pack heat & what Caliber?
ElkNut1
Smith and Wesson model 60 357 mag 3.5 inch barrel. Loaded with Buffalo Bore 180gr. Hard cast LFN = 1302 fps. Hip or pack holster
Hard hitting for man and beast!
Scar.
When I draw the tag in griz country it will be 0.40
When I pack it is a Glock 20 10 mm. I may be a bit under gunned for the biggest bears, but I can get off 15 200 grain hard cast shots fairly quickly.
I dont hunt in Griz country but I do carry my .40c S&W M&P every time I'm in the woods.
I pack a .44. Looks like the same model as jdee. I would love to find a comfortable/easy access holster to attach to my pack.
My new toy is a 460 Rowland in a converted G21 shooting Buffalo Bore 255 gr. HC-FN @ 1300fps and 957 ft.lbs at the muzzle!
I hunt and hike extensively in grizz country. I carry spray at all times but sleep with a .44 mag next to my head. S&W 327pd with 300 gr solids. Super light for the pack in and out.
Hey Buyse, there was a thread here maybe a few years back with a fella who found a holster he was able to mount to his pack hip belt. Looked pretty sweet. I don't seem to have much luck searching Bowsite these days. Believe it was in the elk forum.
No grizz country for me but I will be carrying my M&P 40.
Kahr PM9
S&W .44 mag when I hunted grizz country.
Depends. In AZ within a couple miles of Mexico, a 9mm is close by at all times.
In grizz country, a .45 + bear spray.
In CA, I'm not allowed to carry a pistol while bowhunting.
Glock 32 in .357 Sig. Haven't hunted Grizz country yet...
10 mm for me also. I like having 14 rounds. Hunt
Browning 1911-.22 in .22 rimfire. And a Big knife, lol
Ruger LCR in a 357mag. I know the barrel is only 2 inches but it is light and I wont be shooting far. The thing still packs a punch. I shot a domestic cow in the head on top of the brain. I found the 158gr bullet 6 inches down the neck along the bone. It proved itself to me.
454 in grizz country. 40 in tent elsewhere.
Only carry heat in griz country....along with bear spray.
Just picked up a Glock 40 10mm for Alaska next month. Guess I have the same philosophy as kota-man....the ability to fire lots of lead in a short window sounds good to me.
I have a G20- it can shoot 40 SW for cheap practice rounds (only try this in a Glock), then you can load up the heavy 10mm for protection.
I can shoot an auto better than a revolver, especially one handed! and 14 rounds is better than 5 or 6 (if you can even get that many off with a heavy revolver)
Glock 20 and 220 grain hard cast. No griz in my areas tho.
I usually have my Ruger SP 101 3 inch .357 with me on hunts. More for two-legged threats than the 4 legged versions.
In Colorado .45acp 1911.
In Alaska S&W model 29 with a 4" barrel.
I usually hunt with someone that runs slower than I do...
How many time has any one needed a gun ?????
2216, 29 1/2", zwickey four blade on a Hoyt! Works every time and pulls double duty as a hunting weapon and self defense without adding a single ounce of un-needed weight.
"How many time has any one needed a gun ?????"
Only takes ounce. There's some pretty hair raising stories on bowsite about bear encounters. Makes me want to stay in Florida.
I carry a 357 Ruger in the mountains and a 40 cal SW every where else. 2 legs worry me a lot more than 4.
Usually nothing but when I do its a .22 Ruger Single Six for bunnys and such or a S&W .380 Body Guard for 2 legged vermin. In big bear country I have carried my Ruger Bisley in .45 LC loaded hot.
40 cal. Great combo of accuracy and knockdown.
I stick with my Kimber 1911 45 acp but I've never been in grizzly country.
Trackman in 2009 I found a small trailer on our lease after one look inside I called the sheriff's office. Three days later they arrested two men for cooking meth. The most dangerous critter in the woods walks on two legs and I'll give you a hint it's not Bigfoot.
Depends.
Sometimes I carry my S&W 40 and other times I carry my CCW 9mm Ruger
"How many time has any one needed a gun ?????"
