Carrying a Handgun While Hunting or Hiking (Updated)

       This is not an article on whether you should carry a handgun when visiting the great outdoors, but rather, if you decide to do so, what are the options for methods of carry. Like any other time you carry for defense, easy and rapid access to the weapon is necessary.

     But hunting and hiking present additional complications to carrying a handgun compared to standard daily carry: you probably will be wearing some sort of pack with food, gear or water, on your back and/or around your waste, or perhaps a rifle slung over a shoulder; in bear country, you may be carrying a handgun that is much larger and heavier than standard daily carry (especially if you normally carry concealed); you need to keep the firearm handy while you perform other activities such as setting up a tent, preparing a meal, or climbing into a tree stand; and you may be walking several miles or more at a time in rough terrain and, for that reason, comfort will be paramount.

The Firearm Must Be Accessible

    The first rule of a gun fight is, of course, to have a gun; but if your gun is in day pack or backpack, you might as well not have it for how long it will take to get to it. In fact, you need to have the weapon on you and accessible.

     Earlier this year, Range365 discussed an incident involving Remi Warren of MeatEater fame, and his surviving a brown bear attack in Alaska. The incident occurred on Afognak Island—a small land mass about 20 miles long and 40 wide just off the coast of Alaska in the Kodiak Archipelago—in October of 2017. Warren normally carried a handgun in a holster attached to his backpack, but had a practice when he took off his backpack of transferring the firearm to another holster so it would always be on him. But, after several days of not seeing any bears, and after a particularly hard hike, he became complacent and, when the group he was with stopped for a lunch break, Warren left the firearm with the backpack. That was when the group was attacked, charged six times by a brown bear. Although the group was able to drive off the bear, there were still some injuries.

     Mark Uptain wasn't so lucky. You might remember his story from September 2018. Uptain was guiding a successful elk hunt in Wyoming, in Grizzly country. He normally carried a Glock (likely a 10 mm) in a chest holster. However, apparently not wanting to get his clothes and pistol dirty, he had removed both while he worked on cleaning the Elk. Unfortunately, he and his client were attacked as Uptain was removing the elk's head. Uptain used bear spray—actually getting a good hit with it on the bear—but the spray was ineffective. His client got to the pistol but was unable to get it to fire (it is suspected that Uptain may have been carrying the pistol without a round in the chamber). Panicked, the client tossed the pistol toward Uptain and ran away. Uptain was killed by the bear.

Light Hiking Or Hunting

    Not all hiking or hunting will find you slogging along with a backpack. You may only be using a day pack of some sort, or just carrying a canteen and few items in your pocket. In that case, you probably will be able to use a good belt holster. Because you will be walking for extended periods of time, comfort will be more important than it might be with just general daily carry. You will need a good gun belt and holster to ensure that the holster and firearm do not just flop around, and so you do not suffer from chaffing.

     One of the issues that I have had with carrying a handgun while hiking or hunting is back pain from the uneven distribution of weight that can come with wearing a handgun on a hip; especially since, if you are worried about encountering a bear or mountain lion, you may be carrying a larger caliber, heavier handgun. This can be alleviated by wearing the firearm in a holster that is closer to your center line, or balancing it out with something on the other side of your body.

    For instance, if you are out hunting with a rifle, you might have a handgun on your strong side hip, and carry the rifle on your weak side shoulder. This not only has the benefit of distributing the weight more evenly, but eliminates the problem of the two firearms banging together as you walk or move around. And if you carry the rifle in the muzzle-down position (sometimes referred to as Rhodesian or African carry), you can quickly bring the rifle up for a snap shot if necessary.

    Another solution which I have used is a fanny pack holster (aka pistol pouch). For instance, my first handgun was a Taurus PT92, and I used a large fanny pack holster when hiking or walking in the woods.

Hiking Or Hunting With A Pack

      Unless you are going on a very short hike, you will probably be wearing some sort of pack, be it a day pack, fanny pack, or backpack. That means straps over your shoulders and/or the pack also being closed around your waist, and these often don't play well with typical holsters.

       I remember walking into an REI store many years ago to shop for a new pack for backpacking. In my mind, this meant just looking at prices and options. But my wife had other ideas, and so, when a saleswoman came up to assist us, my wife wanted me to try on a pack. The problem was that I was carrying a handgun concealed on a belt holster. My wife had apparently forgotten that fact, and I didn't want to say anything in front of the saleswoman. So the saleswoman had me try on a couple of packs. Of course, since most of the weight of a backpack is carried on the waist, it is important to get a pack with a good belt that is adjusted correctly and sits comfortably on your waist. Through the process, the woman was just puzzled why she couldn't get the belt to adjust correctly. But that was because it was going around my waist and my .38 snubby! I went back later without my handgun. The experience illustrates that you just are not going to be able to strap a backpack on over a handgun in holster at your waist--at least, not if you expect the backpack to ride comfortably.

