Got a question for Northern Bear Hunters.

Is it legal to pack a side arm in Georgia ,open carry, on WMAs and the National Forrest? And if so, do you pack one? I'll be hunting bear for the first time and couldn't find it in the e-regs. I know I probably stand a better chance of using it on a person stealing from the truck but is it a good idea to pack while hunting?

For bow season you must have a CWP.

It's legal with a concealed weapons permit but it wont be useful for bear purposes and it adds a lot of weight.

Yes, you have to have a concealed carry permit/license while bow hunting. Hammer is correct, it adds weight, refer to Fred Bear's 10 commandments of hunting #5: http://www.cthuntingnshooting.com/v...?20594-Fred-Bear-s-10-Commandments-of-Hunting
I used to carry when hunting but hated the weight and keep in mind that the woods are the safest place in the world. The most dangerous part is the drive to your hunting location followed up next by falling. Not just while getting into or out of your stand but walking, etc. Your right with the only reason you might need it would be if someone was stealing from your truck. That or if PETA decides to protest your hunt. In that case bring your phone and take lots of pictures

I like to provide sources of info and neglected this time, sorry. Page 20 of the paper regs, 22 of this pdf spells it out:
http://georgiawildlife.com/sites/de...orgia-Hunting-Regulations-Guide-2016-2017.pdf

Thanks for the input, you guys are right, it's more weight and I actually do feel more safe in the woods than I do in large cities anymore.

To each his own, but if I'm in the woods I have a pistol on me.

I've never felt the need to have a pistol while I have a rifle with me. However, I never go unarmed.

I've been going on long hikes and scouting trips without a gun all my life. The boogerman hasnt got me yet. I do have a sharp knife on me at all times.

Ok after all the post I decided against packing a side arm. On day five several miles back the trail I sat down to have my ham sandwich and chips for lunch. I sat on a big rock overlooking a hillside. I got done turned around to take a leak and a bear was starring at me at 20 feet! My gun was 5 feet behind me. Luckily he ran off but I will always pack from now on.

Bowhunter77 said:

Ok after all the post I decided against packing a side arm. On day five several miles back the trail I sat down to have my ham sandwich and chips for lunch. I sat on a big rock overlooking a hillside. I got done turned around to take a leak and a bear was starring at me at 20 feet! My gun was 5 feet behind me. Luckily he ran off but I will always pack from now on.

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You'll find they ALWAYS run off. Lol

But I'm glad your ok and now your mind is made up. Problem solved, lol.

If you have a rifle, there is no need to carry a side arm. There really isn't much of a need to begin with. If I am correct, there is no documented near attack in GA in history. They always run off. One thing to remember: you never know what is going to happen in the woods. You could just as likely had a random buck or hog walk up on you. Your rifle should never be five feet from you while hunting. You might could pull off a quick shot if it were with you. You just never know. Once I was scouting Chattahoochee for turkeys in late February and stopped to take a leak. While I was draining the tank, I heard shuffling in the leaves right off the side of the ridge. Just as I finished up, a gobblers head popped up coming up the ridge, and then another gobbler followed up behind him. Had that been turkey season, that'd have been a dead turkey. Another time I was waterfowl hunting with a friend. I stepped into the wood line to drop the waders and trousers to do my business. I heard geese coming, and I ran to the edge of the pine saplings. He flagged the geese, and I called them in with pants and waders down. They swung in and he busted one. You just never know when game are going to show up. Always have that bow or rifle convenient to you.

There's always a reason to carry... and not to carry...

I cover all of them if I carry...

The cover where we encounter bears... I won't ever go again without a repeating firearm...

So, hiking, archery and blackpowder... I carry...

But during modern firearms... the bolt gun, SBL or AR10 satisfy my needs...

Oh... and plenty of bright flashlights for the walks out...

So... extra weight for an extra sidearm gets distributed on the pack frame that carries the crackers, water, iPad, spare batteries, spare ammo, spare clothes, knives, skinning tools, tarps, bags, GPS, cell phone, USB battery, charge cords, water filters, cameras, first aid stuff, stool... and bunches of other things...

I heard about a guy and his son supposedly getting attacked on Chattahoochee a few years back. He ended up beating the bear to death with a log...must have been a big guy or a small bear.
You're probably more likely to be attacked by a rut crazed buck than an aggressive bear but they will try bluff charges and all that good stuff to scare you off. The only animal I have caught actively hunting me in the woods was a bobcat...it was as fascinating as it was unnerving. Biologists say bobcats can tackle prey 8 times their body weight!! A big cat is 30 pounds so you can do the math.
I don't bother to carry out of season but I do always have a big sharp knife just in case. I bring a dog or 2 with me pretty often too.

Tio Hey Seuss said:

I heard about a guy and his son supposedly getting attacked on Chattahoochee a few years back. He ended up beating the bear to death with a log...must have been a big guy or a small bear.
You're probably more likely to be attacked by a rut crazed buck than an aggressive bear but they will try bluff charges and all that good stuff to scare you off. The only animal I have caught actively hunting me in the woods was a bobcat...it was as fascinating as it was unnerving. Biologists say bobcats can tackle prey 8 times their body weight!! A big cat is 30 pounds so you can do the math.
I don't bother to carry out of season but I do always have a big sharp knife just in case. I bring a dog or 2 with me pretty often too.

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I may be wrong but I think the bear attack yoy are talking about was in the Smokies on Hazel Creek.

Sounds like the incident at a campground on Chattahoochee WMA where a bear was brazenly raiding a cooler in broad daylight and the owner threw a stick of firewood at her, striking her just right in the back of the head and killing her. DNR was not happy about it, charging him with having an unsecured food source. There was no attack.