Twice while hiking in the woods in SoCal, I've been attacked by some moron's untrained pitbull that was off its leash. The first time I was able to get into a tree. The 2nd time, if I hadn't been able to quickly grab a 6 foot long 4 inch wide stick to fend it off with, I don't know what shape I'd have ended up as that dog was intent on biting me and I literally had to beat it with all my strength to keep it off of me as its owner, who was a good 100 yards behind it, was powerless to call the dog off of me and had to literally drag it away (what made it worse was he didn't even run to get his dog, he walked the entire way yelling at his dog).
That's when I decided to start bringing a pistol into the woods.
In GrizzlyLand I carry a .44 Mag. I have a Taurus Tracker 5 shot. It is a lot lighter than other larger .44 revolvers. I know it only has 5 rounds but if a Grizz gets after you I don't think you would have a chance at getting 2 or maybe 3 shots off anyway before he is on you.
Bear spray for bears and moose.
S&W M&P CT.357 for non bears.
Let's just say it's big enough to stop anything in North America.
When I pack it is a Glock 20 10 mm. I may be a bit under gunned for the biggest bears, but I can get off 15 220 grain hard cast shots fairly quickly.
Thanks for typing up my response Kota!
Paddle holsters work well on a backpack hip belt.
Same as Kota and Hunt. Glock 20 in 10mm with an Xphose light...can't begin to tell you how handy that light is.
The rate occasion I do, it's 357 wheel gun. Normally just bear spray.
Tberg I'm looking at that glock/rowland conversion. (I have the equipment to hand load) If I don't get that far my next handgun is a glock 10mm.
Have a 19 under my desk but have never carried it hunting.
The four legged creatures are a less worry than the two legged kind.
Even in Alaska on the Kenia, the bears are pretty easy to shoo away. Sometimes just shooting your weapon will do the trick if its getting sticky. For some reason the noise is enough.
When fishing there, a riot shotgun on a sling is your best bet.
Glock 20. Just something about high capacity semi autos that reassure me.
Every day, everywhere. It varies from a Ruger LCP to a G20 depending on where I'm going and what I'm doing, but it's usually a Springfield XDs in .45. Only carry for the two legged varmints. No bears where I hunt.
Glock 26. For 2 legged varmits. 9mm, only black bear where I hunt.
Usually a 357 Mag. in a 4 inch Barreled wheel gun. Sometimes an SR 9 or SR 45. Every now and then a stubby revolver with a 2 inch barrel chambered in 357 Mag. I have carried a stainless hog leg 44 Mag with an 8 inch barrel. All Ruger's. All hand loaded hard cast loads pushing max velocity's. Honestly I carry all the time. Woods or not. Bears don't bother me. People do. God Bless
Ruger superblackhawk bisley 5 shot .454 Casull 61/2 bbl. 365 grain cast performance going real fast. Hit a 172 pound hog coming towards me, entered left front between shoulder and neck, Exit right rear about 2 inches from poop chute. Couldn't find the bullet.
Never have before, but I'm headed to Alaska this fall & I'm gonna have my .454 Casull on my hip. I'm left handed & couldn't find a satisfactory holster that I liked, so I had a custom hip holster made & just picked it up today.
Only handgun I've ever carried was my single-six; of course when I was thinking in terms of trouble, I loaded the Mag cylinder....
A guy who hunts with my brother carries a full-frame Smith .357 because we have at least one very bold black bear with a set of thoroughly discourteous dining habits that lives in that drainage. Also a resident female lion. Really, the main concern would be nighttime in camp, but who is going to leave anything that valuable lying around in camp while he's Up The Hill for the day?
So he packs it all day, every day, and at 10,000 feet, it's a Pain In The A... So whenever I find myself pondering the prospect, I figure the smart money is on something that you will actually have ON YOU in the event it's needed. And if it's a smallish revolver that will most likely need to be retired after 5-6 rounds of "peppy" ammunition, then so be it.
But if I were in Griz country, I'd want the biggest thing I could manage well for at least two shots... From the few clips I've seen showing Grizzlies in full-on charge mode, they'll likely be on top of you by then anyway if they haven't already broken off...