       One solution is to attach the holster to the pack's waist belt. I've done this and it can work ... sort of.  If I'm just out for a hike or hunting--not backpacking--I typically wear an old fanny pack which I like because it has a rigid foam backer that provides a bit of lumbar support, and a wide, comfortable belt, and it is actually fairly roomy. The belt has pouches for carrying a couple water bottles, and I can throw a few more in the fanny pack with my other survival gear and any food or snacks I might have brought. If need be, I can then wear a Camelbak pouch on my back for additional water.  More importantly, with how the pack's belt attaches to the padding, I can attach a belt holster.

     It's not the best setup, however. For one thing, I still have the weight of the firearm on one side which acerbates my back pain. In addition, the pack's belt is a flexible cordura, which means no matter how well the holster is strapped in, it will tend to tip or pull away as the conrdura stretches, which just aggravates the nonuniform distribution of weight. On the other hand, the weapon is readily at hand and, as long as I don't take off the fanny pack, on my person.

    However, there are other methods of carry. The AmmoToGo blog has a great article where the author tested some of the more common methods of carry while backpacking. The article, "Best Holsters for Extended Hiking," details the author's experience with four types of holsters: a shoulder holster; a drop-leg holster; a locking waist slide holster; and a leather non-locking waist slide holster.
He didn't test any of these holsters in concealment, but it was all open carry.

    Unfortunately, the author did not identify the particular type of shoulder holster he used, but it apparently had stretch bands intended to secure it to a belt worn around the waist. This didn't work very well once the backpack on on because it pulled the holster tightly back into his sides and against the shoulder straps for the backpack. However, when the author connected these stretch bands to the backpack's belt, the system seemed to work (although the holster was pushed so that it stuck out prominently).  Nevertheless, the author found it comfortable, the firearm was easily accessible, and he had total freedom of movement of his legs.

    The drop-leg holster seemed to work well, at least initially. However, the placement significantly threw off his gait and stride. The author acknowledged that someone that wore such holsters all of the time, such as special forces, might get used to it, but it was a no-go for the recreational hiker.

     By locking waist slide holster he meant your typical kydex belt holster that "locked" the firearm into place. Just as I found, however, the author realized that you couldn't just strap it on with a belt underneath the backpack's belt:

[T]he waist is a difficult place on the body to mount a holster while backpacking due to the backpack waist belt covering this area. In order to overcome this, I mounted both the locking and non-locking slide holsters to the waist belt of my backpack. This allowed for the placement of my firearm to be at my waist. Though, unfortunately by doing this, if I removed my backpack, my firearm and holster had to leave my side and my access as well – which could prove a disastrous decision if someone attempted to steal my backpack or something like that.

Although this author was able to mount it closer to the center of his body, so the weight distribution was fairly good, the way it was mounted meant that he could not attach the holster until after he had the backpack on his back and was doing up his belt; and, likewise, he first had to remove the holster in order to undo his backpack belt. So, in the end, the author decided this was not a viable option.

     The non-locking holster tried by the author was a simple leather holster with no retention features at all. As you probably could already guess, the author decided that this was a less than optimum solution because during activity or in the event of a trip or fall, there was nothing to keep the firearm from falling out of the holster.

    There are other options for carry however. For instance, Alien Gear Holsters makes an device to attach a shape-shifter holster to a shoulder strap of a backpack, essentially giving you a shoulder holster without the added weight of the straps and other rigging of carrying an actual shoulder holster. You can read a review of the Alien Gear Backpack Holster here, and product details are available here. The only issue you might have with this set up is that unless you have a backup carry method, you may be away from your weapon if you take off the pack.

    Sometimes the old ways are the best ways. One article I came across recommended the US Military M3 Shoulder Holster, which, although designed for the 1911 .45 ACP, will fit most full-sized semi-auto service pistols. Although described as a shoulder holster, it is more like a leather pouch with a shoulder strap designed to fit diagonally across the body, and a smaller strap that attached the bottom of the holster to a belt. It appears to also have a retention strap for a handgun. It is available from Amazon for $30.

    But as I researched this topic, the primary solution I kept coming across was the chest holster. There are various manufacturers and styles. Styles range from a small pouch or pack that fits over your chest (see also here) to finely crafted leather holsters for the hunter or guide.

