Handgun Question?

7

74cj5

Guest
I'm fairly new to MM, so I apologize if my question has allready been answered elsewhere. I really enjoy the site, and look forward to participating more.

I enjoyed a great deer hunting season this year, and was thrilled to have my wife along for several of the bow hunts. Everything was going great until we jumped a good size black bear one evening on a stalk. Of course it took off in the other direction, but it scared my wife to death. She was less than thrilled with the idea of possibly confronting a bear with nothing more than my stick and string.

So my question is; Am I allowed to carry a handgun on the bow-hunt in Utah? If so, do you think a 9mm would persuade a Utah bear to play elsewhere in the rare case that such persuasion would be necessary? Have any of you had any risky bear or mountain lion confrontations in Utah?

Thanks for your help, will be posting hunting pics soon...
 
I'm not sure about Utah, but it's restricted to carry any other weapon besides a bow during archery if one is holding a tag. Now, if your wife had the tag, and you were along for helping, you could pack a pistol for sure, just make sure you had a lion tag. :) (over the counter here in AZ)

Now to answer your next question. I have known of an instance where a bear was killed with a 9mm auto. I would not take anything less than a .38 special. Pay close attention to the bullet construction and take something with a bit more penetration than these self defense rounds. I would NOT carry an auto but a revolver. I'll take reliability over capacity in this situation.

Sorry about not knowing Utahs laws but I'm sure it's in the regs. Maybe someone here can chime in too.

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"
 
If you have a CCW license yes you can have a pistol with you on the archery hunt.


-DallanC
 
My girlfriend went bowhunting with me alot this fall. She was pretty worried that we would run into a bear. Truthfully I wasnt worried, although I probally should have been, as we have some huge black bears and also some grizzlys. Its my opinnion that when it comes to bears and handguns, bigger is better(handgun caliber not bear), so I would opt for at least a .357 mag in your situation. Up here in Montana, were you have the possiblity of running into a griz, id say anything less than a .44 mag and you might as well leave your handgun at home and carry pepper spray. The worst time to have a bear encounter is when your up to your elbows in a elk, not paying attention to whats going on around you. I remember a few years back, a rifle hunter was killed and partially eaten by a sow griz and her cubs while gutting a bull elk. If you carry a handgun for bear protection, ensure it is the most powerful chambering you can handle, and be sure you can fire it accurately in a stressful life or death sitiuation. Otherwise, carry bear spray.
 
I have had a couple of encounters here in Utah with black bears. My friend had to shoot an arrow at a black bear that he originally saw and it stalked him and ran down a hill after him. My friend said it was like being confronted by a dog that you knew was going to bit you. He said he felt like a little kid and was scared to death. He drew back at the bear as it was starting to circle around him at 15-20 yards and shot at a tree in front of it. I honestly think he was so scared that he missed but anyways it ran off un-injured. I've smelt them before in the timber when I was stalking elk and once ran into one in the dark while it was raining. I was all by myself and it shook me up pretty good.

I bought a .357 air light by S&W (12 ounces) but after the encounters I have had I've learned that all you need is pepper spray. The problem with a gun is you have to have it on you all the time, and you need a concealed weapons permit to carry it in Utah. Although if your wife didn't have a tag she could carry it. Carrying a gun through the brush is dangerous and you could loose it very easily. Its heavy as well and more expensive. I would recommend the bear spray and a bow.

It will give you good Karma.
 
As was said before a concealed firearm permit is needed to carry on a primitive weapons hunt. This is one of the main reasons that I got my permit. Tests have shown pepper spray to be marginally effective on most bears and ineffective on some. I wouldn't gamble with it. besides, it's hard to fire a warning shot at 30 yds with spray. There are many light-weight wheel guns out there such as the S&w airlite and the Taurus total titanium that come in bigger calibers. With a nylon holster and aluminum-cased rounds, you should be under 30oz on the hip. I am currently in the market but haven't decided on a gun. Right now I carry a Browning .22 semi, but more for pot hunting. Although I'm sure that 9 rounds in the nose and eyes would ruin a bear's day(and probably mine too).
Good Luck
Andy
 
I carry a .357 S&W Mountain Lite througout the year in Colorado. The extreme light weight and small barrel makes it a great horse carry. I would like to pick up the .44 S&W Mountain Gun for future hunts in areas w/ the griz.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation, INCREASED and NOT IMPAIRED in value."
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