Best Hand Gun to carry while Fly Fishing... Chest holster.

I am looking to carry a pistol this summer for protection while fishing near the elk herds of the Cascades. Mommas and their young may not see or hear me until I am perceived as a thret... look out. I am thinking to scare not kill but if I have to kill I need something big and am considering a 45cal Springfield XD Tactical, or a Ruger Super Red Hawk 44 mag. Is a 40 cal enough for this kind of protection? Anyone have some suggestions?

Yup, butcha won't like it...make enough noise hiking around to not surprise momma and calf....save the pistola for hunting.

I have a 44 when bears are also feeding in the rivers, other wise this is a lot lighter and a multi tasker

killer elk yo

The chances of surprising a cow elk with calf is probably less than the odds of being struck by lightning while sitting in your living room.

And even if you did and shot one I would hate to have to do the explaining as to why I shot it. You had better have some hoof prints on your body to justify such an action.

Dave

An air horn would take up the same room as a pistol and shoulder holster and have better results...

I'm still riding the fence on personal protection while out-n-about. My buddy has bent my ear more than a few times about needing to get a CWP and carring a handgun while out fishing and hunting. Call me naive or just ignorant, but for the first 11 years I lived in this state I carried a can of bear spray that I only bought cause I went to GNP - where you NEED it! However, a year or so ago after listening to many of his rants I decided I'd carry since I inherited a .38, and it is my right to carry in the field without needing a CWP. To be honest it hasn't given me any more relief, and in most cases I leave it at home. It is trouble enough to lug all the gear I take for precautionary measures while in the field.

The one animal encounter I had, a cougar in the Olympic Nation Forest, was run off with screaming and waving an ice axe...don't ask why I had an ice axe :clown: Beyond the animals I'm more worried about the idiots that loose themselves in our public lands for the various reasons ranging from excommunication to meth/grow operations.

Lastly I second the air horn or bear spray if you are worried about animals. If it is your unfriendly grow op or meth lab owner then you'd be better off with an AR with fully automatic capabilities and a good lawyer on speed dial to get you off for having a FA rifle and the tweaker that is suing you for shooting him.
I suggest FA rifle cause you want to at least be armed equivalently.
Seriously if you get a handgun...at least put a few hundred rounds through it before you head out...you'd be amazed how hard it is to hit anything 15-25 yards in front of you decently! better yet take a class.

As for an elk...maybe if you covered yourself in cow urine and were stopping around in rut!

my more than 2 cents worth.

I camp with the elk in the summer. We have counted up to 65 in one meadow grazing, both mommas and babies. I have been suprising mommas and babies my whole life in this area. I have been on jeep roads in the old 47 numerous times where the elk were caught off guard and we find elk on both sides of the road around the jeep. The matriarch postures and grinds her teeth as a warning and gives the orders to pull out while she holds off the thret. I have had this happen in the Nile, Wenas, Cowiche, and Bumping too. Mommas don't mess around. I was thinking that when I was fishing the herd could very well move in around me not realizing I was there. I would hate to hold off a big cow elk with nothing but my fly rod and a set of 54 year old nuts. Bear spray is a good idea and considerably cheaper than a hand gun too. I would only use the gun as a loud noise to scare the elk off. The security of having a weapon may be what I need to feel safer. I know the sound of a gun is familiar to this heard as they are pursued every fall and winter by hunters carrying guns that make that noise. Just an idea, probably a bad one where I may get into a legal issue for having to kill an animal. Better to carry a can of spray. But now that my wife has agreed I may need to pick up a hand gun what do I do? I appreciate the comment about putting ammo through a new gun to become accomplished at using it for the intended purpose. I am a good shot, and have used hand guns my whole life, I just do not own one. I would shoot it regularly if I got one. Thanks for the input.

Now, what would you buy... a Ruger revolver 44mag - expensive or a Springfield XD 40 or 45 - cheaper but reliable. :hmmm:

I collect some old magazines and have seen some great stuff from the 30's -70's. That is a bad ass picture, did you find that in an old Fish, Fur, and Game magazine?

Now, what would you buy... a Ruger revolver 44mag - expensive or a Springfield XD 40 or 45 - cheaper but reliable. :hmmm:[/QUOTE]

I'd get a revolver if you are looking for reliability. A 357 would be a good choice cause you could target practice cheaper with .38...

Mike, I'm not being macho, just truthful. I would never pull a gun to scare anything. I will only pull a gun to shoot something, dead.

With that in mind, you have to determine what handgun is going to kill a cow elk. I don't hunt big game, but my bet is nothing smaller than a 44 mag. Ruger makes a great Super BlackHawk in varying lengths. I'd look for on in a 5" range. Used ones are often a great buy.

You can practice with 44 specials, but you better be proficient in magnum loads also. Ammo isn't cheap, even reloading requires an initial investment.

If this is only for close encounters with elk, I think it's an awful expensive option. JMHO...

I'd never be concerned about elk with the possible exception of bulls during the rut, but carry either a Walther or Sig Sauer, mostly for snakes, at spots like Rocky Ford.

Thanks Roper... I do not take it lightly either... bear spray or noise may be the ticket. I appreciate the input.

Sorry Mike, I don't know the provenance of that art, but it's a beaut ain't it! I grew up reading the stuff you collect. How many do you have of of the lone outdoorsman stumbling backwards looking up at a cougar menancingly perched on a big rock above him? Extra points if his gun is leaning against a log he was sitting on while tending his fire! :thumb:

Revolver in 41 or 44 Mag. Ruger makes a good one. S and W has a few.

Not too cheap

Glock 23. Its compact, and you can purchase it in a 40.

For what he's asking about (huge critters) the best choice is the 10mm, not the .40. The 29 is a subcompact 10 shot magazine 10mm. Smaller than the 23 and more powerful. It didn't sit right with me though. I much prefer the one size up if not two. Unfortunately there is no compact 10mm that I'm aware of. Kind of weird...

I have to agree with Dave and Roper. I've been hunting elk for 15 years and find it extremely difficult to get close to them without them being aware of you. In my experience, even when you do manager to get close, they always run the other direction immediately. If you do feel like you still need something a little louder than you can yell, I would opt for the air horn. Like Dave indicated, if by chance you ended up ventilating one, you are "gonna have some splainin' to do", and the Gameys aren't likely to buy into your story. If you're still looking for a good pistol that has a multitude of uses including defense, Taurus make one called "The Judge". It's a .45 colt and .410 shotgun shell. It's good for rattlesnakes, grouse, and gang bangers. It's a little light for bears, but it'd probably make a cougar think twice.

Eric