Carry firearm while fishing?

[StudentofTheStream]

9 times out of 10 I do not carry a sidearm but I do have a permit to do so and have done it in the past. I usually only carry it when I'm fishing alone which does happen quite often but in an area that I'm really unfamiliar with, has bears and or has many snakes. A few years ago I stepped over a rock up in the ANF right next to a coiled timber rattler. Fortunately for me someone else had seen him there earlier and he met his demise or else I may have met mine being so far back.

I pray to God that when I do have it on me that I never have to use but then again it does give me some piece of mind even though the chances that I can get it out of my waders in time of real need is probably slim. Still I feel a little better with it by my side when fishing alone, which is usually how it ends up.

 

[cce114]

StudentofTheStream wrote:
Fortunately for me someone else had seen him there earlier and he met his demise or else I may have met mine being so far back.

That's a shame about the rattlesnake. I see fewer and fewer of them in the woods. I hate snakes, but they are important. People have killed so many of them that they are not as many around. You have about a .001% chance of getting bit by a snake.... especially a rattler that generally goes the other way. If you have time to pull your pistol and shoot, you have plenty of time to walk away.

By the way, if you get caught killing a rattler, I'm pretty sure you'll get one heck of a fine.

 

[tomgamber]

tabasco_joe wrote:

cce114 wrote:
Not to criticize, but why on earth are you killing snakes? Especially a black snake in your barn?

Don't generally, it missed my nose by inches and I just reacted. .

Lucky you didn't shoot your nose off. Good thing it didn't show up between your legs.

 

[pete41]

Since I was from Delaware which has no poisonous snakes the locals in your great state seemed to enjoy scaring me out of my wits with snake stories.I still laugh at the gyrations I went through coming off of Kettle,Mosquito,and Penn creek after dark.Take it from me it is possible to walk two feet off the ground.lol
Only saw about 9 rattlers in my Montana years so I calmed down.
A couple of years ago I was working in the rose garden on the other side of our bedrooms wall.Down on my hands and knees moving the mulch around.My wife stopped to talk.Suddenly she said theres a snake and its one of those Coral snakes.Sure as hell was-buried in the mulch about two feet from my hand.Sorry snake lovers but that was too close for comfort.It was dispatched with due diligence.
Corals are actually very common in this area.We have seen about 10 road kill right in our development.

 

[dryflyguy]

I don't own a handgun, and have never really felt that I needed one yet.
Though I've never run into any unruly people along the stream, I have had some rather close encounters with bears, - once, I even wound up between a mother and her cub. I just exited quickly, and never was really threatened by her.
I have thought about carrying a piece for one reason though.
When I go on an extended fishing trip for more than a day, I just sleep in my truck - I have a pickup with a cap on it - and I just crawl in the back and go to sleep for the night. I hardly ever stay at campgrounds - just quiet pulloffs along streams that I have found - sometimes on state forest land, somtimes not.
I've been camping out like this for 25 years, and have never really been hassled, although I've been kicked out of a few places.
I do lock myself in before I go to sleep and feel pretty secure, but you just never know I guess. It's always possible for a bad actor to come around the truck over night looking for trouble.

 

[StudentofTheStream]

CCE,

I wasn't carry my pistol then and unless absolutely necessary I wouldn't have shot the snake anyway. Timber rattlers are mystic creatures to me and usually I'm impeding on their ground no vice versa. It is legal to kill them with the proper permit but I wasn't condoning it either way. I just don't want to find myself on top of one is all. It is a shame about their numbers declining and I hope the new regs can turn it around but just the same, I'd much rather see them from afar.

 

[ryanh]

I carried out west. Don't really see the need out here. Almost shot a big sea lion that was chasing steel head up the anchor river. it popped out of the water next to me and i almost deficated in my waders. I thought it was a griz.

 

[Bruno]

All of this discussion has brought up a memory that I have not thought of in years.

Many Many years ago my dad took me out to creek hills in westmoreland county. When there we were harrassed by a group or weirdos. I mean really harrassed. I actually called my mother to confirm this today. I remember being very scared. My father rarely went anywhere unarmed. I was carrying my .22 rifle. I was maybe 10 years old. One of the members of this group asked if he could shoot my gun. I remember my father very calmly telling them no. He gathered me and we very calmly walked back to the car. The weirdos followed the entire way back making comments and such. I can rember him being shaken up at the time.

When I asked my mother about this she said that is why she still worries when I go to the woods by myself. She said that the incident bothered my father very much. Thinking about it now I know my dad did the right thing. He was usually armed with a .38. I am sure he had it then. Rather he walked away.

Anyway, good thread. I have not really thought about my father n some time. Gald I did

 

[jaybo41]

Interesting thread on a very good topic. The two streams I fish most are streams that I've never encountered anything but good people fortunately. I don't carry a pistol, but always have a knife with me.

I also fish in the ANF for 2 week long excursions and sometimes we're fishing some remote waters. I have considered purchasing a handgun to carry with me "just in case", but even there, I've never had a bad experience with people. I'd mostly carry it for protection against animals.

