Do you hunt with loaded or empty chamber?

[B]

You would need to shear metal to accidently fire the type of rifle I still use. PMCS is a thing, if you don't do them then yeah, maybe do things that aren't otherwise necessary but that's on you. I can piss just fine with it strapped across my chest and falling down has never been an issue. Maybe as I age.

 

[Bustercluck]

As he appears to have been using a piece of string as a sling I will assume that was 100% his fault. Since there isn't enough context in that random photo to say anything at all I think that speculation should be fine.

It was only shared with me because he said he didn’t have a gun to hunt with so I helped him out. I’ll ask him tomorrow for more details. I wouldn’t assume he is using a string for a sling, the other times I’ve hunted with him his rifle was in a kifaru gun bearer.

I half ran over my rifle with my quad once. I leaned it up against the front bumper because I had to piss really bad and needed to pull my belt and a couple layers of clothing. By the time I got everything back on I completely forgot about my rifle until after I started moving.

I can think of a few other times I’ve seen rifles tip over that were leaned against objects like truck tires or trees. I work with another guy who got busy loading his truck and thought he had unloaded his rifle, but actually forgot and when he was stopped by the co he handed him his rifle for inspection thinking it wasn’t loaded, but it actually was.

These are just normal people who spend time hunting and shooting. Anybody who thinks they never make a mistake, or aren’t capable of making a mistake will eventually be reminded of their ignorance at some point.

 

[Odinson]

There have been many documented instances where a loaded gun has gone off when the safety was disengaged- that is when your comment about the muzzle being pointed in a safe direction is paramount!
Cat

Then there are the odd Model 70 that will go bang when you close the bolt. That one stays in the rack until it goes to the gunsmith.

 

[Bustercluck]

You would need to shear metal to accidently fire the type of rifle I still use. PMCS is a thing, if you don't do them then yeah, maybe do things that aren't otherwise necessary but that's on you. I can piss just fine with it strapped across my chest and falling down has never been an issue. Maybe as I age.

I have many different styles of hunting. When backpacking I usually have to walk roughly 18kms to where I start looking around so I usually strap my rifle to my bag and it’s usually completely unloaded mag and chamber. When I get to where there’s more bear activity and the animals I’m after then I load the magazine and relocate my rifle to the gun bearer.

When hunting moose I usually ride my quad somewhere and then hike in to where I call and I sit in the same spot for hours. I did miss out on a mature bull a few years ago because my rifle wasn’t loaded and in my hands, but that’s not a big deal because our party shot one a couple days later and there’s only been a couple years where I didn’t get my animal and that really doesn’t bother me or my ego. Truth be told I don’t normally pull my magazine out of my rifle when riding on my quad and the rifle is strapped across the front of my chest. I’ll unload if I have to go on a main road or a long trek and that’s why I don’t think alot of you guys unload at every little stick crossing your path.

I got a little bit more serious about white tail hunting this year and I plan on getting really into it next year. It seems like the most succesful white tail hunters seem to do alot of preparing before the hunt and the best of them get their deer with a bow. I guarantee these guys aren’t walking the woods with their bow drawn expecting a deer to pop out and hit it on the fly.

So I guess hunting style dictates how you carry your firearm. A friend of mine who hunts by boat with a 45-70 lever always hucks #### at me and says “you might be able to take a moose down at 1000 yards, but how are you shooting a moose on the riverbank from a moving boat that’s spinning out of control and nobody at the controls?” He hunts differently than me.

 

[Butcherbill]

Ha! You are assuming that in SW Ontario one needs binoculars and range finder to hunt

I own both and do not use them for hunting in SW Ont. In my experience, almost all shot were well under 100 meters, one shot was about 5 feet(deer).

In SW Ont. If you don’t have one in the pipe, you will most likely see white tail going up and down …that is my experience hunting in SW Ont.

Northern Ont. is a bit different when hunting moose because that animal is the dumbest one in the forest and does not care about noise of chambering a round.

My experience with whitetail deer in my part of B.C. is the same, I’ve never had the opportunity to shoot a deer past 150-160m. Usually it’s been between 75-100m, most times it happens quick and WT here are a bit spooky/cagey. Chambering a round would scare them off most times, be it from noise or movement.

I’ve had ones just stay put while I got off the quad and insert a mag and load but these are young bucks, all the mature bucks or does were way to cautious to get away with that. Mulies, that’s another story. If all I hunted was mule deer I’d probably be able to get away with the mag in my pocket lol.

Last year the 3x4 buck I shot came in near last light about 160m out in some trees, he knew something was up even with the wind in my favour. By the time he got into the clearing where I had a shot at 110-120m from my spot I was already shouldered and ready to flip the safety off, he would’ve bolted if I had to load an empty chamber. I have no doubt about that.

 

[NovaNewfie]

The last deer I shot with my rifle still hunting was less than 10 yards. I hunt the bush in Eastern Canada. If I'm deer hunting my rifle is 99% of the time in my hand and there is one in the camber with the safety on.
On the occasions that I have hunted moose and caribou on the tundra my magazine was in my rifle with the bolt closed on an empty chamber.

 

[Silverado]

If the gun is getting put down, the action gets opened.

 

[JJ-65]

Here’s an example of a person who obviously lost control of muzzle direction. I don’t know what happened and I didn’t ask, but #### happens.

A dirty look is enough to snap a salvage axis stock.

 

[Big Bad]

Why not go all the way, like deer stalking in Scotland where someone carries the gun for you until you're ready to shoot?

