Carrying Pistol in Backcountry

[Doc7]

I have never backcountry hunted before. I intend to get my feet wet by going for antelope in Fall 2020 and planning on starting to build elk and mule deer points in CO, WY, and possibly MT for future years. (Based on drive time from eastern US, I feel I can now and likely for several more years drive those in 2 days myself, even better if I had a partner, whereas farther west I would probably fly to save a lot of hunting time).

A lot, or even most, folks truck hunt for antelope but I like what Steven Rinella said on his pronghorn episode, "I like to park the truck and leave it there for my entire hunt. I sleep better and feel better and hunt better when I walk." I like Randy Newberg but his style of drive-and-glass hunting is just not what I envision wanting to do out there. My plan in fact is to leave entire days reserved just for glassing from high knobs and another day for glassing and practicing stalking, rather than tagging out in 30 minutes. It would be fun to stalk several antelope and good practice as someone who's only hunted from tree stands, and never spent more than 2 minutes behind a set of binos on a hunt.

With all that in mind, I know pronghorn in the units I am looking at are not grizzly country. I currently have a Glock 19 and would likely plan to bring that. I have been looking at the Safariland ALS and would try to find a holster that could clip onto my Metcalf Mystery Ranch pack webbing on the waist belt but also be able to go on my pants belt when I am on a stalk if I dropped my pack. Again, a lot of this is for practice of all future hunts, not because I think a grizzly is going to jump me while I am antelope hunting. Same reason I will be bringing water filtration and refueling at streams or other water sources and not just have a bunch of water in the truck (though I will for backup!)

What is the upside of having a pistol rather than just counting on my rifle, a 7mm-08 Tikka T3? Including 4 days worth of food to camp, and a SeekOutside tent and 4L of water for my initial 4-5 mile pack around private lands to a camping location near water and glassing opportunities on BLM land, my initial pack in weight is 56.7 lbs (includes clothes down to 15F in pack, does not include clothes and boots that are physically worn). My daily hunting weight is 35.6 lbs again carrying 1.5 lbs of food and 4L water.

(This 35.6 lbs includes 7.2 lbs rifle, 6.2 lbs water, 6.1 lbs Metcalf pack, 4 lbs clothes in pack including puffy/hoodie/raingear, 2.7 lbs G19/Holster, 2 lbs Maven C1 + Harness, 1.5 lbs food, 0.5 lbs rangefinder, and the remainder 5.5 lbs is stuff like flashlight/leatherman/kill kit/first aid)


I could drop approximately 2.7 lbs off both of these weights by losing the Glock 19 and holster. I guess the upside is semi-auto, 15+1, vs a bolt action 3+1. What do you choose for sidearm options when it comes to being in the backcountry (where presumably 4 and 2 legged predators are possible)

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Glock 19 with a second magazine makes the trip most of the time.

 

[Farmerlentz]

Leave it. I only bring it if I'm not hunting and don't have a rifle. I would also try to cut some weight off the pack seems heavy as you will find out after a day or two of packing it

 

[Islanderflyer]

Im probably a bigger gun nut than most but I would leave the pistol behind. Its not going to do a thing for you.

 

[rekkr870]

Since you already have the rifle, I'd leave it.

As long as you have some kind of viable firearm on you're fine.

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[rob86jeep]

A hunting rifle is not a self defense weapon (unless you treat/carry it as one) the same way a pistol buried in your backpack isn't a self defense weapon. It really depends on why you intend to carry the Glock though to determine if it's necessary or just added weight.

 

[Zzhartless]

I adjust my pistol packing depending upon the hunt. When I'm rifle I carry bear spray ( if in bear country) if not rifle is fine for any protection. Archery hunting, I like to have a pistol (and spray in bear areas). No rhyme or reason, but this is how I carry. Live in and hunted WY my whole life.

 

[Aces11]

I don’t think you need to carry a pistol, unless you want to just to get used to having it on you. Antelope are in wide open areas and I would feel safe with rifle only. I would like the idea of parking your truck and not moving it again until after the hunt, but depending where you are hunting that may not be a very good option.

 

[mcseal2]

I'd also leave the pistol for that particular hunt. I pack one enough training, scouting, and fishing, plus practice enough I don't feel it necessary to carry one just to get familiar with it.

I always pack one when scouting because I don't have a rifle, but when I have a rifle it seldom goes along. Grizzly or brown bear country is the only place I'd pack the pistol and rifle. Well that or a Coues hunt near the border.

