who carries a pistol

[ants]

I guess it all depends on what pistol you carry. If you want it as a finish off gun, a small light .22 would be fine. With something like that I don't think you would notice the weight.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

legally it would have to be a centerfire

last season I carried it mainly becasue I carried my ML during the regular season. In the proper holster the weight isn't noticed by me.

[Paulie]

So yes it is illegal to carry a handgun with a bow....but if you have a full carry permit can you? I don;t see a problem with it as long as you are not using it and I think that would be pretty easy to determine if ever questioned, no?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

no...not lgal while bow hunting even with a permit. That would be a game law violation. carrying a pistol witout a permit while bow hunting would be a felony.

[Paulie]

I know Culver....just seems as though people that have a full carry should be able to carry as they can pretty much anywhere else...and since you go through all the background checks you should be an upstanding individual enough not to use it in an improper manner. I just think about myself when I walk into the woods in the dark (and we now have bear here)....I know they are most likely more scared of us they we are of them but I would still feel safer if I were allowed to carry with a bow. (mind you, I don;t have a pistol or permitt....plans are in the works though)

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Oh I am with ya,Makes no sense to me. seems like a law where they don't trust us to be lawful having a pisol and not using it on that big buck just out of bow range...lol. I think any DEC office worth their salt could tell the difference between a bullet hole and an arrow hole.

[Paulie]

Agreed

[daytime dave]

Here is my shorter range combo. Henry Big Boy and Smith and Wesson 629. Both in .44 magnum.

[d-bone20917]

So has anyone actually put their eyes on the law that says you can't carry a pistol (with a valid pistol permit of course) while bow hunting? I know everyone says it's illegal and on the DEC FAQs they say you can't, but I've never read it in the hunting regs.

[d-bone20917]

Never mind... I'm an idiot. I just went and looked it up.

Manner of Taking

It is unlawful to:

• Take big game while the deer or bear is in water.
  
• Possess a firearm of any description when bowhunting or when accompanying a person bowhunting during special archery seasons.
  
• Make, set or use a salt lick on land inhabited by deer or bear.
  

[verminater71]

it's in the Q&A section

Q: I have a pistol permit, may I carry my handgun while bowhunting?

A: No. While bowhunting during a special bow season, you may not possess a firearm of any description.

heres the real dumb part

You can't have a loaded gun while spotlighting

however you can have a loaded handgun while spotlighting deer

don't make no sense, the DEC needs to be retooled

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Manner of Taking

It is unlawful to:

• Take big game while the deer or bear is in water.
  

I know it is petty but it just struck me (again) how stupid some of our regulations really are. I know they are probably talking about the big game while it is swimming but that isn't what it says....lol.

ankle deep? knee deep? swimming? how about standing in a creek or in a flooded timber?

[oneidacountyhunter]

Oh I am with ya,Makes no sense to me. seems like a law where they don't trust us to be lawful having a pisol and not using it on that big buck just out of bow range...lol. I think any DEC office worth their salt could tell the difference between a bullet hole and an arrow hole.

I ONLY reason I don't carry mine during bow is because its the law. Couldn't agree more with you. I passed my background check and have nothing since my check, must be I can't be trusted. The ones that carry a pistol without a permit or would use it out of season are the same ones that probably shouldn't be hunting in the first place.

[StripedBuck]

I use to carry during Bow just for safety reason's pack of coyotes, aggressive bear,confrontation with a crazy person in the woods,LOL..But I do not carry during Bow anymore as it is illegal and I do not need the hassle if I am patted down by a DEC officer just for my own personal safety. During rifle though I always carry my SS 357. S & W it's nice and small, doesn't weigh too much and is perfect if I have to finish off an animal that hasn't expired yet.

[Pygmy]

I have no problem with people legally carrying while hunting..When I hunted in NM with my bow for elk it was legal to carry and I did, because lions and tigers and bears OH MY, do exist there..

However, around home, if I am carrying a rifle, shotgun, or ML, I don't need the extra weight..If I have to finish a critter I can do it with the long gun, in the head or at the base of the neck, or in the lungs if it is a mounter and I do not want to ruin a cape..

[ants]

I just have a problem with not having the right to bear (Carry) arms just because it's bow season. That law automatically assumes that you are carrying with the intent of using the arm illegally. If that is the case then why issue carry permits at all? Just me.

[Nomad]

Ants me too. I can walk my land in bow season with a handgun, I can small game hunt it with handguns during bow season,but I cant have a .38 snub on me if i'm sitting in a stand with my bow.

And your not alone in carring during bow, I'd say half the guys I know do .

[ants]

Amen

[dave6x6]

Ive told this story before but i'll bore some of you with it again. Few years back, a friend of mine headed to his stand during gun season and found himself quickly surrounded by a pack of wild dogs. When they aggressively came at him, he unloaded his 12 guage at anything close. He said there were 9 or 10 dogs and he killed 5 of them. Blood and body parts everywhere. If that had happened during bow season, my 72 year old friend would have been in a world of hurt or worse, dead.. Even if he was carrying his bolt action rifle, he would have been in a bad spot. I don't carry everyday because i'm scared i might get mugged, and i don't carry in the woods because i'm afraid of wild animals, i carry because i want to always be ready to defend myself at any time. By the way i carry to church, but not in the bow stand. The law is stupid but i'm not going to loose my rights by breaking it. Just not worth the risk.

[jusputtn]

Took my first deer with a 357 magnum yesterday. 30 yds broadside through the lungs and the 158 gr jacketed hollow core passed through.

[ants]

Nice job,,looks like a good size doe,

[WingNut]

Well done. I carry a 41 may sometimes but have yet take anything with it.

[bkln]

Nice job dude.....

[greensider]

i cary one but its no back up its my first choice taurus raging bull 44 mag allmost 4 pounds

[-=SPHC=-]

I've had my CCW over 12 years now. I carry every single day, hunting or not. No exceptions. The one time you leave it home and need it, defeats the purpose of its existence in its entirety.