Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

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Swampthing
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby Swampthing » Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:23 am

Seriously, how many people a year are actually attacked? I bet more people are killed in autos in one hour, than all year by wild animals.

I agree Spysar there are a lot or Pansies driving around wearing their seatbelts, these people need to man up and take their crashes head-on like a man.I mean how can they be afraid of getting thrown from their car window doing 70 mph.


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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby PASwamper » Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:17 pm

You'd almost have to be crazy to bowhunt for grizzly or even black bear in Alaska/Canada and walk out in the dark without a sidearm or at least a measly can of bear spray. Black bear where I live, no sidearm necessary. Black bear thats never seen a person, I'd rather not take my chances. I don't know about wolves but if the same thing happened to me I probably wouldn't wanna take my chances with them either.

Yeah, there are way more people killed in car accidents but almost everyone you know probably gets in a car everyday at least once. How many people are out in a wilderness, in the dark, with wolves and bear, all by themselves WITHOUT A SIDEARM!
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby solocam88 » Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:57 pm

You might be crazy to bowhunt for a grizzly without a gunner but isnt that the point of using a bow? There is a crazy amount of danger involved and having a backup gun takes away from the extreme challenge you are trying to accomplish. I would like to see someone on tv stalk up to a grizzly with a bow and shoot it without his buddies backing him up with guns
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby lungbuster » Thu Sep 09, 2010 2:05 pm

solocam88 wrote:You might be crazy to bowhunt for a grizzly without a gunner but isnt that the point of using a bow? There is a crazy amount of danger involved and having a backup gun takes away from the extreme challenge you are trying to accomplish. I would like to see someone on tv stalk up to a grizzly with a bow and shoot it without his buddies backing him up with guns


One day you might see it as it is my dream hunt to bowhunt brown bear in Alaska! :D I doubt I will find a guide that won't carry though and you cannot hunt grizzlies/Brown bear w/o a guide in Alaska.
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby Mountain Archer » Thu Sep 09, 2010 2:32 pm

I carry here in Tn. and Ky., not for any animals, but for the dope growers and meth makers. It is legal if you have a carry permit. HAVE A NICE NIGHT.
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby PASwamper » Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:17 pm

You might be crazy to bowhunt for a grizzly without a gunner but isnt that the point of using a bow?


I do see your point completely. I don't really have the desire to shoot one but if I did it wouldn't be shooting one or walking in and out in the light that'd I'd be worried about the most. Theres no way on this earth that I'd be walking in and out in the dark in that country without a sidearm. That being said even if I were to do it in the light I'd still carry a sidearm for when walking through brush and such, but I don't think having a backup gunner would be necessary.
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby PASwamper » Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:34 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbnmLLnsfw

I doubt I will find a guide that won't carry though and you cannot hunt grizzlies/Brown bear w/o a guide in Alaska.


Still looking for a guide that won't carry? I commend that guide for shooting in front of that bear instead of at it. Theres good reason they carry, they'd be stupid not to. That was obviously one of the more intense scenarios, but if your out there enough stuff like that will happen.
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby Pesser144 » Fri Sep 10, 2010 11:13 am

Reminds me of something I was told a few years ago that is very similar to the other post about "having a gun and not needing it...."

"I'd rather be wrong than dead wrong"

Yep, I carry.
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby muddy » Fri Sep 10, 2010 11:45 am

Not much down here other than angry Holsteins, no side arm
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby lungbuster » Fri Sep 10, 2010 2:07 pm

PASwamper wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbnmLLnsfw

I doubt I will find a guide that won't carry though and you cannot hunt grizzlies/Brown bear w/o a guide in Alaska.


Still looking for a guide that won't carry? I commend that guide for shooting in front of that bear instead of at it. Theres good reason they carry, they'd be stupid not to. That was obviously one of the more intense scenarios, but if your out there enough stuff like that will happen.


