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
I hate safety's .

not because they are inconvenient , but because they can be unreliable .

I prefer to close the action on a round but without having the firing pin in a state where it is ready to fire .

when you need to fire , it is just a matter of cocking the firing mechanism .

the only rifle I haven't figured out how to do this on yet is a ruger #1
 
I find it all depends on what you are doing.

Hunting

Walking around: mag loaded, round chambered, safety on. slung or not slung does not matter
Sitting somewhere: same but safety on till something is suspected near by
At shooting range: safety only used when handing a loaded gun to another person

Military

working, as in moving sandbags setting up crap: mag loaded not chambered. Its unlikely but the safety could be moved while its on your back. Keep in mind you are smashing it on trees, the ground, vehicles and you are moving bending over and twisting. Its a reality.

walking/living around camp: mag loaded not chambered. This is mostly because of the "Magazine Game". For the non military people the magazine game is every time you are not in a tent, building or vehicle in some cases you must chamber a round then put on safe once you want to get into one of the three your must unload. Why? because if a round goes off while it is slung you don't want it to be inside. I tried explaining that tents and building are not bullet proof and a round going off 1 meter away has the same effect as one going off inside. I was prompt told to "shut the f#^% up and take your mag out it dangerous, you f@#$ing @$$hole. I care about my safety so do it". At that point you can just reach behind you and take it out and you are clear. yes it may seem lazy but if you are in any doubt about the state of your weapon you are either drunk, stupid or haven slept so you can just try to put it on safe. If you can't you know your weapon is clear.

walking on a patrol: mag loaded round chambered safety on.
 
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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I am talking about the difference between hunting whitetail verses mule deer, and the difference between the terrain in BC compared to the terrain in NB,
 
burnt_servo said:
I hate safety's .

not because they are inconvenient , but because they can be unreliable .

I prefer to close the action on a round but without having the firing pin in a state where it is ready to fire .

when you need to fire , it is just a matter of cocking the firing mechanism .

the only rifle I haven't figured out how to do this on yet is a ruger #1
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Dont do this

See post #19

tiriaq said:
Letting the firing pin down on the primer is a really bad idea. As 9.3mauser has stated a bump can fire the rifle. This is a really bad, dangerous practice.
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Mag loaded, one in the spout, safety on. I've seen several lost opportunities due to unloaded rifles.
I also check my safety every couple minutes, and unsling and cover safety and trigger in thick bush.

I have a couple questions though, for the OP: People pay you to sight in their rifles?? What constitutes "properly" zero'd, as opposed to whatever (evidently flawed) method others might use? Is paying someone else to shoot your guns for you a common Quebec thing?
 
I aam truly amazed at the number of responses from people who hate/dont trust/won't use safeties, and who then go on to carry a rifle in a risky condition - fully loaded and cocked, no safety, or firing pin down and resting on the primer, or other dangerous choices. They actually seem proud of their lack of skill and training. I'm glad most of them seem to hunt alone.
 
blasted_saber said:
Dont do this

See post #19
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not every rifle has the firing pin fully extended position past the bolt face when in a un cocked position.



to put things into perspective , i have a couple of ag42's , that when you manually cycle rounds through the action , it will dent all the primers .

if a person closed a bolt with the firing pin down on a live round , and if the firing pin was protruding , i feel there is still less chance of a round going off than cycling the action on a a42 and having the firing pin smack the primer with inertia .

all ag42's do this each time the action is cycled , either manually , or automatically , the floating firing pin will hammer the primer when the bolt slams shut , but not so hard to set the primer off . ( btw I only use cci #34 primers n my ag42 because of this )

i actually tried to set a old beater rifle off ( 96mauser ) , loaded with just a primer .the case had been previously fired in this rifle and was not resized , so the headspace was very tight .

i made sure the firing pin was extended past the bolt face and dropped it about 8 feet , butt down a couple times ...... nothing happened ...... I was expecting something similar to how the ag42's dent the primer . instead I found a small mark at most a couple thou deep .

that said , if you have a magazine , it really isn't that hard to walk around with a empty chamber and load one when needed .....

how many times has Remington recalled rifles for faulty triggers and safety's .

how many years have some people walked around the bush with faulty triggers and safetys on their Remington rifles in ignorance .... how many still do ?

how many rifles out there have been monkeyed with so they have hair triggers , or accidently disabled safety's , or both ... and still walk around the bush hunting , sometimes in complete ignorance ?

the best thing to do is plan for the worst case scenario and practice proper muzzle control
 
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Longwalker said:
I aam truly amazed at the number of responses from people who hate/dont trust/won't use safeties, and who then go on to carry a rifle in a risky condition - fully loaded and cocked, no safety, or firing pin down and resting on the primer, or other dangerous choices. They actually seem proud of their lack of skill and training. I'm glad most of them seem to hunt alone.
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see my post above ......
 
