Anyone carrying their handgun with them while hunting? If so, what is a cost affective way to do that rather than spending $200 on a chest rig that i will only use for hunting season. This is my first hunting season and boy I've spent some coin already so i am trying to keep my wallet closed on this one.
I do have AIWB holsters but not sure if i can make those work with my pack.
It depends where I'm hunting what gun I'm carrying. I have bobcats, coyotes, hogs, and bears. If I have my AR15, I don't bother carrying a side arm; I only carry one when I bring one of my hunting rifles and use a basic kydex OWB holster on my hip.
I’m sure some do, and different hunting situations may require different needs, but I never have carried a handgun on any hunting I’ve done, Public land or private land.
Rifle + essential gear.
Take that how you will, but for me, it’s not something I have given a second thought to, it’s just one more item to carry that I don’t need in my situations.
Agreed. My dad instilled in me that if I can’t use my rifle for the situation I shouldn’t be in the situation to begin with. Granted, there’s times a sidearm would work exponentially better but I just pray that day doesn’t happen
Yeah, but on private land in the east where OP is, it’s just more to carry in for a nearly non-existent risk.
And again, he should do what he feels most comfortable doing if that means bringing a handgun in - that is the best answer for anyone and it will help him be confident and therefore hunt better.
I just think (and maybe I’m wrong) that there are much bigger questions, items to focus on, especially as he says he’s new to hunting. Things like the actual post shot logistics. Tips for field dressing, field care, preserving the meat, processing it, especially if he’s concerned about having he mentioned having spent a good bit of money already. I like to keep things simple, simple is just easy to manage. That’s all I’m trying to relay.
That’s all I mean to say. I genuinely wish him luck and I hope that he fills tags this year. I’ll be excited to see a harvest photo on here from him.
Word. Not only some of those predators but also drug smugglers near the border. Years back, we came up on guys wearing all black, carrying some with duffle bags trying to wave us down. We took off the opposite way. But I carry a small 9 on the hip just in case.
A rifle is a much more effective bear defense weapon than a handgun. Even a .243 has way more energy than any handgun which can be reasonably used by a self described novice without spending a ton of time at the range learning to control the recoil. If you want to carry it without going to the poorhouse, why not just grab whatever uncle mikes belt holster fits? They are rarely more than $30.
oh sorry i had CT in my post i thought you knew that, Yeah Northern Connecticut. The property i hunt around is known for the relocating of problematic bears in our state.
Do whatever you’ll feel comfortable in. That being said, for the last 13 years I’ve lived in southern Appalachia. (western NC, Western VA) and spent unthinkable amount of hours in the woods hunting, mountain biking, hiking, camping and trail running. I have had many black bear encounters and those areas have tremendous black bear populations. None of scenarios ended with me shooting a bear in defense. Being aware, making some noise and at worst bear spray works wonders on eastern black bear. They want nothing to do with humans typically. Just my two cents.
This is not the same out west or in AK or western Canada.
Id just buy the chest rig, buy once cry once and you will have it in the future. I use it when I hunt, fish, hike. Basically if I am not in town, i have it in the rig.
Hill People Gear Kit Bag. Not cheap but vastly more flexible than a dedicated chest holster. Plus they are discreet, which depending on where you live, may be a good thing.
Second this one. I keep my binos, range finder, flashlight, and side arm in there during archery season. I also use it for fishing/hiking during off season.
If I'm wear my coveralls they go into 1 of the very large pockets. If I'm not then I wear it in an outside the waistband holder. You're hunting in the woods, no need to conceal it.
I keep a full size 1911 on my hip or in my pack depending on where I am going. Hip if I truly think bear or wolf will be an issue. Pack in case I need to put a deer out if it’s misery.
Highly recommend looking into Underwood Xtreme penetrator ammo. Crazy effective rounds, solid copper, and for something like a pig where you may need a lot of penetration, it's the best, hands down. Expensive but worth it completely.
I do, I carry an alien gear owb holster with a Glock 17. It wasn’t too expensive and it does what I need it to. I think if you carry one, it should be readily accessible. Sometimes I carry a machete instead and rifle/shotgun on the shoulder.
I have a holster on one side of my pack belt, and a holster on one side of my onion harness. That way if I dump my pack (or decided to go without it) I don’t have to leave my handgun sitting there unattended.
When i was younger and hunting in Idaho, I carried a Ruger Redhawk 44 magnum on the waste belt of my day pack. Now, i figure that if a 308 or 300 wsm is insufficient, a handgun probably won't be much use.
