Do you keep a round in the chamber?

[kda082]

I waterfowl hunt with friends and my son and we always have a round in the chamber. We all practice muzzle control and never had an issue. If someone were to be carless they’d hear it from all of us and likely never hunt with us again. Do what you feel safe doing.

 

[*zap*]

"an unloaded gun is a heavy club"......

I like that....

 

[theCaptain]

Empty...I had a Remington 700 that would constantly get switched off of safety. Never had the issue with my savage. I would much rather miss an opportunity than forever regret an accident.

 

[isu22andy]

How do some of you that preach empty chambers pheasant, duck , goose , turkey , and predator hunt with a semi automatic shotgun with an empty chamber? You can argue all you want but a coyote or a turkey at 30 yards racking a shell in it ain’t going to be good . Dad always said , you got two safeties - the one the gun provides and the other one is keep your god damn finger off the trigger - id argue three , point it in a safe direction as well . My 2 cents .


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[Frank Grimes]

If it’s in my hands there is one in the pipe, saftey on. Strapped to my back, climbing, technical terrain, with another person, chamber is empty but the gun is loaded.
Also all my hunting rifles have a 3 position safety. Something I wish all manufacturers would have.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Some good discussion here. I should add to my first post that I was talking about western big game hunting in pairs or in a group. There are exceptions too. Last fall Robby and I were stalking a herd of mule deer together. Once we got into shooting range I loaded a round into the chamber and put the safety on. I carried the rifle in my hand the whole time and Robby was always behind me.

If I'm sitting and calling ducks/geese, or turkey, or predators I keep my firearm loaded and ready. Upland bird hunting I mostly leave my over/under open and over my shoulder until the dogs go on point along with the times we can tell the dogs are "birdy". I also will only hunt upland birds with a couple of my close friends.

 

[EastMT]

That’s what I was going off, waterfowl, bird hunting, stand, final stalk, all one thing.

Hiking in alders for hours with a gun strapped on I’ve had all kinds of stuff caught on, in, around my rifle. Taking a pack off, setting it on the ground and finding off safety with a round in it could be fatal.


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[sndmn11]

I genuinely think that the most likely time to have an unintentional discharge is while loading and unloading. This is the reason why anywhere with insurance and a requirement to clear have unloading stations/barrels. When I am around others with firearms, they have my full attention when manipulating condition and I take responsibility for placing myself in a safe place.

 

[MOHunter]

I like this conversation. I’m from Missouri and grew up hunting whitetails in the timber. If you were in the woods you had one in the chamber. I ever climbed stands loaded without thinking about it. Never had any issues.

One year I was elk hunting in MT. Twice on that trip I noticed the bolt on my Weatherby Vanguard was all the way open (once losing the round that had been chambered). Both times I’d been carrying the gun sling over my left shoulder - safety was on the right side. Somehow the safety was rubbing my clothing or pack and coming off. It scared me to death to think about tripping with the safety off and the bolt still closed.

I’ve since realized that most of my deer hunting around home is with the gun in my hands. Out west I do a lot more carrying on my person. I don’t have one chambered unless it’s in my hands - closing in for a shot or still hunting.

I’ve also since switched to Savage rifles. 3 position safety and more importantly a tang safety. I only know of Browning that does the same thing. I wish they all would do this for hunting rifles.

Looking back I’ve killed 2 deer back east after having to chamber a round. Once, I had simply forgotten to load one when still hunting. Jumped some deer and got the dreaded click. Buck watched me from about 60 yards cycle one in and shoot him in the heart. Then, this fall I unloaded while climbing down from a stand. At the base of the tree was shedding a few layers. Looked up to a buck staring at me from about 20 yards ( very thick timber). He watched me reach for my gun, chamber a round, and shoot him.

You either risk losing a shot, or an accidental discharge. Obviously one is much worse than the other. But my experience says losing a shot is a risk that might be less than we make it out.

Again, even with the rifle change I’m emptying it if not in my hands. And I think that addresses the question of birds and small game. The gun is in my hands for those.