I've seen that many times, I think it would have been wise for them to paddle away from the cubs.....They appeared to just drift in towards them before momma came charging, I would not have been drifting lazily that close to brown bear cubs as it is a given momma is near and they were too close and that is why she charged.........That being said I know there are no guides in Alaska that would not carry and I agree it would be purely niave' to think you can stalk through the bush without a back up gun in Alaska.......But Wi. and Alaska are very different in dangerous game densities and the nature of the game we have here versus there. I have never felt I needed a gun anywhere in the lower 48 while bowhunting and I have hunted states with wolves (few years back on a Wi.bear hunt we had wolves near the bait one evening),mountain lions (on a hunt in New mexico a few years ago I am sure we were stalked for a few hundred yards by a lion) This was a bowhunt, no firearms involved) and black bear, I will say I have not hunted any areas with grizzlies and I would probably at least have some pepper spray on such a hunt. My point is I have been on my fair share of hunts throughout the states and have always felt safe with just my bow and as I have said before I have nothing against someone that wants to carry (so long as it's legal) but I think it's a bit too much to think you have to carry when hunting in areas without grizzlies, any other animal that might attack would usually give you time to stick an arrow into it or at least get one out of the quiver and use it as a stake (and that would be a rare occurance as 99.9999% of the time a wild animal , other than a grizzly, will not go after you). As for the yotes that followed out the deer, first off why didn't you at least pick up a heavy stick and whack one of them? I would have nocked an arrow and gave it to the closest one, the rest would have scatttered or they would get the same. :|
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Fri Sep 10, 2010 2:47 pm

As for the yotes that followed out the deer, first off why didn't you at least pick up a heavy stick and whack one of them? I would have nocked an arrow and gave it to the closest one, the rest would have scatttered or they would get the same.

We were dragging out a deer in second season with snow on the ground, no sticks to whack and left the bows at the truck when we stripped down from our heavy clothes.

Yotes were one by one or the same 1 or 2, would rush in, we could hear them coming and buddy would swing around with his light and they would take off. They were nipping at the deer but never "hit it" closest they came was a couple of feet from the deer's end. Maybe they would have bit, but buddy kept hitting the light on them not allowing them the chance. They never got closer than 8-10 feet from us, far ways to whack with a stick.
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby Hilts » Fri Sep 10, 2010 3:11 pm

1. It's a lot easier to to hold a flash light and shoot a gun than it is to draw and shoot a bow accurately.

2. If it's yotes or wolves it's usually more than one. How fast can you fling arrows in the dark.

3. Grizzly hunt and no back-up gun? I do a lot of stupid stuff but that is rediculous. I had to shoot a black bear 3 ft short of my gun barrel as it charged and I fell on my a**. I would have liked to see some one get an arrow off in that situation.

4. I myself have had too many hair raising close encounters with bear, yotes, and timbers to not carry day or night.
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Sat Sep 11, 2010 7:20 am

Hilts said it, Amen.

Some posting to this site are truly showing there experiance and amount of time spent in predator country.
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:13 am

Another reason to be armed in Northern WI.

http://www.rhinelanderdailynews.com/art ... 766302.txt

Got a kick out of the readers responses so far. :lol:
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Re: Can you or do you carry a side arm bowhunting?

Unread postby PASwamper » Sun Sep 12, 2010 7:30 am

I've seen that many times, I think it would have been wise for them to paddle away from the cubs.....They appeared to just drift in towards them before momma came charging, I would not have been drifting lazily that close to brown bear cubs as it is a given momma is near and they were too close and that is why she charged


Drifting lazily??? :? That river is moving pretty good. It'd be impossible to paddle away in time! Not to mention its obviously a shallow river, they're probably following the deepest part. They couldn't have handled it any better or avoided it in that situation in my opinion.

But I do agree with you that its probably not necessary to carry in the lower 48. I would only know about Pennsylvania and surrounding states and Alaska though. If I had a couple wolves following me in the dark I sure wouldn't mind having a sidearm.


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