Sidearms?

[hntnfshn247]

Does anyone carry firearms of anytype while guiding clients? If so what and why? If not why not? Just unesessary weight? I have heard both ways but I think you guys have your act together. I have found that some of the people i talk to about advice are not as knowledgeable as they like to think they are, They may not even know which end of a mule to put the hay in. That being said I often feel they tell me whatever it is that they think will sell me on whatever idea they're trying to sell me on.

Thanx guys

[Buck]

For me personally, it depends on what type of hunt I'm on.  I don't carry a weapon during our fall elk/deer hunts.  If something comes up where I need a weapon, I will take my hunter's gun.  I always carry a rifle during our cat hunts.  I carry a .243 Win. so I can blast any coyotes, but it is mainly for protecting the dogs.  A lot of the time, we have 2 or 3 guides hiking different drainages with a dog or two running loose.  If we happen to have a confrontation with wolves, you better believe there's gonna be some lead flyin'.  Also, I haven't in the past, but I am going to start carrying a light pistol with me on sheep hunts.  Again, a lot of the time I'm off by myself scouting a separate drainage, and I've had a couple times where bears have tried to come in to my campsite.  I'll probably just get a little snub nose revolver for that, like a S&W Airlite.  Anyway, that's my 2 cents.  I know a lot of different guys have vastly different opinions on this subject.

[royaltine]

The reason a guide carries a side arm is for the following 3 reasons.
1.  To signal your hunter when he's lost (BTW, thats where you'll use it the most)
2.  To dispose of wounded animals THIS INCLUDES HORSES AND MULES.  For wounded game, like Buck said, the hunters gun will suffice.  For horses and mules that need to be put down, somone needs to have a weapon to do so.  I have seen a mule tied to a tree for 2 days with a broken leg while the owner went out to get a gun.  Thats BS.
3.  Protection for you and your hunter.  This is the least likely use for a weapon.  Everyone  that comes out west is afraid of the lions, bears, and wolves, but a dangerous encounter with any of these three is HIGHLY UNLIKELY!   That being said, If you are hunting in Grizzly country it may be more likely to happen.

So....  when I'm in Grizz country, I pack a Smith .44 mag otherwise I don't bother.


When choosing a hand gun, it should be light, comfortable to shoot and durable.  That means stainless, 6" barrel or less, and .357, .41, or .44 cal.  JMO of course! 

[IdahoBoy]

I agree with all that cody said for the reasons a guide should carry a sidearm. This season for elk/deer i brought in a .44 mag and ended up not carrying it at all due to the weight it added. For all you soon-to-be guides you will learn that even a pound or two means one heck of a difference by day 60. So now i have moved down to a Ruger Single-Six. It has a changeable revolver magazine that can be either .22 or .22 mag. I carried this all lion season, and will carrying it next season. It is light, and when you are using the .22 mag, as long as you can place your shot it is all the power you need. And i like the .22 LR cylinder because for 15 bucks and 500 rounds you can plink around as much as you want. That is my opinion. If i ever go into Grizzly country though that is out the window the the .44 is back in.

[Machias]

"I have seen a mule tied to a tree for 2 days with a broken leg while the owner went out to get a gun.  Thats BS." 

Agreed. I would have slit it's throat before I made it suffer that long.  What a shame.

[casey]

 At Grand canyon we were not allowed to carry firearms. And once we had a wreck that left 5 mules at the bottom of a nasty piece of country alive, but busted up bad. We cut the jugular on them. I didnt much like the way the mules looked at me after I stuck that knife in them, so afterward I gave NPS the proverbial finger and started packing a charter arms .44 special in my chap pocket. Out of sight. Yeah I could have got in a helluva lot of trouble.
  National park packing, too much political correctness, not enough common sense in administration.

[Deadeye and Doeswell]

That's our great government policy's for ya.  I carry a Ruger Vaquero 45lc