back up gun

Randy & Tracie Hill · Post by **Randy & Tracie Hill** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:00 pm

I have always carried a Marlin .44mag Lever action saddle Gun complete with sling to make hauling it around easier and then a Ruger .44 mag pistol (western 6 shooter made before the Black Hawk type I think they call them Single Six?) that way I only have to carry one type of Cartridge.
We used to Hunt 90% of the time off of Horse back when we lived out West so they never caused a problem

The lever action is a Marlin that was my Grandfathers as was the Pistol that he carried many years Bear and Lion Hunting.....it always served him and never failed to hit what he was aiming at so I figured if it was good enough for him.......and every Bear the wife and I and several others who went with us was taken with them.

I have never even given it a second thought as to what else to carry.

The Bear in the photo below was my wifes first and it was taken by her with the Ruger not too long after I took the photo.

mikec · Post by **mikec** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:46 pm

44 mag is a good choice. Lots of close range stopping power, and even some distance if you are not too shaky

kk · Post by kk » Sun Aug 19, 2007 10:04 pm

I carry a 357 or a 40. if you are a good enough shot then most guns will do the job. I also like 44 mag. but mine is alittle to heavy. 7 mm mag if the bear is still on the ground.

brandon keel · Post by **brandon keel** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 2:43 am

the problem with all these magnum guns is that they are usually metal and bulky. Usually a 6 "+ barrel for hunting purposes. They usually dont stay holstered well in thick conditions. The gun i chose for a sidearm was the glock. Not because im a gang-****er or a street punk, but because of their durability and non-fail qualities. They are light, compact (if you buy the subcompact .45 model), and hard to screw up. Heck, they even shoot underwater (dont try that at home). Now a few months back, i asked the same question. IS the .45 acp big enough to kill a bear. People avoid the fact that it is plenty to kill a bear and skip right to the dangerousness of the gun. If you dont have control over your weapon, maybe you shouldnt be hunting. The truth is, the .45 is plenty of gun, compact, and a very versatile pistol to carry. I dont care about the balistics of a watermellon or a bucket of water. If i can hold that gun to a brick, from 5 ft away, and turn a portion of it to powder, im positive it can kill a bear.

rich h · Post by **rich h** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:50 pm

Brandon...I carried a Ruger P-90 .45 acp for a long time. Not for hunting, but for real close quarters situations that happen once in a great while. I like the quick reload capability of a semi-auto handgun, too. I did head shoot one bear at a distance of about 6 feet. Two dogs caught the bear when it bailed out of a tree and hit the ground. Would have liked for the bear to have gotten away and maybe tree again. Didn't happent that way. The .45 dropped the bear instantly with a head shot.

Although, if you bear hunt a lot, sooner or later you will get into a situation where the .45 acp is just not suited.

Tim Lockwood · Post by **Tim Lockwood** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:33 am

I like my marlin 45-70 guide gun.

bearcat · Post by **bearcat** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:16 pm

I also like my 45-70 guide gun. I don't carry a backup but I think it is a good idea. I got chewed up by a bear that a girl shot once(probably my fault for taking a 13 year old girl in on a bayed up bear) when I would have appreciated a pistol. The 454 is the best in my opinion, but they are all heavy. Taurus makes a ultralight 44 mag that would hardly be noticeable to carry. And since anything farther away than the end of the barrel is to far to be using a backup gun on, neither the poor accurasy do th the short barrel or the excessive recoil should affect you if you need to use it. And a backup gun should be worn in a holster where you can get at it fast so weight and size would be a factor. Believe me, if you need it you aren't going to have time to dig in your pack for it!

Randy & Tracie Hill · Post by **Randy & Tracie Hill** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 8:29 pm

bearcat wrote: And a backup gun should be worn in a holster where you can get at it fast so weight and size would be a factor. Believe me, if you need it you aren't going to have time to dig in your pack for it!

