Concealed weapon or not: The bush and animal protection

driller212 said:
I have just been reading this thread and think I will put in my .02c in.

I am a geologist, but I am not only at risk working in the bush. I find with the amount of time I spend outdoors gold panning, hiking, rock hounding, hunting, etc on my own personal time I am very vulnerable to attack from all kinds of critters. I carry rifles right now, but I often find them 10-20 feet away when I am gold panning, or doing any kind of labor related work. They are really just a pain and they end up being out of reach. I have bought an antique because it is my only means as a last line of defense against animals. I may have a cap and ball but I will tell you what, at under 15 feet away (which is where I would likely shoot an animal). I think it will pack enough punch with the right shot placement. Half of my reason to have a gun around is to scare the animal off before the situation gets too dangerous anyways (works most of the time). I would love to be able to carry a large caliber pistol all the time, but the laws don't allow it, so I took the next best thing. My plan B is always a pig sticker I have on my belt, but really any animal that has me on the ground more than likely will kill me if I am being realistic. They are much more powerful than any man, and evolution has made them deadly.

As far as holsters go, I have thought a lot about it, and I think a shoulder holster rig would be good, although I haven't tested it with my gear on. It would keep the pistol handy and out of the elements for the most part, and out of the way of any waist straps. The only problem would be in certain weather conditions when you have to wear coats. My second option would be a drop leg holster with a flap over top to prevent crud and rain getting into it.

I am still an avid proponent of bear spray, it may not work on all animals, but it has kept me alive so far. I have never had to shoot a rifle at an animal in self defence, but it only takes that one time in a thousand.

I was talking to a guy in Granlunds today, and he mentioned that Indian tactic of putting a mask on the back of your head so that predators think you can see them when they are behind you. I might actually give that a try gold panning. I often forget to check my surroundings regularly.
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Go with a 'Tanker style' holster, you might find it quite workable.
 
I recently purchased a nice shoulder holster at a gun show that is a perfect fit for my "Ajax Army". In Canada an antique handgun can be carried in the bush but it cannot be concealed. As a result this holster needed to be modified to suit my needs. I changed it to a bandoleer style that can be carried over my hunting jacket. This is a temporary set-up for this season. A local leather crafter will make a professional job of it sometime this winter.

 
Nice setup. I'm happy to see that some Canadians (without a rural business) are fining some way to carry handguns in the wilderness.
 
USAGunGuy said:
Here is a good article about handguns vs. bear attacks in the U.S. http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2016/10/dean-weingarten/bear-attack-pistol-failures/ . Although we can carry modern handguns with modern ammo here instead of the antique caliber handgun rounds you are stuck with, the examples in the article do show that bears are getting killed with handguns.
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Excellent read.. appreciate you posting that. These sort of articles need more publicity, without a doubt.
 
The same for NB as well

Zircarg said:
Apparently here in Nova Scotia, one can only be in the woods with a firearm when it is 'in season'. I found this post on another NS online forum:

"In order to discharge a firearm on crown land, there has to be a season open that allows the use of the firearm you are shooting and, yes, you have to be hunting.
At the current time, you are allowed to hunt coyotes with a shotgun and certain sizes of shot. Outside of a public range, (and you are required to call for an appointment at the DNR office) or gun club, That is the only way you can be in on crown land with a firearm. The appointment gives you a temporary "travel permit" for the amount of time it would take you to travel the most direct route to and from the range. You must also have someone accompany you - a buddy, your wife, etc. For liability reasons, no one is allowed on the range alone. Even if it was your own land, and you had enough land to meet the legal distances and be safe, unless you have an approved range on your property, you cannot legally discharge a firearm unless there is a season open that the firearm used is legal in and you are properly licensed, with Wildlife Resource Card, Habitat Stamp and all."

This would seem to clearly suggest that since an antique hand gun can't be used for hunting purposes, as stated by DNR, and target shooting is not a valid reason to have any type of gun on Crown land, its therefore not possible to discharge an antique hand gun outside of a range even though other non-restricted firearms can be when they are used 'in season' strictly for hunting.

Despite this, I do think I will be having a little chat with the CFO about all of this. So much craziness!
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I'm only 50 KM's outside of Ottawa. Over the years my little farm property has had packs of wolves take out some of my goats and sheep I had. I've had Fisher take out 20 chickens and I've been run off my front lawn by a black bear. I now carry one of my many big bore rifle carbines, or a SBS 12 Ga. Once in a while I'll open carry one of my Cap And Ball pistols around the farm, but that is me plinking and not thinking defense I have to admit. I'm not getting crapped out by a bear. Not on my own property. I mostly take out my 8.5 inch barrelled Kodiak SBS, my .12 ga Canuck 14 inch barrelled SBS, or my Browning BLR .450 Marlin. All will one shot kill anything I aim at on this planet. I've seen the size of the wolves and the sheer number in my local wolf pack...I'm not pissing around. I want one shot stopping power, and not second guessing if my next shot will actually fire or not. Simple answer is spend the $250 to $400 buying yourself one of the many Turkish or Chinese short barrelled shotguns and be done with worrying about anything there after. Nothing says we're done here, faster than a .12 ga with the proper load in it.
 
This thread has me thinking. I live rural and we have everything from raccoons to elk on the property. That means coyotes and feral dogs too. I had a stare down with a coyote last summer which was a bit unusual. Mostly they would just run away. Not this one. Didn't even have my car keys let alone a firearm. I could carry a slung rifle I suppose but that gets awkward real fast. What suggestions would you gentleman have in regards to an antique pistol at a reasonable price?
 
I had been thinking about a .69 or .75 percussion smoothbore. They are plentiful, and pretty cheap. They can be loaded with a load of buckshot, or a big ball with a stout charge for a close range encounter.
 
The fanciful imagination of some here is beyond belief. The first page of this thread answers the questions of the OP. Someone here have said an antique, when being transported, needs to be in a locked container. That is false. The letter that accompanied confirmation of the transfer of my revolver to antique status clearly pointed out as a "suggestion" the revolver be contained in a gun case or be at least covered. Nothing about locks. If I was going to be flying somewhere or travelling any distance in a vehicle the gun would be in a locked container and out of sight. Just common sense. The second comment I will make is The Criminal Code of Canada specifically states Antiques are not firearms. Period. If you can read you can find out for yourself. They do become firearms if used in the commission of a crime. I suspect this provision allows for a charge of "Armed Robbery" for example. Lastly as others have stated, the CFO has confirmed to me and others an Antique maybe discharged or shot if you prefer anywhere it is legal to discharge a non restricted firearm. Anyone who says this is not the case does not know what they are talking about and getting into a conversation with them is nothing more than waisted spit IMHO.

For anyone coming to this thread and reading only the last page I suggest you turn to the first page of this thread and you will learn all you have to know about Antique firearms. There are several here who participated early on in this thread. I admire your tenacity.

Take Care

Bob
ps A little common sense when dealing with your antique will keep you out of the hair of the local RCMP. Rely on the fact the locals will likely have no idea what the rules are for Antiques.
 
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I pack a .44 mares leg in my backpack when I ride my dual sport into the woods to moto camp, or even to just go shoot it at a old logging landing. During transport it's got a cable lock on it and kept in a gun sock which conveniently fits into my drybag backpack along with all my outdoor gear or whatever else I got with me.
 
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