Ruger Blackhawk .357 or SR9, depends on the mood. There's a lot of junkies and mountain lions in my area and I often hunt and fish by myself, so my wife asked me to buy a handgun to carry. I bought her one also...
I carry a .475 Linebaugh on Kodiak, Hoyt with .204's anywhere else. It's like guys forget you can kill stuff with a bow....
Never bring a knife to a gun fight.
I used to carry my Glock 29 in 10 mm till it was stolen out of my truck while fishing. Now I carry a .380 hammer less revolver that is real light and bear spray. The spray is for bears and the pistol is for intruders of our kind. It is so light it makes a good backpack security pistol.
Alaskan .454--------in my Wyo elk camp.
Good luck, Robb
kel tec P3AT .380 and four arrows.
no bear worries where I hunt. the two legged trouble maker and big cats are sometimes on my mind.
44 mag in the Taurus titanium frame with hard cast hand loads. very light and on me at all times
Springfield XDs .45.Bear spray
Craig, really like that Ruger Bisley .454. I'm shooting 250 grain Hornady XTP's in mine. If I go back to Alaska or Montana I'll load up with a heavy hardcast slug. For carrying in the eastern woods I like my 1911 in 10mm with a 180 or 200 grain softpoint.
I've carried this .44 Mountain gun off and on,when not in grizzly country.I took a black bear with it this Spring.
For more serious work,I use a 4" Ruger Redhawk,loaded with Buffalo bore's 325 gr. hardcast,rated at 1325 fps.That one has taken a bull moose and elk and that load will go through both shoulders of either.
In a previous life (BC......before living in Canada and BC) I had a S&W 629 and 329, both in .44 Magnum. I enjoyed shooting the 629, and really enjoyed carrying the 329, but not vice versa. I never carried them when hunting in CO but did in Alaska. Never needed them for anything more than a confidence builder on those trips, but did have them out of the holster on a couple of occasions.
Over the past 6 seasons in BC I have gotten comfortable with a can of bear spray on the hip during the day......although at night in the tent it is useless. A shotgun is too heavy to backpack sheep hunting, although on our upcoming flying we'll take one for basecamp. It would be simpler to just rifle hunt but some us never want to go that route!
In Colorado, and the neighboring states, my biggest concern is people, not animals, so it's 9mm or 40 S&W. Yes, I know, Wyoming has grizzlies, but not where I've been hunting.
When I want to go lighter but still have some serious power,I carry this custom,.45 Colt,Ruger Vaquero.The weight has been whittled down to 35 oz.That and well designed grips,make heavy loads tolerable but still weighs less than most guns of that power level.I either carry 300 gr SP loads @ 1200 fps or 335 gr HC @ 1000 fps.The gun can handle heavier but these are heavy enough and tolerable for me.
When I hunt Coues in Az I pack a S&W 40 In montana I don't hunt any were were grizz hang. So if I pack its the 40 and its not for bears or ant other animals Its for people. And its always concealed
Some beautiful wheel guns shown.
I carry anything that starts with a 4.
.357 Ruger SP 101. 3" barrel.
Glock 19 9mm with 135 grain critical duty loads (type earlier).
If I ever get to hunt griz it will be my 629 44 mag and if I'm only worried about two legged then either my nine or my LCR.
"I don't know what it's called, I just know the sound it makes when it takes a man's life"
From Tropic Thunder.
Scar,
ruger super redhawk alaskan 2inch barrel loaded with 6 325 grain hard cast buff bore ... i would not trust any smaller caliber in grizzly area esp lower 48th .
I've never packed a firearm while elk hunting but that might change as I'm hunting Montana grizzly country this year.
I pack my Smith & Wesson 629 classic or a shortened shotgun on Kodiak. I'm looking real hard at those Glock 10 mm it might be something that a guy really should own
9mm, underwood ammo. Daily.
I'd choose the Glock 10 mm for elk hunting in grizzly country. If I was actually hunting Grizzlies with bow, I have the .50 Desert Eagle as back up.