     However, the one name and style that kept coming up was the Kenai Chest Holster from Gunfighters Inc. This is a kydex holster that is attached via three points to a harness system. While the cost of the product is on the high end ($150), it is not the most expensive (the leather chest holsters generally ran $180 or more). Moreover, once you have the harness, you can buy other chest holsters without the harness for $80 each. There is also an impressive list of firearms for which the holsters are immediately available, and an even larger number that can be ordered. Thus, you could have a holster for a small handgun that you could use while out running or biking, or go up to the Ruger Super Redhawk or S&W N-frame for bear country.

    There is a shop in my area that carries a wide selection of Gunfighters Inc. products, including a fair number of the Kenai Chest Holsters. It sells the latter for $140, so, even with sales tax, it was less expensive than ordering on line, so that it where I picked one up for a revolver to carry in the back woods. I've tested it out a bit and it is easy to adjust and easy to take off or put on once adjusted. I like it because it keeps the firearm readily accessible, has good retention, and, most important for me, kept the weight of the firearm centered and, thereby, minimized back pain.

     For one of my tests, I wore the holster with the revolver inside while I sent around the house spraying a spider barrier along the foundation. I was using a spray bottle, not some fancy applicator, so this meant that I was either bending over or having to repeatedly crouch or squat as I moved around the house. In one area, I had to scrunch in behind raspberry canes to get to the foundation. In all of this movement, it was comfortable to wear (even more comfortable than a lighter pistol in a belt holster would have been), and I had no issues with retention.

    Testing the draw, I noticed that to free the pistol, I had the harness shift about an inch to inch-and-a-half as I pulled on the handgun before it released from the holster. Undoubtedly I could reduce this by tightening the harness even more than it is. But I didn't believe it was an issue. My only real complaint is that I wish I could get the handgun to rest slightly lower on my torso, and perhaps some fiddling with the straps will allow that. As it is, however, it rides right over my heart, so maybe that is the better place to leave it.

     Most important about the chest holster, not just the Kenai holster, but any chest holster, is that it leaves your hands free and doesn't encumber your legs, balances the weight of the firearm, and can be worn even if you take off your pack.

(Update) Hill People Gear

       I had linked to Hill People Gear company as a source of chest harnesses (the "see also here" above), but I've been contacted by a couple readers specifically recommending the Hill People Gear products, including some specific recommendations. One reader specifically recommended  the Hill People Gear “Kit Bag” chest rig paired with a Dale Fricke trigger guard holster. Another reader, for whom I have a great deal of respect, also recommended the "Kit Bag" paired with a MIC holster looped through an inside loop to secure a Glock. The advantage cited is that you can carry ID, extra ammo, or other gear.

Articles on Carrying a Handgun While Hunting or Backpacking

• 1-800-Guns-And-Ammo.Com: "ALIEN GEAR SHAPESHIFT BACKPACK HOLSTER REVIEW" (12/20/2018).
• Ammo Land: "Advantage of Handguns for Defensive Use Against Bears: the Bear is Usually Killed" (5/13/2019).
• Ammo Land: "Bear Spray Fails to Stop Fatal Grizzly Attack in Wyoming" (9/18/2018).
• Ammo Land: "Geologist Describes Uses Of Revolvers To Defend Against Bears Over Six Decades" (6/23/2019)
• Ammo Land: "Handgun or Pistol Defense Against Bear Attack: 73 cases, 96% Effective" (8/12/2019)
• Ammo Land: "Update: Fatal Grizzly Bear Attack on Mark Uptain, Bear Spray Failure, Throwing Glock" (9/20/2018).
• Ammo Land: "Wyoming Bear Attack Glock had No Round in Chamber, Magazine & Pistol Separated" (11/21/2018).
• Ammo-To-Go -- The Lodge: "Best Holsters for Extended Hiking" (8/17/2016).
• Chuck Hawks: "Hunting and Field Holsters"
• Guns.com: "FATAL WYOMING BEAR ATTACK: NO ROUND IN THE CHAMBER ON HANDGUN" (11/27/2018).
• Gun Goals: "The 3 Best Bear-Defense Guns"
• Guns America: "When Bears Attack — Top Sidearms to Carry in Bear Country" (9/22/2017).
• Loadout Room: "Loaded for Bear: Is 10mm Sufficient?" (12/8/2017).
• Practical Defense Systems: "How should you carry a gun while hiking?"
• Range 365: "Never Take Off Your Bear Defense Gun" (4/30/2019).
• Range to Reel: "Concealed Carry Chest Holsters"
• Reloader Addict: "The 4 Best Hiking Holsters – Reviews 2019"
• Revolver Guy: "Kenai Chest Holster from Gunfighters, Inc." (7/13/2019).
• Shoulders of Giants-Journal: "BEAR DEFENSE: YOUR BEST BET AT SURVIVAL" (6/12/2016).
• Slate: "Alleged Knife-Wielding Killer on the Appalachian Trail Is the Stuff of Literal Nightmares" (5/13/2019)