What kind of pistol do you use for backup while hunting?

myarmor · 08-02-2004, 11:54 AM

I have plans to buy a good backup gun for hunting. I really can't afford going to expensive, but I will buy a quality gun. Something small, compact, and packs a punch. I am looking at the Taurus line ups right now.

What is your backup pistol you carry while hunting?

silentknight · 08-02-2004, 01:08 PM

Try the Magnum Research Baby Eagle in .40 S&W or .45ACP I bought mine for $435

Shaun · 08-02-2004, 01:20 PM

Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt or my CZ52

grizzly · 08-02-2004, 01:21 PM

I often carry my Llama .45 but that's not too compact.

If I'm looking for compace I always grab my Makarov 9X18

ScottD · 08-02-2004, 02:37 PM

Most pistols do not fall under the guidelines set forth by states to be used while hunting. Either barrels are too short which automatically wipes out 96% of semi automatic pstols. Or there is not enough energy at the muzzle for the cartridges that are used in pistols. This is for factory ammunition and not for hot handloads, the state uses manufacturers published data.

Because of these 2 reasons revolvers that shoot at least the .357 magnum and have longer barrels are allowed to be used in the field while hunting, whether it is the main firearms or not.

Each state is a little different and this is why it is important to look into the state's regulations before going afield with a handgun.

Besides if you were a handgun hunter you wouldn't need a "backup" gun. grin

BattleRifleG3 · 08-02-2004, 03:23 PM

In PA you cannot hunt with any semi-auto except shotguns.

NRAJOE · 08-02-2004, 03:50 PM

7 CZ52's tucked in my belt....

sniper762 · 08-02-2004, 04:31 PM

When I'm small game hunting or Deer hunting here in North Carolina, I carry my H&R M999 Sportsman revolver as a back-up, not for protection but merely as a finish off gun for wounded deer, not quite dead which is seldom. Sometimes when I am hunting squirrels with a shotgun I will use it on them. Completely legal here. When I go Bear hunting down east, I carry my S&W M29 in 6" 44 Mag. I feel comfortable with it as a back-up for anything in this state.

myarmor · 08-02-2004, 04:50 PM

I knew it was only legal in a few states to carry one, but I was referring to the ones that really need it like while bear or elk hunting.
Last year I shot a nice little doe(Ummm, so tender the meat..) with a 308 in a head shot. In the left eye and out the right ear a straight shot. But when I came upon her she was kicking for a good minute or two. Nerves where shocked more then I have seen in other game I have taken.
But finishing her off at point blank with a 308 was not the very safe choice as was trying to approach her too close, which I didn't.
So from now on I am going to carry something with me, if not to at least finish off something. But I have heard that the most bear attacks have occured while the hunter is either turned away or in the middle of feild dressing his game when his rifle is to far out of reach.
I feel a little safer to at least pack something with me while out hunting.

colt45 · 08-04-2004, 10:35 PM

my primary is a handgun. my back up is a pocket knife.

jerry · 08-04-2004, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colt45

my primary is a handgun. my back up is a pocket knife.

:right:

lefty o · 08-05-2004, 12:03 AM

i dont need a back up for hunting.

Kumacho · 08-05-2004, 05:11 AM

Fear bears no more!

.45-70 7 1/2 inch barrel and I'm sure legal in almost all states as a back up gun.

Okay. So it's pricey... But how much fun would a 4 pound revolver in that calibre be?! :cheer:

I'd have to say this would be my choice for a extreme hard hitting back up weapon.

I really like this one too:

That .500 S&W Mag sounds impressive.

myarmor · 08-06-2004, 10:59 PM

Kumacho, nice peice.
Bear should be no problem with a monster like that. I like it.
Little big, but like you said, what fun would it be in a small revolver?
Good stuff.

Pumpkinheaver · 08-14-2004, 02:37 PM

Last year I carried my Kimber classic custom. Good thing too as I needed to finish my deer off and a .45acp is not as messy as a .308 at close range. This year I'm gonna carry my ruger blackhawk in .41 mag.

myarmor · 08-15-2004, 09:58 AM

That's pretty much what I have been talking about there Pumpkinheaver. A nice finisher. Not a bad way to go with the Blackhawk.

alan c. · 08-15-2004, 10:09 AM

Super Blackhawk 44 mag. What else.

myarmor · 08-15-2004, 10:12 AM

I love me some 44 mag that's for sure.

