Do you carry a side arm when hunting with pcp

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cmatera said:
I don't, but I should. I was watching a coon through my ATN 4K Pro mounted on my .357 Bulldog. He was facing directly away from me, so I was just waiting for him to turn broadside for a shot. He was at 30 yards raiding my bird feeder and seemingly unaware of my presence. Suddenly, he turns and starts running directly at me growling, snarling and hissing. When he got to like 15 yards, I fired in self-defense. I was up on my deck. I left the gun in the rest and ran like a girl, trying to get the door shut before he got in the house. My wife heard it all and was laughing her a$$ off at me. The next morning, I went out to check the scene of the attack. My deck is about 15-18" off the ground at that point. There was blood on the front edge board of the deck about 4 feet right of where I was sitting, and the coon was deceased under the deck. I had to belly crawl under the deck with a long stick to drag him out. The best part is, I have it all on a dark grainy un-edited video that has a bunch of nothing after about one minute, because the camera was still running after I went girl.
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High powered pepper spray, that sprays in a cone pattern, like Fox 1.4 or Vexor is my preferred defense for dealing with animals. This stuff is several times stronger than popular bear sprays. Most of the "attacks" I've endured in this life have been violent dogs that have gotten off leash. I believe these ultra strong pepper sprays are equally if not more effective at dealing with animal threats, especially if the animal is fast, wiley and hard to get a bullet into.

Frankly it's my first line of defense for violent and crazy people as well, unless they've got a firearm. You know how laws are in most states... you better do all you can do diffuse the situation in a non-lethal manner unless you want to be the one paying for the other person's crime.

Although I will admit, of course, a clean shot works instantly while the pepper spray takes a couple seconds to kick in. But once it does it's game over and you're going to have a much better time with law enforcement afterwards. I'm basically a pacifist anyway, nor do I care about showing off or out-gunning anyone. Kind of why I like airguns.
 
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this is the stuff i carry

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81hSeSDzYwL._AC_SX679_.jpg
 
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Ironically, I was just thinking about this. With the PCPs I only hunt in my backyard. An iguana hunt is on my mind but I would not have a sidearm for that. My regular hunting backup is a Glock 19X if bears or hogs are around and we are on the ground. But recently some coyotes showed up on the security cameras. That and the fact that raccoons may attack if they have rabies (I have seen several in my backyard with that illness in final stages, when they are very slow, etc) made me think of having my G19x next to me during backyard hunting. I just need a nice light and a silencer would be nice too but daaaaamn those are $$$$.
 
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HogKiller said:
Bears consider that seasoning.
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They really don't. It would be extremely effective in the vast majority of circumstances. Black bears? Forget about it. My father in law carries a 10mm in the woods "just in case he comes across a black bear". You gotta be kidding me. I grew up where black bears were almost as common as squirrels and got caught real close to them, including with mamas and babies around, a bunch of times. Never had a weapon at the time. There is a way to act around black bears, and that's calm, respectful of their space and walking away.

That's if you're caught off guard real close. If you can spot them but they're more like 75 yards out, just make some banging noises or other loud noises and they'll almost always retreat.

Even a little yipper dog will chase a black bear up a tree most of the time because these bears just aren't confrontational unless you catch them in a real bad mood.

Now brown bears I've never dealt with, being an east coaster, but I know guys in Alaska carry bear spray and it works. Of course you're dealing with a more dangerous animal but that shows you how effective OC spray is against mammals.... as long as you have a strong enough formula, a big enough can, and you can hit your target before it hits you.

And since the topic is "hunting with PCP".... if I have a PCP on me that's what I'll be using to deal with rabid coyotes, raccoons and anything else I won't too feel bad about shooting dead.
 
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pcponly said:
what about this stuff

View attachment 431115
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Fox 1.4 is their strongest formula... I think that's the green ones

But you'll see a few brands have a similar strength formula. I carry the 2oz sizes they call "MK3". You'll notice that several brands have the same can and design. POW, Vexor, Fox.... they all have 1.4% OC and will spray a stream 20 feet for maybe 20 seconds.

