i have heard several stories about bear attacks on bow hunters ,and have seen a increase in the attacks every where, my number one thought is can u carry a hand gun bow hunting in Michigan without a ccw permit? i carry one during rifle where i hunt because i have bumped into a bear before, 10 feet was TO CLOSE! fer me
Me and a buddy had a close call while moose hunting a couple weeks ago. We were sitting there calling and a pretty large black bear came in to about 5 feet. We didn't have any weapons other than his bow, quite an experience!
Lmao. I'm considering making a bumper sticker or something that says this. Brilliant! To the OP, that's why I carry a .45acp on my side even when bow hunting.
I have a lot of bears showing up on my trail cam, I went out & got bear spray & an air horn. I figured that would do the trick without me getting a bunch of tickets from the DNR.
Surrounded by blackies and grizz all the time. Never feel the need to carry. Perhaps someday I will, when married or a father. For now, I do not fear them. This little guy was at 10ft
If you've got bears I'd carry some back up. Don't know why people want to mess with these guys. There not there to make friends with you, your in their food chain now. Like that video in that other thread, that guy was just sitting filming that bear but the bear was grabbing his shoe to drag him off and eat him. That's their nature and your now part of THEIR nature.
^^ This, except for me its a .357 Its peace of mind for protection from a combination of pill heads and bears. In WV its illegal to have a bow and hand gun at the same time unless you have a conceal carry permit. I don't but I only hunt on private land and don't think I have to worry about a game warden on our land On a side note: I have had some black bear signs on the property this year and we have pics of 2 last year. I might just grab a stamp and see if I can fill it by chance.
Here in PA we hunt around bears all the time. Most of the time, they are no threat at all and run at the first sign that there is a human present. I've had many bears around my stands over the years and have never felt as though I was in any danger. However, recently, with the number of black bear attacks on bowhunters showing up in the local papers (we had two locally last year), its got me thinking about carrying my sidearm while bow hunting. This season, I might do just that.
Trust me what you saw In that video Is not the norm when seeing bears but If carrying a sidearm or some spray makes you feel more comfortable when hunting In bear country then by all means you should do It. Just use some sense If your going to carry a sidearm and don't get all trigger happy.
I didn't realize bear attacks were becoming more prevalent. I always carry when bowhunting, not really for any other reason than because I can, although it is very comforting to have a 44 on my side. There are bears in pretty much any place that i hunt in PA, I just figure they'll run off during an encounter.
Bear spray is probably the most effective method of actually stopping a bear. That said, I "feel" better carrying my .40. One thing that has always stuck in my mind was from an article that I read. "Unless you can hit a 30 mph bouncing tennis ball with your pistol, carrying one to protect from bears is pointless."
I cant carry a hand gun any ways so if a bear trys attacking me I'm screwed. I'm not 21 that's why i cant carry one not a felon.
It is illegal to carry a firearm in archery in Pa.That being said...I carry my .380 outside of my clothing,if the tree natizs wanna fine me!All the power to them....Like the gent said above...Rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6!....and thats a great line..... Im gettin that in my back window! Ty.......and besides the bear... my bigger worry is twits,nit-wits,drug induced freaks f*^kin with me,say to steal my gear for drug money...be prepared or be a victim!!!!!! God bless! Have a grand/safe season(s) ....Parinoid??????? WHOOOOOS THAT???? U HEAR THAT????? .... THER'RE LAUGHING AT ME!!!!!......
Why not just get a ccw either way? It is a good thing to have. I always carry a handgun when I hunt, though I don't need a ccw in VA where I live.
I guess I can understand the want of carrying a sidearm. Here in Illinois there is no conceal and carry so we're fresh out, and considering we dont have any bears either I should be ok walking to my stand for the 1st time next saturday.Black bears for the most part are scavanger animals thats why they raid campsites with open food. The only reason I know of that they would attack a person is when feeling threatened, as with most animals. I dont know if any of you have been hit with some deterent spray but them bears can still see when your shooting them, not so much when you spray them.
I hunt the forest behind my dad's cabin in PA. Its full of bears and bobcats, but they are rarely seen. However over the past year or two, we have seen many more than we used to. So many, in fact, that my dad came home the other day and he had 4 black bears in his yard trying to get a bird feeder. I guess food is getting harder to get for them, or they are just getting less fearful of humans, either way, its a bad sign.
In CT we don't have many bear but I would still like to carry my glock when bow hunting. well guess what I can't carry while bow hunting legally in CT even though I have a pistol permit. Some stupid legislator somewhere thinks that if bow hunters carry pistols that we will whip em out and start blasting deer when we get the chance. So let me get this right I have followed the letter of the law gotten my pistol permit, my gun hunters safety course (2 days) , and my bow hunters safety course (1 day). I have spent countless hours preparing for the kill ,hundreds of hours in the woods. But when the time comes I'm gonna drop my bow and shoot with my pistol. Ya that makes sense.
