Horse Riders Unite!!!

[Outfox]

Every winter I do a significant amount of coyote hunting (mounted) with dogs. My issue is not with the coyotes. But on a couple of properties that I hunt, there are pigs. The pigs will ravage my dogs. So I carry my XD45 for just such an instance.

But mounted it does not seem to work well to have my XD on my waist, especially when my horse is jumping trees and such.

Anyone else carring their XD45 while they are riding a horse? I'm interested to know how you carry? Some of the people that I guide will freak out if they see a profile. Any ideas? Is vertical best?

[PackerfanXD]

I grew up on horseback but alas, I'm in Phoenix now and I hate riding in the desert. My folks had a B&B in upstate NY and 10,000 acres of trails connecting to our property. Great memories!!!

[DoctorDawg]

My wife is a wilderness rider, and carries while riding. She is still experimenting with different positions and holsters. She likes small-of-back. There's endless debate over whether or not that's a safe place to carry (the idea being that falling on it might break your spine), but over the past 50 years she's collected a lot of data regarding falls from horses (by falling off plenty of horses in a variety of circumstances), and has never once fallen onto her back...side, yes; face, yes; hands-and-knees, yes; on her head, yes; but not on her back.

I'm curious about your statement, "Some of the people that I guide will freak out if they see a profile." Are there really people who would freak out over a hunting guide being armed? Doesn't that kinda go with the territory???

Git them yotes!

[Outfox]

Originally Posted by DoctorDawg

My wife is a wilderness rider, and carries while riding. She is still experimenting with different positions and holsters. She likes small-of-back. There's endless debate over whether or not that's a safe place to carry (the idea being that falling on it might break your spine), but over the past 50 years she's collected a lot of data regarding falls from horses (by falling off plenty of horses in a variety of circumstances), and has never once fallen onto her back...side, yes; face, yes; hands-and-knees, yes; on her head, yes; but not on her back.

I'm curious about your statement, "Some of the people that I guide will freak out if they see a profile." Are there really people who would freak out over a hunting guide being armed? Doesn't that kinda go with the territory???

Git them yotes!

Great stuff here DocDawg!!! Thanks

I, too, have had my fair share of falling from horses. And come to think about I have fallen a couple of time on my back. Mostly it happens when my horse falls down behind while on a cliff or hillside.

I'm thinking that a crossdraw shoulder rig may work best, especially if I can get my XD to be more on my chest than on my side.

You bring up a good point Dawg, that everyone in the hunt party should be aware of all the weapons. But in these instances, I am carring the support weapon, for pig problems.

Most of the propeties that I hunt on are owned by family co-ops. So it is inevitable that when some family member hears that I hunting mounted with hounds, a wife or daughter joins the party on their own horse. They are riders first with maybe a little interest in hunting, not hunters with a little interest in horses. See the dilema? So CC is my happy resolution.