GeneCockrell · 08-25-2004, 05:34 PM

The only time I have ever used a backup handgun was one time about 10 years back when I chased a wounded doe into some THICK oak scrub/cedar brush. I got about 30 feet from the doe before she hopped up and tried to make a run and I popped her with the pistol. The gun was a Colt Army Special (.38 Special) 4" barrel.

One other time I had need of a backup (S&W 29 6 1/2" (I think) barrel in 44 mag) was one time when I brought .257 ammo for my .308.
Well, I crouched in a pile of brush for a while and along came a nice one, probably 8-10 points at about 25 yards from me.
I cocked the 29 and when that bugger heard the metallic click, he was off like a rocket....after that, I would put a small twig in between the frame and hammer as this allows for silent cocking...

killer1000 · 08-25-2004, 10:55 PM

i own a 41mag smith and wesson with a 6in.barrel and use it in the woods and like verry much as a backup gun and a self procetion gun. the olny problem is that ammo is hard to find and is spendy. and i myself dont reload. i have a buddy that does it for me and he is not set up for 41mag.

08-02-2004, 11:54 AM	#1
myarmor Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Southwest ,VA Posts: 1,147	What kind of pistol do you use for backup while hunting? I have plans to buy a good backup gun for hunting. I really can't afford going to expensive, but I will buy a quality gun. Something small, compact, and packs a punch. I am looking at the Taurus line ups right now. What is your backup pistol you carry while hunting?

08-02-2004, 01:08 PM	#2
silentknight Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,125 Images: 3	Try the Magnum Research Baby Eagle in .40 S&W or .45ACP I bought mine for $435 __________________ Sic Vis Pacem Parabellum

08-02-2004, 01:20 PM	#3
Shaun Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 8,620 Images: 1	Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt or my CZ52 __________________ "Homeland Security is the responsibility of an armed citizen" ME http://webpages.charter.net/s.s.v/

08-02-2004, 01:21 PM	#4
grizzly Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: PDR of IL Posts: 653	Backup Pistol I often carry my Llama .45 but that's not too compact. If I'm looking for compace I always grab my Makarov 9X18 __________________ When white man found this land, Indians were running it. No Taxes... No Debt... Plenty Buffalo... Plenty beaver! Women did most of the work. Medicine Man free! Indian men hunted and fished all the time! White man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that. "The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." --Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824.

08-02-2004, 02:37 PM	#5
ScottD Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Evanston, IL Posts: 1,020	Most pistols do not fall under the guidelines set forth by states to be used while hunting. Either barrels are too short which automatically wipes out 96% of semi automatic pstols. Or there is not enough energy at the muzzle for the cartridges that are used in pistols. This is for factory ammunition and not for hot handloads, the state uses manufacturers published data. Because of these 2 reasons revolvers that shoot at least the .357 magnum and have longer barrels are allowed to be used in the field while hunting, whether it is the main firearms or not. Each state is a little different and this is why it is important to look into the state's regulations before going afield with a handgun. Besides if you were a handgun hunter you wouldn't need a "backup" gun. grin __________________ "Some people can not live without wilderness"-Aldo Leopold

08-02-2004, 03:23 PM	#6
BattleRifleG3 Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Western PA Posts: 11,464 Images: 13	In PA you cannot hunt with any semi-auto except shotguns. __________________ Trust is earned, not... GIVEN away. - Worf

08-02-2004, 03:50 PM	#7
NRAJOE Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Toledo,OH Posts: 19,254 Images: 3	7 CZ52's tucked in my belt.... __________________ U.S. Army 1976-1979 237th Combat Engineers Heilbronn, Germany

08-02-2004, 04:31 PM	#8
sniper762 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: NorthCarolina Posts: 176	When I'm small game hunting or Deer hunting here in North Carolina, I carry my H&R M999 Sportsman revolver as a back-up, not for protection but merely as a finish off gun for wounded deer, not quite dead which is seldom. Sometimes when I am hunting squirrels with a shotgun I will use it on them. Completely legal here. When I go Bear hunting down east, I carry my S&W M29 in 6" 44 Mag. I feel comfortable with it as a back-up for anything in this state.

