What sidearm to purchase while afield?

[Fl0und3rz]

I'd go with a .44 Mag or .45 LC and get shot shells or light loadings for the shorter cartridges (.44 special or .45 Schofield) for grouse, but be aware of the WAC on using your personal protection firearm to hunt in the archery season.

Either the redhawk or blackhawk might be a good choice to look at in 4".

[hillbilli]

have to agree with Fast.. I have a .44, and when hunting dangerous stuff i tend to carry it. When hunting other stuff, and cats or Blackies might be in the area- then 9/40/45/.357 will do in my opinion.. its most likely use is to discourage two legged varmints or deal with a cat or blacky that probably wont weigh more than a big man. the .45 and 9 arent Ideal, but both have been used successfully against grizz, and much bigger calibers have been used unsuccessfully.. When grizz arent a concern, then I figure it's better to have something you will have with you always, and shoot enough to be able to shoot rapidly and accurately. i've always had revolvers, but nowadays in the era of glocks/XD's/M&P's I think the "rugged durability" question is a lot less of a deciding factor than it used to be..

[iRem]

Well don't have to worry about the grizz, just a big black sow with cubs is what I seem to run into and a cat just off of the trail heads that I'm walking on. I know I want light as I carry a pack, bow well all the essentials for the day and don't want it to weight me down.

[mountainman]

SW 629pd!

[Jason]

I have been carrying my Taurus .44mag ultra-lite the last few years and have been very happy with it. I shoot 240 XTP's out of it and has performed flawlessly.

[Bob33]

You can also carry bear spray. In grizzly country I certainly would.

[sakoshooter]

"It is unlawful for any person to carry or have in his possession any firearm while in the field archery hunting, during an archery season specified for that area, except for modern handguns carried for personal protection."

The rest of that paragraph is: Modern handguns cannot be used to hunt big game or dispatch wounded big game during an archery big game hunting season.

I'm guessing it's worded that way to allow for the shooting small game.

[splitshot]

how about a 38 special?   it looks to be more powerful than a 40 or a 9. is it close to a 357?  mike w

[NW-GSP]

Glock 20 10mm. More power then a .45 and less weight then a .44.

Btw it is legal to carry a side arm while archery hunting for protection purposes only.

[sakoshooter]

Since you can legally hunt cougar and bear with a handgun, I'd say it'd be legal to shoot one while bowhunting deer/elk with your legal handgun. If questioned: You could just say you were hunting bear with your handgun but were carrying your bow for backup.

[KFhunter]

Glock 20

It's not going to "gunk up" or have issues in the brush if properly holstered.   It'll gunk up less than a revolver with less open areas for gunk to work its way in.

You got a lot more rounds than a revolver and your faster on target and faster between shots with an auto vs revolver.


You will need to modify the Glock some to gain the most from it with heavy hard cast full power ammunition, but it's very easy to do.

As a side benefit you can also modify it to shoot different calibur ammunition just as easy.

[KFhunter]

Since you can legally hunt cougar and bear with a handgun, I'd say it'd be legal to shoot one while bowhunting deer/elk with your legal handgun. If questioned: You could just say you were hunting bear with your handgun but were carrying your bow for backup.

whaaaaat?

no


You cannot use your hand gun on big game where you have an archery only tag.
Deer, Elk.

Bear you could dispatch with a handgun (and cougar) as you do not need to specify what weapon you are using.

98% sure I got that right 

[splitshot]

another factor in finding the right gun is some hunters are small like me.  i like a small 9 or a 38 special.  a 45 , 41,or 44 has more bark than i need and most are heavy.  mike w

[sakoshooter]

Since you can legally hunt cougar and bear with a handgun, I'd say it'd be legal to shoot one while bowhunting deer/elk with your legal handgun. If questioned: You could just say you were hunting bear with your handgun but were carrying your bow for backup.

whaaaaat?

no


You cannot use your hand gun on big game where you have an archery only tag.
Deer, Elk.

Bear you could dispatch with a handgun (and cougar) as you do not need to specify what weapon you are using.

98% sure I got that right 

No one said anysthing about an 'archery only' tag.
I was refuting the post that said you coudn't shoot anything unless it was for self defense.

You can shoot small game, bear or cougar with a legal handgun carried during bow season for protection in areas open to bear and cougar hunting while your'e deer or elk hunting.

[sled]

Glock 20 10mm. More power then a .45 and less weight then a .44.

Btw it is legal to carry a side arm while archery hunting for protection purposes only.