Defensive Pistol Carry While Hunting

I recently was reading the Concealed Carry Corner column on The Firearms Blog discussing concealed carry for hunters, and it mentioned the 2004 mass murder carried out by Chai Vang, a Hmong immigrant that murdered 6 hunters in Wisconsin after he was confronted about trespassing on their property. (See, "Deer Woods Murder: The Day A Trespasser Killed 6 Hunters"--Meat Eater Magazine). As that latter article relates:

    That man—Chai Soua Vang, 36, of St. Paul, Minnesota, a certified sharpshooter and six-year National Guard veteran—opened fire by first shooting the group’s only armed hunter. He then shot three where they sat or crouched, chased down a father and adult son who fled, and ambushed a young nurse and her driver from behind as they rode unarmed on an ATV to render aid.

    Of the dead, Vang shot four in the back and two in the side, executing three with follow-up shots as if dispatching a wounded animal. When he pulled his rifle’s trigger the 23rd time while confronting a hunter he previously wounded, Vang discovered it was empty.

It notes that Vang had a history of violent behavior, including threatening others with firearms, as well as a history of trespassing while hunting. It culminated on November 21, 2004, after he was discovered using a tree stand on property owned by Terry Willers and Bob Crotteau who where there with 13 friends and family for a weekend of hunting.

    The article relates what happened:

    Terry Willers spotted Vang in the usually-unused treestand around 11:15 a.m. and called the cabin with his radio to see who was up there. He learned that everyone was back in camp, so Willers walked to the treestand, told Vang to come down, and directed him to head east 100 yards and get off the property. Their conversation was polite and Vang apologized. But instead of heading east through the woods as directed, Vang followed a camp trail southward. Willers followed for about five minutes to ensure he left.

* * *

    Meanwhile, Willers called the cabin around 11:30 a.m. to say he had evicted the “tree rat.” The elder Crotteau replied that he wanted to make sure the trespasser got the message to never return. Crotteau, his son Joey, and two friends then rode out on the Crotteau’s UTV. Another followed on an ATV.

* * *

    The hunting party loosely surrounded Vang while Crotteau yelled, but no one hit, kicked, or pushed the trespasser. Joey Crotteau, however, twice blocked Vang’s path when he tried leaving. Bob Crotteau demanded Vang’s name so he could file a trespass complaint, but Vang refused. Crotteau told his son to step away and let Vang pass, and then noticed Vang’s backtag holder flipped upside down on his coat’s upper back.

* * *

    Only Willers and Hesebeck kept watching Vang, who was seething with humiliation while walking away. After a 30-yard gap opened between Vang and the six men, Vang crouched, unslung his shouldered rifle [an SKS], and flipped a quick-disconnect lever to remove its scope. His National Guard training taught that open sights are faster and more effective at close range.

    As described in David Whitehurst’s 2015 book, “Tree Stand Murders,” Vang raised his rifle in one smooth, continuous sweeping motion as he circled right, kneeled, and aimed at Willers, the group’s only armed person. Vang later said, “If I don’t shoot him, he would shoot me.”

    Then the massacre ensued. Vang’s first shot missed Willers as he ran and dove for cover, but Willers landed atop his rifle and couldn’t turn over before Vang’s second shot hit his lower left neck, paralyzing him. Vang instantly turned toward the men on their machines and shot Roidt, who hit the ground dead, as his ATV, still in gear, idled forward. Vang shot Drew next as the Crotteaus fled, and fired three shots at close range while chasing Hesebeck around the UTV. His third shot flattened Hesebeck, who fell stunned and still.

    Assuming Hesebeck was dead, Vang raced after Bob Crotteau, whose blaze-orange coat made him easy to see. As he fled, Crotteau called the cabin on his walky-talky to tell Laski to bring guns. Vang’s first shot missed but the second hit Crotteau in the chest, instantly killing him. Willers, meanwhile, had regained feeling in his fingers, and called the cabin for help.

    By that time Vang was chasing Joey Crotteau, who fled down a trail. Vang sprinted to cut the corner to the trail to close the gap, and shot him in the lower back at about 65 yards. Vang reloaded, approached closer as Crotteau struggled forward, and shot him again. Vang then closed in and shot him twice more from behind, putting the final shot into his head.

* * *

    Vang, after reversing his blaze-orange jacket to its camo side, hid near a curve in the trail when he heard the ATV approaching. Thinking Jessica and Laski were likely armed and looking for him, Vang waited until they passed. When he fired, the bullet struck Jessica in the left buttock, blew through her hip, and struck Laski, shattering his lower spine and abdomen. Vang ran over, shot Laski through the back and heart to finish him, and then stepped behind Jessica as she crawled screaming and pleading, and fired a shot through her neck into her brain.

* * *

    After next ambushing and killing Laski and Jessica Willers on Laski’s ATV, Vang returned to retrieve his scope and leave, thinking he had killed every witness. As he neared the site, he and Hesebeck came face to face. Vang said, “You not dead yet?” and raised his rifle to shoot. He fired as Hesebeck grabbed Willers’ rifle with his right hand and dove for cover. Shots zipped past over Hesebeck’s head.

    Though he could point but not aim the rifle because of his wounded left arm, Hesebeck tried to shoot back. But when he pulled the trigger, the safety was still engaged. He dragged the unfamiliar rifle alongside his body to feel for the safety, and pushed it in. He pointed it again and fired once. He then heard a slight metallic sound from Vang’s rifle, and realized Vang was out of bullets.

    Whitehurst described the standoff: “Their eyes met. Neither moved. Vang had the ability to shoot, but not the bullets. Hesebeck had the bullets, but not the ability.”