08-02-2004, 04:50 PM	#9
myarmor Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Southwest ,VA Posts: 1,147	I knew it was only legal in a few states to carry one, but I was referring to the ones that really need it like while bear or elk hunting. Last year I shot a nice little doe(Ummm, so tender the meat..) with a 308 in a head shot. In the left eye and out the right ear a straight shot. But when I came upon her she was kicking for a good minute or two. Nerves where shocked more then I have seen in other game I have taken. But finishing her off at point blank with a 308 was not the very safe choice as was trying to approach her too close, which I didn't. So from now on I am going to carry something with me, if not to at least finish off something. But I have heard that the most bear attacks have occured while the hunter is either turned away or in the middle of feild dressing his game when his rifle is to far out of reach. I feel a little safer to at least pack something with me while out hunting.

08-04-2004, 10:35 PM	#10
colt45 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Occupied Territories of New York (Buffalo) Posts: 2,898	my primary is a handgun. my back up is a pocket knife. __________________ "A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity" -Sigmund Freud, General Introduction to Psychoanalysis "If guns cause crime, all of mine are defective." - Ted Nugent "Self-defense is Nature's eldest law." -John Dryden

08-05-2004, 12:03 AM	#12
lefty o Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: mn Posts: 5,109	i dont need a back up for hunting.

08-05-2004, 05:11 AM	#13
Kumacho Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Arlington Washington Posts: 5	Fear bears no more! .45-70 7 1/2 inch barrel and I'm sure legal in almost all states as a back up gun. Okay. So it's pricey... But how much fun would a 4 pound revolver in that calibre be?! :cheer: I'd have to say this would be my choice for a extreme hard hitting back up weapon. I really like this one too: That .500 S&W Mag sounds impressive.

08-06-2004, 10:59 PM	#14
myarmor Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Southwest ,VA Posts: 1,147	Kumacho, nice peice. Bear should be no problem with a monster like that. I like it. Little big, but like you said, what fun would it be in a small revolver? Good stuff.

08-14-2004, 02:37 PM	#15
Pumpkinheaver Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,378	Last year I carried my Kimber classic custom. Good thing too as I needed to finish my deer off and a .45acp is not as messy as a .308 at close range. This year I'm gonna carry my ruger blackhawk in .41 mag. __________________ Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!

08-15-2004, 09:58 AM	#16
myarmor Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Southwest ,VA Posts: 1,147	That's pretty much what I have been talking about there Pumpkinheaver. A nice finisher. Not a bad way to go with the Blackhawk.

08-15-2004, 10:09 AM	#17
alan c. Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pasadena,Tejas - also known as Texas Posts: 3,769 Images: 15 Blog Entries: 3	Super Blackhawk 44 mag. What else.

08-15-2004, 10:12 AM	#18
myarmor Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Southwest ,VA Posts: 1,147	I love me some 44 mag that's for sure.

08-25-2004, 05:34 PM	#19
GeneCockrell Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: lAMPASAS TEXAS Posts: 90	Backup Handgun The only time I have ever used a backup handgun was one time about 10 years back when I chased a wounded doe into some THICK oak scrub/cedar brush. I got about 30 feet from the doe before she hopped up and tried to make a run and I popped her with the pistol. The gun was a Colt Army Special (.38 Special) 4" barrel. One other time I had need of a backup (S&W 29 6 1/2" (I think) barrel in 44 mag) was one time when I brought .257 ammo for my .308. Well, I crouched in a pile of brush for a while and along came a nice one, probably 8-10 points at about 25 yards from me. I cocked the 29 and when that bugger heard the metallic click, he was off like a rocket....after that, I would put a small twig in between the frame and hammer as this allows for silent cocking...

08-25-2004, 10:55 PM	#20
killer1000 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: redneck in idaho Posts: 14	i own a 41mag smith and wesson with a 6in.barrel and use it in the woods and like verry much as a backup gun and a self procetion gun. the olny problem is that ammo is hard to find and is spendy. and i myself dont reload. i have a buddy that does it for me and he is not set up for 41mag.