AMEN !

jokerredbear · Post by **jokerredbear** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:04 pm

Here is a tip on backup guns.Iwas on a hunt with a man From Cloudcroft NM.Glen Hopkins,At the Time Glen had a pack of dogs that were as good as any.We had treed several bear that week.I think it wes the last day of the season or close.A friend had aked Glen to run this bear'he had been watching,but just couldn't make things work.Out of luck we treedthis bear.Took several Pictures, then it was time to take the bear.Sparky shot hte bear with a .50 muzzle loader,Great placement,But the bear hit the ground moving.Glen turned one dog loose to follow the bear.We thought it would be short lived.As they started to get out of hearing we turned in 5 more. I started after them,having the only back up a 9mm.I followed until the stopped the bear.Isat and listened until all was over or I thought.I started into an oak thicket,to my surprise everyone was resting for round two.As the bear turned towards me I pulled my trusty 9mm and started firing.4 shots before he had my head in his mouth.4 more point blankas we wrestled.He chewd me up spit me out and left.Point is when the adreniline is FlowingI don't think a cannon would have stopped this bear.Hope you enjoyed Chuck

Ike · Post by **Ike** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:34 am

WOW jokerredbear, what a story.....so how bad did that bear chew on you? Did you say that bear got you by the head?

I killed one bear with a .50 caliber muzzleloader and it seemed to hit the ground stone dead; shot another with my .300 Weatherby with reloads and a 190 grain bullet. That gun also stopped the bear dead in it's tracks. But a bullet better be well placed or all hell can break loose. I read a post by a guy some years back that said, "I tell my clients the bear is theirs in the tree and keep shooting until it's dead....but when it hits the ground alive it's open season for everybody with a gun." Now I understand why he said that.

I carry a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson with a ten shot clip, and realize it isn't a bear stopper but will give me something to do while a bear is charging me ha!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was a couple guys that had a large bear caught down south a few years back. They got treed or bayed and the hunter shot himself in the leg instead of shooting the bear. I'll say one thing about those large caliber magnums, and that' s if things go south I'd rather shoot myself with a smaller caliber pistol :!:

keep'em treed but shoot'em where they live and continue until they die,
ike

HoundDawg · Post by **HoundDawg** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:16 pm

I don't carry a gun. Not interested in killing one and I don't need a gun for protection. I figure that's what I feed those dogs for.

I guess if I run out of dog power one day, and find a bear chewing on my arm I'll probably start carrying a gun. But haven't needed one yet.

So I guess the real answer is my back-up gun is of the blue and red caliber, and shoots out of both ends.

mixed bunch · Post by **mixed bunch** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:27 pm

I haven't carried a gun that much while running but i'm starting to change my way of thinking due to wolves and hearing stories of other houndhunters having their dogs killed by the wolves. seems that they hear the dogs and come in and kill them for fun. so least to say that i will start carring a gun know to keep my dogs. have any of you ran into this problem?

DesertDweller · Post by **DesertDweller** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:34 pm

Geuss I am kinda like houndawg, I would need to have to start carrying a gun before I could even take a back-up. Sounds like some people hunt bear full comando style, suprised some don't list hand grenades and smoke bombs for diversion tactics.

Bearkiller · Post by **Bearkiller** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:42 pm

DesertDweller wrote:Geuss I am kinda like houndawg, I would need to have to start carrying a gun before I could even take a back-up. Sounds like some people hunt bear full comando style, suprised some don't list hand grenades and smoke bombs for diversion tactics.

We don't all live in Mexico, compadre'. We can't carry the good stuff like you. ;-)

I don't ever remember carrying a back up gun or seeing anyone I hunted with have one. My back up gun was always whatever my buddy was carrying. the only guy who carried a pistol used it as a primary weapon. Since you can't carry a gun during pursuit season I haven't carried any for a few years.

Ike · Post by **Ike** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:02 pm

Personally, I think a person should carry an automatic paintball gun if it were legal in your state. I aint sure you could stop a bear charge with one but you sure could have alot of fun!

roflmao,
ike :wink:

back up gun

what is a good back up gun

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