This brings me to a story though. At a former company I had worked for, we had an HR Director that I got to know very well. She told me of a story that she recalled after I had told her that on my vacation, I was going to the ANF.

She and her husband were camping in Heart's Content and they were back on a remote road. On their way in, they had seen one other camp site and a lone individual camping there. During the night, they thought they had heard a gunshot, but didn't give it much attention, and they had left the next day and noticed another individual at this campsite on their way out.

Turns out the second guy shot the first guy who had been there.

The ANF region has, through my experiences been filled with nothing but helpful people, but I guess this goes to show that there can be bad people everywhere you go.

For those that do carry a firearm, where do you keep it while fishing?

 

[Bruno]

Dont keep in in your waist band. Some dumb A@@ shot himself in the leg at the MacDonald's in downtown pittsburgh.


HA!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

 

[Cynic]

REF. Post 2 by cce114

My guess would be that it was an illegal immigrant. And being armed with a machete = MS-13.

 

[Padraic]

Bruno wrote:
Dont keep in in your waist band. Some dumb A@@ shot himself in the leg at the MacDonald's in downtown pittsburgh.


HA!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

I read that too! Thank god he shot himself before he did something really stupid. Like trying to hold up the place.

 

[Acristickid]

I got freaked out a bit on the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina. It was a little before dark and I stopped for the night at a shelter area which was unoccupied(rare)and started to relax after hiking all day when I heard a rifle blast not too far away. It might has well of been a cannon as I had become accustomed to long stretches of silence. A minute or two after the blast I see a man approaching straight out of the woods with a scoped rifle. I was a bit nervous until I got to see the guys National Parks badge. He said he was out shooting wild boars. He was employed to the National Park Service to help eridicate the wild population. I guess a half century ago some clubs had "stocked the area" with boar for hunting. Needless to say they have flourished to the point having an impact on the plant life. He showed me the kill he had just made minutes before. The tusks were several inches long. He says he is to just leave'em where they lie. Not fishing, but it's my crazy gun in the woods alone experience. UUUMMM Bacon!

 

[rrt]

I don't carry a pistol, but my wife and my dad think I should. I have encountered night riders a couple of times, and they have been uncomfortable encounters. Twice, young women were with the guys, so that probably helped me. Another time, one said something about a gun as I passed by, and I jumped in my truck in my boots and got out of there quickly. I really think a handgun could be helpful in a real predicament, a real equalizer. Why, then, haven't I gotten one? I guess I just don't want to give up the fishing time to go buy one!

 

Jaybo41........... in answer to your question of "IF, you carry, where do you keep it while fishing?"
I have a "Fish Pond" vest and located underneath both sides of the outer pockets, are large zippered pockets, that reach from the front of the vest, (where it comes together), almost to the back panel. More than enough room for my sidearm. It's kept in a large, 1 gallon sized, ziplock, for water protection and can be easily handled without opening the bag. (Something, I PRAY, never has to be done!).
Before the vest, I used a chest pack that had a larger pocket, in the rear, that fit the weapon nicely.
I don't belong to the NRA, even, and I certainly don't advocate "having to carry a weapon, while fishing". It makes me sick, even thinking that something like being outdoors, to enjoy a relaxing time and have fun in Mother Nature, even requires this post.
However, as unfortunate as it may be, there have been times, when I've been glad I had my sidearm WITH me and not at home, in my gun safe.

 

[pete41]

If you are going to carry buy the stainless steel S&W J frame chambered for .357 magnum.Doesn't need waterproofing and will fire when wet.Has enough ooomph to stop a bear if needed.Don't practice with .357 use .38s instead or you will throw the timing off.Load .357 in the field.
Concealed is out of sight and vice versa-make sure you have a permit or end up a felon and broke even if you were in the right.lol
Many people are paranoid about handguns so its in extreme poor taste to carry openly even if legal in popular areas.
Anything heavier then the J frame[about a pound loaded] will be left at home after the first time,or left inthe car and if stolen you are in trouble.
In the East-probably not worth the hassle.In the west its a good signaling device and very comforting if you get hurt and have to spend a night or two laying out there smelling of blood.
Holster-the tanker is the best as it can be worn front or back.The weight of the gun is spread more.If you think handguns don't weigh you down,strap a 3 or 4 pound dumbell to your waist and walk around all day.

 

[tomgamber]

pete41 wrote:
If you are going to carry buy the stainless steel S&W J frame chambered for .357 magnum.
.

Are you nuts!!!!!! Do you know how reflective that is????
You'll spook the fish. Anything in a flat black finish only for fishing.

:lol: :lol:

 

[pete41]

I am sure you are kidding-you are carrying concealed-lol
Under waders or in front pocket.
I never worried about reflections anyway as I was longlining big rivers,standing in the water.Smaller streams[run off time]I fished from behind the fish.

 

[tomgamber]

I don't carry anyway, and yes I was kidding. I did build my last rod of all non-reflective guides and reel seat though. I have seen people spook fish from flashy rod on sunny days though.