I just returned from a week hunting elk. My '94 30-30 sat in the trailer at night with 4 rounds in the mag tube.......but a loaded chamber?...never. In the daylight it gets tossed under my sleeping bag out of sight. Loaded chambers are a no-no in my world unless I'm in some brushy area with limited visibility or I have sighted game and may have a chance for a shot. I'll walk all day with an empty chamber.
Hunting camp loaded rifle at night
- Thread starter geologist
- Start date
:lol:No kidding you guys got me so excited talking about Bears and tents and such,I jacked one ito the chamber of my .375Win and put the hammer on half #### and set it next to the puter!!!!!!
I saw JAWS and wouldn't swim in my sisters pool(in Arizona)without my M1 Garand!!!
I might get a little over excited but a bad critter won't catch me not ready!!!!
Bob :lol:
I saw JAWS and wouldn't swim in my sisters pool(in Arizona)without my M1 Garand!!!
I might get a little over excited but a bad critter won't catch me not ready!!!!
Bob :lol:
In reality, if a griz decideds to crash your tent and eat you in the midle of the night, while you are a sleep, it will have its way, regardless of how many guns you have ready.
On fly in hunts, I have often sleept in a a tent in grizzly country, but somehow the griz seem to avoid humans, day or night. It much have somthing to do with the noise we make as well as the our scents that keeps the grizzlies away form us ?
I am sure that the grizz, with it's keen sense of small, can analyse our scents, and come to the conclusions that we also eat meat and we also very much, behave like a pack of hungry, pradatory wolfs while hunting, and thus better avoided at all cost.
The sad reality is that the grizzly is far more in danger from the predatory humans than the other way around.
On fly in hunts, I have often sleept in a a tent in grizzly country, but somehow the griz seem to avoid humans, day or night. It much have somthing to do with the noise we make as well as the our scents that keeps the grizzlies away form us ?
I am sure that the grizz, with it's keen sense of small, can analyse our scents, and come to the conclusions that we also eat meat and we also very much, behave like a pack of hungry, pradatory wolfs while hunting, and thus better avoided at all cost.
The sad reality is that the grizzly is far more in danger from the predatory humans than the other way around.
open-sights
Regular
- Location
- Aldergrove BC
Shotgun, slugs loaded, nothing chambered. 100% of the time in my camps, alone, with family, friends, no matter.
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
snowhunter said:
well this explains why its almost always the granola munching croud that has problems with bears :lol:
joe-nwt said:
A friend was charged by a grizzly a few weeks ago while he was hiking the the alpine. The bear false charged the first time from 45-50 metres away. My friend, who had his bear spray on the front of his belt in a velcro holster, DID NOT HAVE TIME TO GET THE SPRAY OUT OF HIS HOLSTER BEFORE SHE WAS THERE, let alone get the safety cap off. Ultimately she backed off after several false charges and scaring the bejesus out of him and his wife.
Something we don't discuss is that under times of extreme adrenaline rush, the small muscles stop reacting while the larger ones still work in a sort. That's why I carry a pump shotgun I trust while in the bush if the gun is there strictly there for defence, despite having a 358 Norma in the rack. Pump and squeeze the trigger, only takes large muscles. But I digress.
And I agree that grizzlies, in the big picture, face more danger from humans than we them, but here in Prince George we have had at least one local grizzly attack a week on the news in the past few weeks. We can discuss holistic population effects while sitting at Starbucks, but in the bush in camp my rifle will still have a loaded mag.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
My camp rifle is a Win 94 Trapper in 45LC loaded to the gills with a 325gr FN hard cast bullet. Mag loaded, chamber empty, hammer down. Rifle can't be anymore safe with ammo.
I don't bother with safeties as I have come close to breaking off triggers when safeties were on (not so bright in the early am). If the need arises, I don't have to find a mag, fumble to put it in under stress (ever try and put a mag in backwards). Or find a bullet and try and put it into the mag or chamber. Have a hard enough time when I am doing the hunting.
Just rack and aim. I don't expect to have alot of time to prepare.
I hunt on crown land usually away from others. My safety is up to me so I keep my rifle close by. In time, I will put a tact light on it similar to the HG. That way it is easily removed during the day. Always on the rifle and can be easily put into action.
This becomes the communal bear repellant and all are told how to use it. You just don't know if you are the one that will need help or be the helper.