If I'm in bear country walking at night I'd prefer to have the handgun accessible to the rifle. I'll put the rifle on my pack a lot of the time outside legal shooting hours. The Glock 20 with the Streamlight TLR-1 attached will be in the Razco chest holster attached to the bottom of my FHF bino harness. Also making extra trips to pack meat I may only take the handgun. I stepped up to a 10mm with a light and night sights for Alaska, before that I just packed a 357 revolver.

A lot of my hunting is done with a friend. I take a pistol on those hunts so that I can pack it instead of the rifle if I tag out early, or while packing meat. I'll leave the rifle locked up in the truck and just carry a pistol once I tag out. If I'm not somewhere I feel justifies the weight/bulk of the Glock/light set-up, I'll pack my S&W 3" barreled 60 or 6" barreled 386 in 357. They pack easy in hip holsters and shoot well.

The handgun is seldom needed for anything but my peace of mind. That said it's worth it for me. I've had times tracking a wounded animal a friend shot that was still alive when I found it. The pistol on my hip let me finish the job right then. The animal's life ended quicker and I didn't have to risk bumping it getting to my buddy with the rifle and getting him back in there.

Also depending on what you are looking for on your antelope hunt you might want to match tactics to the area. As others have said a lot of antelope hunting is about covering ground. Trophy hunting you might want to use a method similar to Randy. If it's about learning and the experience your method will be a great teacher for the future. Just try to find an area that fits that type of hunting. Maybe somewhere that you can park and work a big circle back to the vehicle through some rougher country. Most antelope country I have been in has a lot of roads unless you get into really broken places with private land or a lot of washes and soft soil. Washed out crossings limit road access more in places like that. Hunting later in the season can limit the amount of road pressure you will see also, lots of hunters will be tagged out and home. Lastly a good tripod, head, and optics are a big help on antelope. I find that heat waves limit the effective range of big spotters enough I won't often take one when leaving the vehicle. I will take a compact one or 15x binos for evaluating one while on the stalk. I like a tripod I can also shoot from if I can't go prone.

Good luck on your hunt.

 

[Corvus Corax]

I don’t think I would carry a pistol on the hunt you described. Hidden/locked back in the truck for sure, but not when I have a rifle already.

 

[Calcoyote]

Listen to the majority view on this thread (that says to not take the pistol) and don't listen to me.

I carry a pistol at ALL times (even when I go to church). When in the woods and I wake up in the middle of the night and need to pee I have my pistol with me when I step out of the tent. When I am cooking a meal outside of my tent the pistol is on my side. When I hear something go "bump" outside the tent in the middle of the night it is very comforting to reach over and feel that cold steel beside me. I might seem like a sissy and a coward but when in the woods I won't go over 50 ft from my truck without a pistol. I am just not very lucky in the woods and cannot depend of good fortune. I take all the necessary precautions but over the last 35 years I have had 3 BAD encounters with bears, one with a mountain lion that was following me, and one incident with two weirdo guys that looked like they belonged on the movie Deliverance. I would find a different way to cut weight in your pack.

I use a Glock 20 (10mm) or, I also own the Glock 17 (9mm) which is very similar to your Glock 19. I really like carrying the Extreme Penetrator loaded by Underwood in both guns. Excellent penetration with a good wound channel. They are expensive but worth it.

Just my opinion...

 

[Marble]

30 years in the back country and I am yet to have needed one for protection.

However, i usually also have a rifle with me. I can say that at night this year during archery, while I had bags of meat near by, I was really nervous. I was also solo. Not so much worried about the meat. But more so attracting a bear and then having some sort of altercation.

Makes me want to carry a gun. But I'm not carrying a heavy one. If anything, I might look into an airlite revolver.

But I think it a lot of paranoia also...which is why I hesitate.

 

[Jardo]

For me, a pistol is not a fighting weapon. The only reason I carry a pistol is to allow me to fight long enough to get to my rifle. Of course my rifle is an M4 so I guess your kinda screwed either way.


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[BuckeyeRifleman]

Big time gun guy here, I feel naked without a pistol walking out the door in my daily life.

For antelope I would just leave the pistol. Any threat you encounter in Antelope county is going to be seen a long way off. Plenty of time to get the rifle in play.

If I were in black bear country I might take something smaller and lighter, Glock 26/43 or the like. Again I’d be more concerned with two legged threats at night.

Grizzly country I carry a Glock 20 with 200gr hard cast handloads, even if I’m toting a rifle. Bear spray might get taken as well depending on the area.

I carry in a HPG kit bag. My pistol is always on me even when I’m quartering game. Pretty hard to get your rifle in play when you are elbows deep processing. That’s why a pistol that is always readily accessible is important.

 

[bowenginerd]

G20 is my choice!

