we can here, while BOWhunting ... I do normally carry concealed in my everyday life (did today just going to the store... SOB/9mm) and carry for my work (duty belt), I dont when BOWhunting ... I carry enough weight packing in gear/stands/sticks, etc. .. now if I had a Titainium .38 that is super light that would be the ticket, but all my side arms are eithr full size 9's and .357's or a compact 9 and a .40 which is still weighty .... I hunt state land and have never seen a need while BOWhunting in over 30 yrs... I do carry either a 9 or .357 when scouting before and after season however ... years back, while carrying my Glock 27 .40, my truck broke down along I94 by Broadway in Gary .... I was approched by 2 very shady characters, I made sure my jacket opened so they could see it, they stopped walikng towards me, Driver stayed in the car, the 2 whispered to one another, walked back to the beat up caddy and drove off, no plates to be seen .... I called the State police and was told there had been a some strong armed robberies along that stretch of interstate, I gave them the description of the vehicle and occupants .... dont know if they were ever caught ..
I was robbed at knifepoint as a kid. Until someone experiences something like that they just dont get the fear of being killed. Someone good guy or gal wants to carry. Who cares. Good for them.
My uncle/dads Bro. was mugged and beat up pretty good in the Miller Beach area of the old East Gary area (now called Lake Station to get away from the Gary affiliation) when I was in high school and his dog shot at ... it is worse there now .... I CC when I can and as much as I can ... just to much weight to add on when bowhunting ... I do need to look at a Taurus Titainium 2" bbl. .38sp though ... I do carry when fishing, even with waders, carry when driving to and from also .... hell, I CC when getting a hair cut
If the two-legged threat is armed with a gun, good luck with the bear spray. I prefer "a can of" Glock 45 "bullet spray".
In some states, you might be arrested for doing that and if it is not a constitutional carry state, you might well lose your CCW.
In WI, you can carry either open or by CCW during bow season. You are not allowed to dispatch a wounded deer with the firearm as it BOW season. We have some CO's here that can get prickly over what is open carry. If your jacket can possibly cover the side arm, best not to wear that jacket. You may do so during gun season but the side arm needs to be legal for hunting. So, no .22 here. In MI, you can only carry in BOW season if you have a CCW. You are not allowed to dispatch wounded game with it.
not if its incidental to the jacket being opened, dont flash it per say, which I didnt, but if the coat/jacket shirt 'happens' to pull back on its own when reaching or moving about, no problem ... of course depends on the state ... we are a very good CC state, open carry is legal also, and may soon be a constitutional carry state... hell, I have a Life Time license as it is and do so, so I can reciprocal carry in others states that allow such ..
You have shady dudes pulling up to your hunting vehicle as you exit the woods..with no reason to be there...you should be on alert. Our country is nuts. Cant even carry a sidearm in the woods for fear of illegally shooting deer. Ok then check the dead deer for entrance wounds. If it isnt from a broadhead then that is an issue. All states going away from checking in deer in person. No accountability so what is the diff if someone carries a sidearm into the woods during bow season?
I had some low class idiots try to get the drop on me and my family last summer out on the river. Took me awhile to figure out what was going on. You picked the wrong one.
But officer, there was nobody around, why should I stop at that red light. What we do when we think that no one is watching is what defines us as a good person.
WI isn't so easy. Concealed better be concealed. If your T shirt rides up when you bend over and your firearm is exposed, you can be in trouble as a young local cop found out. He had the misfortune to have that happen in front of a couple deputy sherrifs. They reminded him that it has to stay concealed. He didn't like that and it went down hill from there. He ended up taking a 30 day unpaid vacation, 30 days of desk duty and 6 months back with a training officer. If a person even thinks you flashed your side arm at them, and they complain, you will be getting a visit from a LEO. At least in my part of the state. These are just some of the reasons I don't conceal carry much. Just easier to open carry if I'm going out hunting.
I never really have, but this year with all the trespassing and theft and confirmed identity of the one being a felon with violent past I implemented a rule that Pops and I both had to have a gun on us if we were hunting there. SUCKs to do but sometimes it is better safe and never needed than find yourself in a situation that goes south very quickly.
As far as I know, it’s illegal in IL (imagine that) to carry while bowhunting, so I never have. I’ve had a couple of interactions with others while hunting that made me wish I’d had it with me anyway. I walked out one night after hunting on my own family farm to find a shady group of guys in an old truck who wanted to know who I was and what I was doing- again, parked next to my truck on my own ground. This year, I hunted public land, a couple weekends, for the first time ever. One afternoon, I had three methheads walk in on me, one male and two females. The situation got kind of intense for a few seconds, but ended with the guy screaming all the way back to his vehicle while his harem tried to calm him down. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I’ll throw this out there. I carry every time and it’s not the wildlife I’m worried about. I am of Asian descent and I’ve experienced way too many situations where things could have escalated. This provides a level of comfort for me, knowing I can defend myself if it came down to it. I don’t know what other people are capable of. My wife actually suggested I get one so I did. All the things happening these days I was always “it could never happen to me”. It did. It has. It continues to happen, at times I least expect it also. Walking my dog at a local park. At Target where I just needed a new toothbrush. While I’m fishing 2 miles from my house. Fishing! My alone time where I want to relax and get away. So yes I do because of what I have experienced. Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.
I've been a CC proponent for a very long time, but I honestly haven't felt the need to carry often around my area. To put it in perspective, many publications rank my area of the country one of the best and safest places in the country to live. I have never been mugged, robbed or been put in a situation where I felt my life or others were in danger. That said, I have been carrying much more often these days. Times are changing, even in my area we're feeling it. As the old saying goes, it better to have it and not need it....