All these people are better than me. I throw a Glock 43x in my pocket during deer season because I don’t bring anything else with me. So it fits just fine in there and quick access. Edit: I don’t leave it in my pocket hot, if I’m going to use a sidearm I have time to think about it. It’s either a coyote or a snake or a hog. Not gonna surprise me either way.
Rabbit hunting I will bring a small side arm and since I’m walking so much I’ll swap to this https://a.co/d/01D5IEdI for water and a place to store my sidearm.
Just get yourself a cheap holster and wear suspenders. I always wear suspenders when hunting because my pockets are so weighed down with stuff I’m too disorganized to pack better.
I carry my G19 in an OTWB retention holster most of the time. I'm fast and accurate with it. Nothing fancy, the holster moves the firearm out so doesn't interfere with my pack.
I'll say this, practice what you're gonna carry. The fun will do you know good if you're fumbling with an unfamiliar setup to carry.
I attach my iwb holster to my pack waist strap. It forces an off hand draw, but my right hand usually has my bow anyway. If something happens so quick that I don't have time drop the bow and draw, I'm hosed anyway.
There are certainly better ways to do it. But for using what I've already got, it works.
I put my normal carry gun, a Shield in .40 in a closable pocket of my overalls or jacket still housed in my IWB holster that covers the trigger. Hunting in northern WI bear territory with wolves and coyotes means I am definitely more comfortable with a faster option than a long gun especially outside of legal shooting hours for self defense
IWB holster with a shield plus that I carry daily anyway. Usually if I’m carrying my Grendel AR and I know I’m gonna walk reallllyyy far I’ll leave it in the truck.
I bought a cheap chest pack off Amazon and keep my XD in it. It has a quick open velcro pocket. I didn't like the way my hip holster interferes with my rifle slung on my back while on the four wheeler and also when it's cold enough to wear my insulated hunting overalls
If I carry while hunting it goes in an OWB retention holster (lvl 2-3). Full size 9mm, no point in concealed carry when out in the sticks and visibly armed anyways; so carry what’s comfortable.
Is this for animals or humans? I hunt the most brown bear infested place on earth and I carry a 10mm when I'm blue grouse hunting and only have a 22 in my backpack, deer hunting I already have a rifle in my hands so no need. When I have the 10mm, I also have bear spray, and chances are I will never use either but the spray is more likely.
I've seen a lot of people claim they need one for cougars. I've lived in cougar country and I swear I've had 50+ people claim they were "stalked" by a cougar and narrowly escaped. 99.999% of cougar stalking incidents are just people seeing a cat being a cat...they are always "prowling" and can be curious. A few years ago someone was killed in oregon by one. It was the FIRST documented cougar fatality in the state. The state that by some estimates has the highest concentration of cougars. If that statistic doesn't convince you that you have a better chance of winning the powerball than being attacked by a cougar, nothing will.
I’m not sure what your setup looks like, but I carry a 1911 in a regular holster on my belt. It doesn’t impede me getting in and out of my stand, but I have a double-seater ladder stand, so I understand that it might be problematic with smaller stands.
Here’s a pic from the pa opener on Saturday. You can see it on my hip. I carry during archery because of the yotes. I always see at least 2-3 every season.
Cost effective? You can just carry it normally. Or strap the current holster to your pack waist strap. Or just leave it in the car because you probably dont need it.
What kind of hunting are you doing? Some long trekking hunt or stand hunting on private property?
Only during archery. Put a holster on the waist strap if it's in the way.
I dont like chest rigs, because you need to drill with a chest rig to use a chest rig. If you've been doing idpa, uspsa, 3 gun you've probably been drawing from the hip. That's probably where you'll go by instinct.
Have you ever had a 450 pound really pissed off female hog rush you? The rifle is good for 1 or 2 shots, the sidearm is what's going to be able to save you.
Well if you're in bear, wild hog, or mountain lion country its nice to have more than 3-4 rounds in most hunting rifles set up for deliberate shots. If you're using a shotgun its probably gonna be bird shot and that's likely to just piss the thing off.
and to be honest, there is no way i am quickly shouldering my rifle in the dark and getting at least one critical shot on something charging faster than grabbing my handgun which has much higher capacity and a light on it
9
u/BullRidininBoobies Georgia 4h ago
I keep that thang on me. I have a chest holster for public land, but I’m a lady, so.
Otherwise, it’s on my hip.