    A diesel truck was now approaching from camp. Even if he had more bullets, Vang knew he had to flee. He didn’t have time to silence every witness who had seen him transform from trespasser to mass murderer. Forsaking his riflescope, Vang zig-zagged into the forest.

So what we have here is a deadly confrontation where all but one victim was unarmed; the only armed victim was instantly taken out of action because the attacker knew he was armed, and when someone else was able to reach the rifle, he couldn't use it because he had been shot in one arm; the initial shooting started at 30 yards and one victim was shot at a distance of 65 yards, while others were apparently shot at much closer distances. This suggests that in this situation the key factors for survival would have been to be armed, but not obviously so, with a firearm that could be operated with just one hand: in other words, a handgun.

    While this may be the only mass murder of hunters in the United States in modern times, hunters and outdoorsmen have been targeted by serial killers. One of these, who was discovered and arrested, was Thomas Lee Dillon who is known to have killed at least five sportsmen in the field in Ohio, and may have been responsible for the deaths of two hunters in Michigan. Another is Gary Michael Hilton, known as The National Forest Serial Killer, who was responsible for at least four murders in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina and suspected as the killer in five other murders. (See also, this article from People magazine). 

    There undoubtedly have been others. While I cannot find track down any articles about this on Google, I remember some years ago coming across an article speculating about a possible serial killer targeting hunters in, I believe, Georgia or Florida, based on a number of hunters that had gone missing over a period of several years in a particular forest. 

    And one of the reasons that I have always carried a handgun while hiking or camping is because when I was much younger I read of a couple hikers that were raped and murdered. Although I don't remember the details, it probably was about victims of David Joseph Carpenter, the Trailside Killer, who murdered seven hikers (including raping several) in California in the 1980s; although it could have been this 1990 incident on the Appalachian Trail where Geoff Hood and Molly LaRue were attacked by Paul David Crews who murdered Hood and raped and murdered LaRue. In fact, there have been 13 known murders along the Appalachian Trail between 1974 and 2019. The most recent involved a man who attacked a group of hikers using a knife. 

    Besides the two legged predators, there is always the risk of being attacked by an animal. And it doesn't necessary have to be a bear. In 2019, an Arkansas hunter was killed by a deer that he'd shot and thought was dead. 

    And there is a real danger of being attacked by bear when cleaning or skinning downed game. For instance, on September 14, 2018, archery hunting guide Mark Uptain was killed and his client Corey Chubon was injured by a grizzly bear while Uptain was field dressing a bull elk. Although Uptain had a 10mm Glock pistol with him at the time of the attack, it was with a pack and shirt a short distance away when the attack began. Uptain had bear spray on his person which he deployed but was obviously ineffective notwithstanding claims by wildlife officials that the bear spray worked--just that it was deployed too late. Chubon also had a canister of bear spray but wasn't carrying it on him at the time of the attack.  Chubon had retrieved the Glock and tried to use it, but claimed he couldn't get it to fire--apparently he wasn't able to work the slide to chamber a round. Chuben had also tried to toss the weapon to Uptain, but at that point Chubon had apparently dislodged the magazine "while trying to disengage the safety" (in other words, he must have thought the magazine release was a safety). Later examination showed that the Glock was fully functional, so there was no mechanical issue with the Glock. Chubon, by the way, ran away while Uptain was still trying to fight off the bear, apparently without attempting to retrieve or use his bear spray or crossbow.

    Getting back to The Firearm Blog article, the author, Matt E., discusses a few handguns that he has used for backwoods carry, including a 500 Magnum when in Alaska. Based on the work that has been done on cataloging the effectiveness on handguns in bear attacks, I'm going to say that outside of Alaska with its large bears, handgun caliber is not as important as most people think (and even in those cases, bullet construction and the loading--i.e., the ability to penetrate deeply and reach vital organs--is probably more important than caliber). 

    Also, if we are just talking about self-defense on the trail whether against a two or four-legged predator, we are probably looking at the same or similar factors as defensive carry elsewhere, which is going to boil down to having a handgun with us (meaning it must be comfortable enough to carry that we will actually do so, which is a combination of the holster, the belt or other support system, and the weapon), that it can be brought to bear with reasonable speed (which is a factor of the holster and how it is carried, as well as the weapon), of reasonable effectiveness to stop a threat but not so powerful that follow up shots are slow or inaccurate (i.e., bigger is not necessarily better), and that we know how to use it (i.e., don't be like Mr. Chubon).

     And, because the distances you might use it are greater than typical self-defense distances in the town or city, it should also be a weapon that you in actuality (not theoretically) can get effective hits at distances of at least 50 yards without having to use a rest. But don't go overboard: the 8-inch or longer barrel revolver may be great for handgun hunting, but they would be, in my opinion, too unwieldy and too long to be good choices for defensive carry.

    I can't tell you what make, model or caliber to carry. I can offer some of my experience as to holsters and carrying. For much of my life, I carried a .357 Magnum revolver in a belt holster for hunting or when camping, but I never liked it because the weight on that one side was too uncomfortable after a long day of walking around and was hard to use with the belt pack I often used to carry water or other kit. I've since switched to using a chest rig (either a Gunfighters Inc. Kenai chest holster or a Hill People Gear Kit Bag) for carrying duty sized or larger handguns when in the outdoors. I tend to go with the Kit Bag for hiking just because I don't want to unnecessarily alarm other hikers. But both these options work well with a belt pack or day pack/hydration pack. For just casual hiking on trails where I expect more traffic from people and little chance of encountering dangerous wildlife--such as the numerous trails around the Boise area--I generally just go with a snub nosed revolver or small semi-auto in a pocket holster. That seems to work well for when carrying a small pack for carrying water and food and still be able to access the firearm.