 

[WCB]

If you haven't carried it on a hunt I see no issue with "practicing" on the pronghorn hunt. It will be a good test on having it in a functional "out of the way" spot on your body. Do you need it on the Pronghorn hunt absolutely not but again will be great practice.

Guys in the back country that say you have a rifle you don't need it probably haven't needed it yet...if you get my drift. Sleeping in a tent I'd rather have a handgun, leaving tent to pee, make breakfast, gather wood for a fire. Easier to keep on you if you are quartering a kill, multiple trips packing in and out, etc.

I would also probably try to cut weight in your pack. The planned amount of water of the day pack is fine but you may be able to carry half that if water is readily available. In all honesty I get the montra ounces are pounds yada yada yada. 3lbs for piece of mind is not a big deal. I'd carry it.

 

[muddydogs]

A lot, or even most, folks truck hunt for antelope but I like what Steven Rinella said on his pronghorn episode, "I like to park the truck and leave it there for my entire hunt. I sleep better and feel better and hunt better when I walk." I like Randy Newberg but his style of drive-and-glass hunting is just not what I envision wanting to do out there. My plan in fact is to leave entire days reserved just for glassing from high knobs and another day for glassing and practicing stalking, rather than tagging out in 30 minutes. It would be fun to stalk several antelope and good practice as someone who's only hunted from tree stands, and never spent more than 2 minutes behind a set of binos on a hunt.

Trouble with your theory is a 10 mile x 10 mile chunk of public land in antelope country is very hard to find, even a 5 square mile chunk of land is tough to come by. Most the time you'll be hunting a mile section or two with one high point, takes all of an hour or less to see whats out there. If you want to practice stalking and have some fun seeing animals the best way to approach antelope hunting is staying mobile. Drive around until you find a stalkable animal and give it a go, if that doesn't work move on to the next one. Save the boot leather and miles of hiking for the elk. You will get a ton of time behind your bino's from the road looking for animals and judging size and you can do as much stalking as you want plus if you limit your shots to a hundred yards or less you will really get some quality stalk time. The fun of antelope hunting is seeing a bunch of animals, lots of opportunity and not hiking all over the mountain crawling over blow down.

 

[archp625]

I know this may be a little off topic from your original question but I would take Randy's approach to Antelope hunting unless you are hunting a unit that only has one area that you cannot see from the road. I will say its never a bad idea to get out of the truck to look over there or whats around that corner. Three of us went to Wyoming this fall and only one was shot from us seeing it driving down a road or two track. The others were seen getting out of the truck to see whats on the other side.

 

[kid44]

Personally I think a pistol/revolver should be carried every time you enter the backcountry, front country , or any type of country. The list of reasons goes on and on.

 

[Doc7]

Trouble with your theory is a 10 mile x 10 mile chunk of public land in antelope country is very hard to find, even a 5 square mile chunk of land is tough to come by. Most the time you'll be hunting a mile section or two with one high point, takes all of an hour or less to see whats out there. If you want to practice stalking and have some fun seeing animals the best way to approach antelope hunting is staying mobile. Drive around until you find a stalkable animal and give it a go, if that doesn't work move on to the next one. Save the boot leather and miles of hiking for the elk. You will get a ton of time behind your bino's from the road looking for animals and judging size and you can do as much stalking as you want plus if you limit your shots to a hundred yards or less you will really get some quality stalk time. The fun of antelope hunting is seeing a bunch of animals, lots of opportunity and not hiking all over the mountain crawling over blow down.

I get what you are saying, I really do. It makes sense. I am hesitant. Right now I am actually afraid to put in for elk tags in any states because having no backcountry experience I would be learning to camp and learning how to hunt elk all at the same time. An outfitter not in my budget right now. This is a huge part of the reason I want to spend 4 days on BLM just practicing camping and hunting all day. The unit I am looking at for pronghorn that has high but not guaranteed draw odds (if two coworkers or wife applies with me we will have a 98% chance of one tag in the group (group of 3) or 90% (group of 2) if we do not apply as a party. There is a section of public land that is 8 miles by 3 miles , that requires a 4 mile hike from public road around private boundaries to access and no other way to access via road. That is where I plan to hang out. There is mule deer country and streams bordering in the area so I can glass for other interesting animals as well. I think that all this can do a virginia tree stand hunter all the excitement he can stand on his first time sleeping alone in the middle of nowhere and hunting from sunrise to sundown.
Edit : to clarify, the odds I listed are for doe tags. A group of 3 that do not apply as a party would have a 98% chance of a single doe tag in this unit and a 10% chance of a single buck tag.