Would make a great short range deer/elk/moose rifle too if one ever wonders into camp. So far, I am not that lucky.
This is not an endorsement for an illegal act (don't know really) but if an attack does happen, Her Majesties Laws can take a back seat to survival.
Jerry
I don't bother with safeties as I have come close to breaking off triggers when safeties were on (not so bright in the early am). If the need arises, I don't have to find a mag, fumble to put it in under stress (ever try and put a mag in backwards). Or find a bullet and try and put it into the mag or chamber. Have a hard enough time when I am doing the hunting.
Just rack and aim. I don't expect to have alot of time to prepare.
I hunt on crown land usually away from others. My safety is up to me so I keep my rifle close by. In time, I will put a tact light on it similar to the HG. That way it is easily removed during the day. Always on the rifle and can be easily put into action.
This becomes the communal bear repellant and all are told how to use it. You just don't know if you are the one that will need help or be the helper.
Would make a great short range deer/elk/moose rifle too if one ever wonders into camp. So far, I am not that lucky.
This is not an endorsement for an illegal act (don't know really) but if an attack does happen, Her Majesties Laws can take a back seat to survival.
Jerry
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
olek, back to idiot under stress. We are so used to racking the bolt that we could just do so and cause a massive jam.
Also, what is to stop the bolt from opening on its own thus needing the gentle care of pushing down the rds in the mag before closing the bolt. See above.
I have thought the same thing and have decided my procedure would be for a bolt rifle a loaded mag, chamber empty, bolt fully open. Now all I have to do is slam the bolt shut and make noise.
For those who use a pump and follow the action closed with mag full, just remember to drop the trigger on the empty chamber. All pumps will need the action release to be held down once cocked to open. Otherwise action will not rack. Bad idea under stress.
Close action, click, load up, safety off. That would be my procedure for a pump.
Jerry
Also, what is to stop the bolt from opening on its own thus needing the gentle care of pushing down the rds in the mag before closing the bolt. See above.
I have thought the same thing and have decided my procedure would be for a bolt rifle a loaded mag, chamber empty, bolt fully open. Now all I have to do is slam the bolt shut and make noise.
For those who use a pump and follow the action closed with mag full, just remember to drop the trigger on the empty chamber. All pumps will need the action release to be held down once cocked to open. Otherwise action will not rack. Bad idea under stress.
Close action, click, load up, safety off. That would be my procedure for a pump.
Jerry
mysticplayer said:
Jerry, with all due respect, wrong.
On a pump shotgun for bear defence, two things that don't exist are a safety and a bolt release (unless of course you want to eject a loaded round out of the chamber). Back to small muscles again.
Keep the action locked on an empty chamber. When you need to release the action to pump it, you don't fumble with the bolt release, you pull the trigger. You don't want the action unlocked in case the pump ends up somewhere in the middle of a feed cycle and a shell misaligned. With it locked on an empty chamber, the first action to pump a round into the chamber is exactly the same as succeeding chots. Pull the trigger, rack the pump, pull the trigger, etc. KISS theory.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
RickF, very interesting points. I have never had a SG where the slide could open on its own weight so never worried that it might partially open and start the feeding cycle. I guess some SG might do that. Something else to check.
Personally, I don't like pulling triggers to function firearms but it might be necessary with a loose slide.
For me, my decision to go with a lever offers both speed and safety. I like it.
Jerry
Personally, I don't like pulling triggers to function firearms but it might be necessary with a loose slide.
For me, my decision to go with a lever offers both speed and safety. I like it.
Jerry
Jerry,
You are right. Where I used to have them come partially open is when walking through the bush, not sitting in a corner in camp.
With the action locked, you also KNOW where the pump is as it is locked in that position. If you are carrying the shotgun in one hand, around the receiver, you don't want to grab for the pump and not have it be exactly where you expect.
Either way, we need to KNOW if there is a shell in the chamber or not.
Best,
Rick
You are right. Where I used to have them come partially open is when walking through the bush, not sitting in a corner in camp.
With the action locked, you also KNOW where the pump is as it is locked in that position. If you are carrying the shotgun in one hand, around the receiver, you don't want to grab for the pump and not have it be exactly where you expect.
Either way, we need to KNOW if there is a shell in the chamber or not.
Best,
Rick