Depends if im following another hunter, or if I'm in the lead and he is following me. And it's discussed prior to going out so everyone is on the same page and no one is uncomfortable.

If I am following, I won't get the first shot, my reaction time doesn't matter so I don't chamber a round. If I'm in the lead, It's loaded and I don't use a safety. Not touching the trigger works just like it's supposed to!
 
grimblyd said:
I hunt with a Remington 700. (270, but that is irrelevant). I chamber a round, then release the trigger. (Open the action, hold the trigger down, close action.) It isn't shoot ready, but it just takes a quick #### of the action to be shoot ready. Kind of a compromise between the two positions. Safety is NOT on.
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So, what I read is that you load a live round, then go out of your way, to bypass the only parts that will keep the firing pin from being able to fire the round, in the event that the back of the bolt shroud is struck, yeah? You lower the pin down, so it is in contact with the primer, with no mechanical restraints whatsoever? Seems...dumb.

Seems a great way to end up shot with your own rifle to me, even LESS safe, than if the safety was on, as at least then, something has to be actually broken or damaged for the pin to move.

I load up hot when I get out of the truck, unload when I am getting back in to it. Been jumped unprepared, by too many critters, both as I was walking in to where I thought I was going hunting, and came back to the vehicle at least as many times, to see critters right nearby. My moose was in love with my old black (with grey patches where the paint flaked off) VW Jetta, and was about fifty yards or a bit less from the car when he caught a bullet!

Cheers
Trev
 
I almost always hunt alone, so loaded with no safety. If you rely on the stupid safety for safety then you are not at all safe. And when you meet someone in the woods, you open your action for safety and courtesy anyway, do you not?

I get mostly jump shots in my style of hunting. And of course I spent some time as a civilian hanging around with SOF types and have been heavily corrupted by them, leading to my posting this very predictable video clip:

 
I will add that when walking through heavy brush I'm very careful to protect the trigger from snags (the muzzle is always oriented safely anyway but I don't want to waste ammo), and if I should be doing something like scrambling up a rock face I will take further precautions, engaging the safety for a short scramble and, further, unloading the chamber if there's any possible danger of dropping the firearm, etc. When crossing a difficult fence I don't unload as they require in the safety courses, but I do place the firearm safely on the ground at least one fence post away. So I haven't gone over to Delta completely you see.
 
well this thread has gone about as expected......


different types of hunting require slightly different levels of readiness. :)

I understand the loaded mag one in the chamber requirement when quick shots are needed.

the way I hunt and where I hunt I don't bother to chamber a round till I see something to shoot at, often the distances require that I have to close ground to get close enough to have a shot. Spotting and the art of stalking is more important then quick shots. So for me the normal condition of my hunting rifles is mag loaded, chamber empty, and in a vehicle the mag is removed as per applicable hunting regulations. I can step out or dismount the vehicle, insert mag and load rifle when I see something I want to shoot. if I'm road hunting.

as for having the fireing pin seated on a live round that causes me concern, unless you have some sort of hammer disconnect, half #### position or a shroud over the rear of the bolt that will prevent it from being struck. I feel that this is an unsafe condition.

I would advise anyone I am hunting with that they use the safety rather then having the fireing pin in the dropped position if they feel the need to have a round in the chamber.

But that is my preference.

do whatever is legal and safe.
 
I certainly don't claim to know the inner workings of most modern firearms, but I'm given to understand, by experts, that most in fact darn near all safeties merely lock the trigger, which is what make them less safe than real safety through appropriate handling. Trigger and muzzle control rule above all. And sure, if there's no round in the chamber then you're extra-extra safe, but that doesn't work for everyone because not all of us live on the lone prarie or with wide open mountain vistas.
 
Engaging a mechanical safety and safe gun handling procedures are not mutually exclusive.

When you chamber a round and engage the safety, you aren't "relying" on it to keep everything safe. It's just an extra precaution. It's not carte Blanche to ignore muzzle control, and most people seem to understand that.
 
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