 

[callthepacker]

Really depends on the situation but generally unloaded until closing in or still hunting.

 

[FURMAN]

This topic was started on LRH. I guess I see a lot of people I will never be hunting with. Show me a rifle that will fire on an empty chamber and I will stand corrected. I sincerely hope those who disagree never have to come tell me I was right.

 

[hodgeman]

When hunting big game, I'm always hiking in brush or scree, getting in boats or planes or vehicles. Just too much movement in both technical terrain and vehicles. I alway have a loaded magazine and an empty chamber. Too many bad things can happen and I've never missed an opportunity on an animal. In my area, stalking is typically long and shooting deliberate.

Pistols or revolvers- round chambered, holstered and on my person. My duck gun gets chambered in the blind and unloaded when I leave. If I were to stand hunt for something, it'd be the same protocol.

 

[Rob5589]

Depends. Duck blind, loaded. Upland birds, loaded. Climbing/hiking with a potential to fall, unloaded. Mashing through thick stuff, unloaded. Smooth and controlled movement, loaded. Holstered handgun, loaded.

 

[Gutshotem]

In this thread we are going to learn that an elk, deer, moose, etc "aren't worth the risk"; however, birds and other small game chased with a shotgun will somehow be justified.

 

[*zap*]

I have been swept with a muzzle and had muzzles pointed at me plenty of times....lots of those times when I told the person holding the gun to not sweep me or to not point the muzzle at me I have been told it was OK because the chamber was empty.....

So in the end if you control your muzzle and the direction it is pointed 100% of the time.....AND have the common sense to realize that in certain situations involving moving while carrying a loaded longgun it is best to stop and empty the chamber...….your going be to as safe as someone who decides that they are keeping the chamber empty 100% of the time until they are 'ready' to shoot, maybe safer because if that person is used to an empty chamber to keep the gun safe and they do not shoot and forget to empty the chamber......well that's a bad situation because they may think it is empty.

Sometimes opinions that appear to be different are more similar to each other than we realize and opinions that appear to be the same are very different in reality.

If your depending on an empty chamber alone for gun safety your making a mistake because plenty of unloaded guns have shot people...... If your leaving the chamber loaded from the time you leave camp until the time you get back to camp your may be making a mistake also.

 

[cnelk]

I wonder how many 'empty chamber' guys on here nock up an arrow before they are ready to shoot....

 

[wannakillabigbull]

I wonder how many 'empty chamber' guys on here nock up an arrow before they are ready to shoot....

My bow isn’t all of a sudden going to get pulled back with 72 pounds unintentionally and get launched. Much easier for a gun safety to be bumped and a trigger hit by brush. Not saying that you couldn’t get hurt from a broadhead that isn’t launched but it’s an assessment of risk each person has to make.

 

[SoDaky]

Always situational for me.If a situation requires readiness,I'm ready.

 

[30338]

Hard to make blanket statements regarding this stuff and when you do there will always be instances where someone has a viable alternative point. I try to reinforce muzzle control at all times with folks I hunt with and tell them to also watch me and correct if needed. I think younger hunters should be encouraged to call out older hunters if they see something not safe being done.

For me, if on the move, for big game I tend to be empty chamber. If I setup on a long range spot, I will have time to chamber a round with no issue. If I am bird hunting, mostly alone, my Franchi has a round in the chamber. If I was cleaning an elk in grizzly country, my rig would also be loaded.

1 rule we all agree on though is muzzle control. Hunt safe!

 

[5MilesBack]

Do you walk around with an arrow always nocked?

To me it just isn’t need when big game hunting, bird hunting or small game is just different style of hunting.

To me, rifle elk hunting was exactly the same style as bird or small game hunting. Things happen fast and at close range, there's no time to load a round when a bull jumps up in front of you at 30 yards in the timber. And very similar to archery hunting.......when I'm working a bull, I know I need to nock an arrow "before" he appears out of nowhere or I run into him. And I have run up and down slopes with an arrow nocked many times before too.