 

[aakoksal]

I hunt with Browning Lever action, hammer half cocked, magazine full…

 

[Arietta]

This thread leaves me with far more questions than answers.

For you guys that hunt with one in the chamber. Do you stop and unload before you stop for a piss? Or do you just lean your rifle up against a tree and get your business done? Do you guys actually unload before walking over any uneven terrain?

I would see myself getting bored of that really quick because it would probably be several times per hour. I think I’d do that once or twice and then just stop unloading because it would get annoying. I don’t walk roads and I don’t road hunt either.

Yes. The firearm is unloaded when it is put down for any reason. Anyone hunting with me who rested a loaded rifle against a tree because he had to pee would be looking for a new hunting partner.

 

[crazy_davey]

Why not go all the way, like deer stalking in Scotland where someone carries the gun for you until you're ready to shoot?

The older I get the better this sounds.

 

[canadian hunter312]

Still an assumption....
Never once did I say I did not trust myself. Hell, I trust myself with a firearm more than anyone else on the planet.
If there is no target or intention to shoot, there is no reason to be loaded. Lots of time for that when one presents itself (Where I hunt). I understand not all situations are the same, actually stated that in the original post.

So in your life you have never slipped and fell? Never burned yourself? Cut yourself? Auto accident? Never???
Do you leave a loaded firearm on the bench at the range when you go downrange to check target? No need to unload, you trust yourself, right?
Do you carry your pocket knife locked open all the time? No need to close it. You trust yourself, right?
Do you drive the speed limit on icy & foggy roads? No need to slow down, You trust yourself....

Erring on the side of caution is not because you don't trust yourself. Some may call it common sense?

I absolutely do agree with you that 99% of accidents are a result of human error.

You’re just being silly now.

You trust yourself more than anyone on the planet, yet you don’t trust yourself to be able to carry a loaded gun safely? That makes no sense at all. If you actually trusted yourself you’d have no issue walking around with one in the pipe.

And now you’re presenting a handful of silly hypothetical questions in a feeble attempt to defend your position? Do you really want me to reply to all those and make you look even sillier than you’ve already done with the above post?

 

[canadian hunter312]

This thread leaves me with far more questions than answers.

For you guys that hunt with one in the chamber. Do you stop and unload before you stop for a piss? Or do you just lean your rifle up against a tree and get your business done? Do you guys actually unload before walking over any uneven terrain?

I would see myself getting bored of that really quick because it would probably be several times per hour. I think I’d do that once or twice and then just stop unloading because it would get annoying. I don’t walk roads and I don’t road hunt either.

If the gun is not in your immediate control or if forced to walk in an hazardous area or climb trees/obstacles it is unloaded 100% of the time.

Wearing studs on your boots is always a great idea regardless of the season. Most people don’t realize how much more traction they provide in the warmer months on slippery ground/logs.

 

[tigrr]

If I am hunting with others it is unloaded.
If I am by myself it is loaded, safety on.
Most my hunting is in grizzly country.

 

[yomomma]

This thread leaves me with far more questions than answers.

For you guys that hunt with one in the chamber. Do you stop and unload before you stop for a piss? Or do you just lean your rifle up against a tree and get your business done? Do you guys actually unload before walking over any uneven terrain?

I would see myself getting bored of that really quick because it would probably be several times per hour. I think I’d do that once or twice and then just stop unloading because it would get annoying. I don’t walk roads and I don’t road hunt either.

You put your gun down when taking a piss?

Spent two years in the reserves, my Master Bombadire would skin me alive if I unloaded every time we walked over uneven terrain.

Duck hunting, gun never unloaded when actively hunting.
Rabbit hunting, gun never unloaded when actively hunting.
Turkey hunting, gun never unloaded when actively hunting.
Deer hunting, gun never unloaded when actively hunting.

Etc
Etc
Etc

 

[Bustercluck]

If the gun is not in your immediate control or if forced to walk in an hazardous area or climb trees/obstacles it is unloaded 100% of the time.

Wearing studs on your boots is always a great idea regardless of the season. Most people don’t realize how much more traction they provide in the warmer months on slippery ground/logs.

Are you talking about caulks? The ones loggers use on the bottom of their boots? They’re good in treed forest area, but that’s about it. I wouldn’t want to use them trying to scramble up a pile of rocks. I’d rather wear a pear of hiking boots over calks hunting on most days.

 

[FatCatsDad]

Wearing studs on your boots is always a great idea regardless of the season.

I've put these on a couple of pairs of my boots, they work great.
Exactly like tire studs that I've used on my ATV, snow blower and lawn mower for the hilly areas

 

[memaquay]

I don't know anyone who hunts with an empty chamber, unless they are on a motorized vehicle. Weird thread.

 

[Mr.Rigpig]

You’re just being silly now.

You trust yourself more than anyone on the planet, yet you don’t trust yourself to be able to carry a loaded gun safely? That makes no sense at all. If you actually trusted yourself you’d have no issue walking around with one in the pipe.

And now you’re presenting a handful of silly hypothetical questions in a feeble attempt to defend your position? Do you really want me to reply to all those and make you look even sillier than you’ve already done with the above post?

Not sure where you're getting the idea that I don't trust myself with a loaded gun....

Must be nice to be (Or think you are) Mr perfect, who has never had an accident in his life, or never had one happen close by.

You know, Its that attitude that causes them right? "It will never happen to me". Its always the "unloaded" gun that shoots someone...

You can store your guns loaded for all I care, but the fact that I don't load mine until I an expecting to take a shot does not mean I don't trust myself. Why would I load a gun if I have no intention of firing it? Not sure what is so difficult to understand about that?