Round in the Chamber

Do you carry one in the chamber while big game hunting?

  • Yes

    Votes: 217 58.6%
  • No

    Votes: 153 41.4%

  • Total voters
    370
I have bird hunted probably 200 separate occasions with 100’s of hunters. No exaggeration.

I have never once seen someone load their gun when dog on point.

Not saying someone somewhere doesn’t do this. But that’s not in the same stratosphere with “a lot of bird hunters.”
That’s the way we did it.

It used to be more popular i guess. I must be getting old.

Same way some guys (purists) wouldn’t shoot anything the dogs havent pointed. Dont tell me folks dont do that anymore either.
 
That’s not even close to what he said, lol.

He just said it’s not necessarily un-safe to carry a loaded rifle. Not that it’s safer than an unloaded, not that accidents are impossible. Just that it’s not unsafe to carry a loaded gun (presumably given the four safety rules are adhered to as close as possible).
Idk, I've been perusing the "stuff overheard in local gun stores" thread, and now I'm thinking nobody should load guns. Ever. lol
 
That’s not even close to what he said, lol.

He just said it’s not necessarily un-safe to carry a loaded rifle. Not that it’s safer than an unloaded, not that accidents are impossible. Just that it’s not unsafe to carry a loaded gun (presumably given the four safety rules are adhered to as close as possible).
Exactly. Noone would ever get shot if folks would just live by safe gun handling.

I am not gonna point a gun at you loaded or unloaded. Treat every gun as if it is loaded….
 
This is turning into a spoons made me fat argument. An inanimate object is neither safe nor unsafe. Only people are. And there are plenty out there on both ends. If you are not comfortable with it, then don’t do it. You are certainly not wrong. With regard to doing it one way alone, but acting differently with others or kids around, I get the sentiment. But to me, I trust myself with my own life. I trust myself with my kids’ lives (if I didn’t, I would never put them in the car…). In that case, I certainly wouldn’t be taking them along in the first place. With an empty rifle or a slingshot.
 
Definitely an “it depends” for me. Moving to and from the are where I expect to encounter game - no. Once I anticipate game in the immediate area - yes.
 
How does the entire US military function? There are units that will discipline you for having an empty chamber even on post.
How many military bases outside of combat zones have loaded rifles just walking around if they aren’t at the range. None.
 
Scissors are not inherently dangerous, but we expect some common sense before junior graduates to sharp pointy ones, and even the best Olympic runner shouldn’t run with them despite how much experience running they have.
 
How many military bases outside of combat zones have loaded rifles just walking around if they aren’t at the range. None.
I would bet none. I never said anything about in/out of a combat zone.

In fact, the vast majority even in combat zones don’t allow it. You load up when you leave the gates.
But small posts in dangerous areas, staffed by well trained units, sometimes do.
 
I judge people based off this question. If you chamber a round and walk around you’re a fuggin idiot. There is no exception.

Where do you hunt? When I step foot out of the camper or house and start walking to my stand I’m hunting.
If I load up the atv, I drop 3 in the magazine and close the bolt on an empty chamber.

…….soooooooooooooooooo. So how does this make me a “fuggin idiot”
 
Hunting with my Blaser R8 is perfectly safe with one in the chamber as the safety is a de-cocker and the rifle cannot shoot without being cocked with the thumb safety. I hunt with one in the chamber as the rifle is almost always in my hand and sometimes I need a quick shot, especially if in dense bush or on a cull. This is the only rifle I trust with one in the chamber in this way.

In alpine/sketchy areas or rifle on pack I'll run unloaded chamber even with the Blaser just to avoid Murphy as there is too much going on as-is.

The only time I hunt other rifles with one in the chamber and standard safety is if I'm stalking and might need a fast shot and I'm hunting alone.
 
No round in the chamber here in WY. There has yet to be a situation where that was necessary. That's just not how it is out here. You know your shot is coming well in advance. Odds of accidentally killing your buddy, or shooting a horse are zero without a chambered round.

When I lived and hunted in the hardwood timber of New York, you probably would never pull off shooting a deer with no round chambered. Everything happens too fast in dense timber.

It has its place, but if it isn't necessary, I'm not sure why you would be compelled to take unnecessary risk.

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