I'm not a fan of the "gel" or the "cone" or the "spray". I've found the "stream" to be the most effective spray pattern when it comes to accuracy and dumping the most OC on target.

This is what we carry in our family, at least for now

But that bear spray you have is almost as strong, shoots further, bigger can, and fogs. So that would be more effective against animals. It's just not concealable or convenient/normal to wear around town.
 
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Franklink said:
Oh for sure, never know when I'm gonna need a quick shot from a .500 S&W Magnum to put down a charging/wounded ground squirrel or prairie dog.

You haven't lived til you've got a full grown prairie dog charging straight at you with mal intent and blood rage in his beady little eyes. I'd sure never dare step foot in the wilds of a prairie dog town without my trusty sidearm.

Can't even count how many times I've emptied my Model 500 into such a life threatening wounded animal, only to have him roll to a stop at my feet. Seen my life flash before my eyes every time.
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🤣 I really think it depends if you have large predators in the area.
 
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pcponly said:
seriously whats the best for bear then ill return that to amazon i got it a few days ago
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According to studies and they are available on line going back a lot of years, the spray works on occasion. Believe it or not a lot have bears have been permanently dissuaded by a lowly .22lr. The statistics are an interesting read. Sorry I don't have a link.
 
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silvershooter589 said:
They really don't. It would be extremely effective in the vast majority of circumstances. Black bears? Forget about it. My father in law carries a 10mm in the woods "just in case he comes across a black bear". You gotta be kidding me. I grew up where black bears were almost as common as squirrels and got caught real close to them, including with mamas and babies around, a bunch of times. Never had a weapon at the time. There is a way to act around black bears, and that's calm, respectful of their space and walking away.

That's if you're caught off guard real close. If you can spot them but they're more like 75 yards out, just make some banging noises or other loud noises and they'll almost always retreat.

Even a little yipper dog will chase a black bear up a tree most of the time because these bears just aren't confrontational unless you catch them in a real bad mood.

Now brown bears I've never dealt with, being an east coaster, but I know guys in Alaska carry bear spray and it works. Of course you're dealing with a more dangerous animal but that shows you how effective OC spray is against mammals.... as long as you have a strong enough formula, a big enough can, and you can hit your target before it hits you.

And since the topic is "hunting with PCP".... if I have a PCP on me that's what I'll be using to deal with rabid coyotes, raccoons and anything else I won't too feel bad about shooting dead.
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Bear spray effective range 12' on a good day? No wind. I'll take lead, TYVM
 
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I do if in the native woods ...
I DID once when out in the alfalfa fields shooting belding ground squirrels ONCE !!!
Was all set up banging away at squirrels when a close one popped out of his burrow not 15 feet from my position.
Set rifle in my lap, grabbed the 9mm from the shoulder rig and took a shot ... DANG what an ear ringing !!! having no need for ear plugs shooting the AG or even the .17hmr. Won't do that again !!!
 
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Franklink said:
Oh for sure, never know when I'm gonna need a quick shot from a .500 S&W Magnum to put down a charging/wounded ground squirrel or prairie dog.

You haven't lived til you've got a full grown prairie dog charging straight at you with mal intent and blood rage in his beady little eyes. I'd sure never dare step foot in the wilds of a prairie dog town without my trusty sidearm.

Can't even count how many times I've emptied my Model 500 into such a life threatening wounded animal, only to have him roll to a stop at my feet. Seen my life flash before my eyes every time.
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I’m contemplating carrying something. This guy was going to blind side me in full on zombie rabid rage while I was setting up my shooting position. Fortunately, when he leapt at me, I whacked him with the only thing I had handy; my shooting sticks. Before he gathered his senses, I was able to get a couple of MRD’s flying his way.
I don’t shoot alone anymore…
IMG_1508.jpeg
 
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davecole said:
I’m contemplating carrying something. This guy was going to blind side me in full on zombie rabid rage while I was setting up my shooting position. Fortunately, when he leapt at me, I whacked him with the only thing I had handy; my shooting sticks. Before he gathered his senses, I was able to get a couple of MRD’s flying his way.
I don’t shoot alone anymore…
View attachment 431135
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Have you considered sharing your story with the media? Look at the claws on that thing…
 
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