Round in the Chamber

[justinspicher]

My rifles are loaded from the moment that I leave my vehicle until the moment it is put back in my vehicle, whether I am hunting or just taking it for a walk in the woods. The only time my pistol is unloaded is when I am putting it in the safe.

 

[zrodwyo]

It’s crazy to me that people hunt with one in the chamber. Totally unnecessary.

 

[sickles107]

Nope. Too many variables in mountain terrain that can easily put a muzzle pointing at your self or your partner, either carrying by hand or straped to pack.

Climbing over dead fall, going up or down steep chutes or cliffs, slipping on a steep side hill in the snow or wet grass, using your rifle as a trekking pole, unstable skree fields, etc... the list goes on.

 

[Timberline001]

If I’m still hunting or think I might be taking a shot soon I’ll chamber a round but the vast majority of time my chambers empty. It’s not worth the risk in my mind and I don’t see a reason to have a round chambered the majority of the time. I was taught growing up to always have a round chambered and it always worried me so I stopped doing it. It seems to be partly a generational thing. Most friends and clients my age and younger (under 35) leave the chamber empty while the older generations are cocked and ready to rock.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I'm almost never hunting alone so I don't have a round chambered until a shot opportunity is imminent. If I miss out on an opportunity I can accept that.

 

[BearGuy]

I’ve seen a Bergara go off right as the safety was clicked off. That alone right there was enough for me to never have one in the chamber as I have seen safeties get turned off just from walking through brush. Then the trigger gets stuck on brush as well and a fun hunting trip turns into a bad day real fast.

 

[RockAndSage]

It's fine if people don't want to carry a round chambered when hunting. They're not wrong. But it's also absurd for some to act as though it's the only "right" way to hunt. I bird and rabbit hunt with a round chambered, CCW is 100% always chambered, people who have ever carried a gun to work do so with a round chambered.

I've also seen more people flag others or have negligent discharges with "empty" guns than when everybody was chambered 100% of the time. When every person knows every gun is chambered, every person is very muzzle-conscious and safety oriented. It's inconsistency with personal carry, and transition-zones where guns must be unloaded, where I've seen people get into the most trouble.

 

[waspocrew]

If I’m hunting with others, chamber is empty. If by myself, it depends on the situation.

 

[Timberline001]

It's fine if people don't want to carry a round chambered when hunting. They're not wrong. But it's also absurd for some to act as though it's the only "right" way to hunt. I bird and rabbit hunt with a round chambered, CCW is 100% always chambered, people who have ever carried a gun to work do so with a round chambered.

I've also seen more people flag others or have negligent discharges with "empty" guns than when everybody was chambered 100% of the time. When every person knows every gun is chambered, every person is very muzzle-conscious and safety oriented. It's inconsistency with personal carry, and transition-zones where guns must be unloaded, where I've seen people get into the most trouble.

That’s honestly why I don’t carry concealed. It wouldnt be effective without a round chambered and I cannot do it. My anxiety would be unreal

 

[ElDiablito]

Always loaded and capped (I only hunt with a muzzy) while in the field. I don’t know why anyone would hunt with an unloaded weapon….

 

[JohnJohnson]

I don't quite see the parallel to concealed carry. I CC with one in the chamber but my pistol is always in a holster which completely covers its trigger and has about zero chance of being dropped or handled at all outside of an emergency situation.

 

[RockAndSage]

I don't quite see the parallel to concealed carry. I CC with one in the chamber but my pistol is always in a holster which completely covers its trigger and has about zero chance of being dropped or handled at all outside of an emergency situation.

Do you bird hunt or rabbit hunt on an empty chamber?

 

[Timberline001]

Do you bird hunt or rabbit hunt on an empty chamber?

I have a round chambered when I’m hunting upland but my guns always at the ready and I’m expecting to take a shot. Hunting deer or or elk there’s only a couple minutes of a week long hunt I’m expecting to take a shot.

 

[RockAndSage]

I have a round chambered when I’m hunting upland but my guns always at the ready and I’m expecting to take a shot. Hunting deer or or elk there’s only a couple minutes of a week long hunt I’m expecting to take a shot.

My core point is that people are safer if they always treat all guns as if they're always loaded. I think we can all agree on this. I just don't want the slightest hint of inconsistency or in-the-moment confusion going on, at all, ever, when someone has a gun in their hands.

This is no criticism of you personally, but as part of that, if I have hunting partners who walk around with unloaded deer guns in the field for weeks during September, I don't want the slightest hint of unrealized laxity in their gun safety that may come from that being carried over when we're going after quail in October, or ducks in November. Over the course of days and weeks, nobody is going to be more hyper-aware of their gun safety at every moment with an unloaded gun, than they would if that gun is always chambered. I don't want the inconsistency in mindset. In this context, it's not about being safer on the deer hunt, it's about safety on the bird hunts later being potentially being impacted.

Another key point was simply that "carrying chambered" isn't some sort of bizarre hunting risk - it's simply how you hunt birds and rabbits.

All this said, if you and I were going on some great hunt together, and it was a hard-no for you to carry a big-game rifle loaded, then as long as we're both doing the exact same thing with the exact same rules at all times, I'd be fine with carrying empty for the duration of that hunt. Again, consistency. It really does matter.

 

[AKDoc]

I didn't vote yes or no...for me it depends on conditions and context whether or not I have a round chambered, as others have already mentioned.

I'm a certified range safety officer...safety is my primary priority. Sometimes (not always) my personal safety requires that I do carry with one in the chamber...especially hunting in Alaska.

Whether a round is chambered or not, I strive to be very mindful of muzzle point...and never in the direction of another person.

 

[Thegman]

Doesn't that rest the firing pin on the primer of the loaded round tho? sounds sketchy as

A neighbor told me about a guy he knew that did that. Said one time the rifle (a 375 H&H as I recall) was bouncing against the floor of the guy's jeep, apparently off-roading, and blew a hole in the floor board.

I knew another guy that recommended that. Always wondered what would happen if the rifle fell and landed hard on its butt.

 

[Tanner]

I don’t have one in the chamber until it’s time to shoot or the time to shoot is extremely imminent. It’s cost me exactly 0 big game animals.

I won’t hunt with somebody that does otherwise, it’s just not worth it to me.

Coyote hunting, I chamber a round as soon as I sit down and start the call.

 

[Bcoonce117]

I say no but I would have to say circumstance definitely matters. But I’d say 80% of time it’s a no for me. I typically spot and stalk and I don’t chamber until I feel I am in the zone

 

[Halligan]

I watched vid, frankly kinda meh audience out reach on their part. It’s a topic that deserves more situational discussion as many have outlined in this thread.
Had to laugh when I saw ppl comment asking why they hadn’t mentioned whether or not your rifle is mechanically drop safe… specifically R700 based designs… definitely not like their rifle sponsor

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

I know of one guy that got killed by having a round in the chamber. I know of no dudes killed by an empty chamber.

I’ve heard stories of people mauled with an empty chamber.

But your point is true.