Hunting, walking around with a loaded rifle?

Hunting: walk around with loaded rifle?

  • Never, no rouns in the rifle at all.

    Votes: 2 0.4%

  • Load mag only.

    Votes: 101 21.2%

  • Load barrel only.

    Votes: 1 0.2%

  • Load both mag and barrel, with safety.

    Votes: 350 73.4%

  • Load both mag and barrel, no safety

    Votes: 23 4.8%
  • Total voters
    477
Suther said:
Bear spray is better? What if he's upwind of you? Or charging from 20 or 30 yards? You think a can of pepper spray will turn or dissuade a charging bear, or one who thinks you are too close to her cubs???

Ive been bear sprayed before by some punks trying to rob me and two friends otw to a party one night. It was hands down one of the worst experiences of my life. That said, i would NEVER rely on it to dissuade a bear. Ever. And I bet anyone who has been sprayed would agree with me.
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I've done my research. I'll stick with the spray. Don't let it bother you.
 
Me, typically loaded mag, empty chamber, though that can and has changed fairly quickly to one in the chamber (safety on if present) and continue to hunt.

This entire thread is a "What is your personal preference?" poll as what is being asked about is legal .. just your preference for how you hunt. I wouldn't go so far as to say unloaded is more ethical than loaded as ethics don't come into play here, it's legal either way period (jmo). As with ALL personal preferences .. they are yours and may not be shared by others. This in no way makes either right or wrong.
 
ironsighter said:
That's your opinion.

I know I don't need a round in the chamber to successfully hunt, so I don't do it. End of story.
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You appear to be very insecure at the way you hunt so if you feel more safe to be unloaded it's probably better for you and others.
 
Sqr said:
You appear to be very insecure at the way you hunt so if you feel more safe to be unloaded it's probably better for you and others.
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Not insecure at all. If there is no reason to have a round in the chamber, then why have it there?

When I feel it is necessary to have a round in the chamber (searching for an injured animal in thick cover was given as an example earlier) then I do, and I do so safely. Even when I approach an animal that I think is dead, I have a round in the chamber and the safety on.

There's just no actual hunting advantage for us to have a round in the chamber. It's not like we have to snap shoot our animals, whether they be deer, hares, grouse, whatever. We have lots of time.

If walking around with only the mag loaded meant lots of missed opportunities (as it does for so many of you Easterners) then I'd likely walk around loaded just out of necessity. But it isn't necessary, so I don't. Nobody that I know does, either.
 
TPK said:
Me, typically loaded mag, empty chamber, though that can and has changed fairly quickly to one in the chamber (safety on if present) and continue to hunt.

This entire thread is a "What is your personal preference?" poll as what is being asked about is legal .. just your preference for how you hunt. I wouldn't go so far as to say unloaded is more ethical than loaded as ethics don't come into play here, it's legal either way period (jmo). As with ALL personal preferences .. they are yours and may not be shared by others. This in no way makes either right or wrong.
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Well stated, yet look how many people think their way is the only way.
 
ironsighter said:
Not insecure at all. If there is no reason to have a round in the chamber, then why have it there?

When I feel it is necessary to have a round in the chamber (searching for an injured animal in thick cover was given as an example earlier) then I do, and I do so safely. Even when I approach an animal that I think is dead, I have a round in the chamber and the safety on.

There's just no actual hunting advantage for us to have a round in the chamber. It's not like we have to snap shoot our animals, whether they be deer, hares, grouse, whatever. We have lots of time.

If walking around with only the mag loaded meant lots of missed opportunities (as it does for so many of you Easterners) then I'd likely walk around loaded just out of necessity. But it isn't necessary, so I don't.
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Haven't Hunter very long or with dogs because there are many times when you spook something and it's to late.
 
Sqr said:
... because there are many times when you spook something and it's to late.
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In your neck of the woods, I am sure that is true.

Out here, not so much. Sure, I've spooked the odd mule deer while walking a cut. They typically bounce 30 or 40 yards away and then stop to look back at you. By this time the round is already in the chamber and the rifle is shouldered.

Much more typical is that you see them long before they see you - and even when they do see you, they just stand there and pose for the shot.

The rare occasion that it runs away full tilt, you laugh it off and kill the next one instead.

Never hunted with dogs. Love dogs, but it just isn't necessary out here. I guess if I hunted waterfowl I'd have a dog, but I have no interest.

As I said, been filling the freezer for years using the "only mag loaded" technique. Out here, it works just fine.
 
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Slugo said:
The original poster needs to find a new club to hang around. 3% failure rate on gun safeties is ridiculously high. I've been hanging around gun clubs, the farm, hunt camps, and ranges regularly for about 35 years. I shoot 15 thousand + rounds a year. It would be an exceptional day that I don't handle a gun for one reason or another. I can recall only a couple of instances of malfunctioning safeties.
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Hi Slugo, since I adjust telescopes during hunting season, I see a LOT of rifles. In every case where the safety was not working, it was on older, beatup, improperly maintained rifles. We see them later in the season, when deer season is about to start.

On top of these safety problems, I refuse to adjust 3 to 5 rifles per year. These are rusted, broken stocks (or tapped with duct tape!), bases that hold only by 1 screw, ... I do a fairly complete mechanical review before I even take 1 shot. The most common problems I see, in order of frequency are: broken scope (mainly old Bushnells), loose scope rings, loose action in the stock, rust and general lack of maintenance, broken safeties, headspace issues.

The weirdest I saw was a guy who welded his scope to the base using some metal wire. Needless to say, I did NOT put my face close to that scope!

But I also get to shoot wild, exotic and super expensive rifles that I would not have a chance to shoot otherwise. And the majority (90%) are just fine to shoot safely.
It is win-win. They get a properly zeroed scope, I get to shoot their ammo :p and make a bit of money in the process :dancingbanana:
But I have to be careful...
 
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I have a round in the chamber usually with the safety on. As others have said though, I am certainly not relying on the safety, but practice muzzle control at all times.
 
ironsighter said:
Not much fumbling involved in pulling the bolt back and then closing it again. If there is insufficient time to do this before the animal bolts, you just find another animal to shoot. Here in BC, the deer basically just stand there and wait to get shot most of the time, in my experience. Maybe that's because we aren't freaking out and making them nervous. I dunno. We typically have lots of time to discuss the size of the animal, range the distance, get the rifle up on the shooting sticks, load a round into the chamber, aim carefully, and pull the trigger.

Perhaps if I really needed to shoot quickly I would need to walk around with a round chambered, but I don't, so I don't. There's no advantage to it for me and the people I hunt with.
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You would probably never bag a whitetail in the daylight, in season here in the "far east' then :)
 
coldshot said:
Different deer, different terrain, totally different hunting.
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Not out here, both species are prevalent in the same terrain and there is even some interbreeding going on. Not saying that the technique is the same for hunting both deer, but you can hunt both in the same area.
 
TPK said:
Not out here, both species are prevalent in the same terrain and there is even some interbreeding going on. Not saying that the technique is the same for hunting both deer, but you can hunt both in the same area.
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In my neck of the woods, it is said there are white tails. I have seen 1 so far and it was already dead. Same terrain perhaps, but totally different animal and hunting style.
 
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