Here's the reality folks. I'll start with a comparison to something that is much more impactful than one bullet being discharged:
"Designing a 'safe' nuclear weapon seems at first a bit of an oxymoron. Yet, one of the most important factors in maintaining an effective deterrent is assuring that weapons will operate when needed, but never when unintended. This must be true for the normal life of a nuclear weapon, from assembly to retirement. But it must also hold across such varied scenarios as aircraft accidents, natural disasters, and human error during production or maintenance. Over such a wide and unpredictable range of possible abnormal environments, it would be impossible to plan for and design against every scenario, yet nuclear weapons must remain safe across these scenarios nonetheless."
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information
www.osti.gov
If you read on, a scholarly dude admits that, despite every effort,
the risk is never zero. The same is true with carrying a round in the chamber.
Because I have a brain that is always accepting inputs I can constantly evaluate and re-evaluate risk and adjust my approach accordingly. I don't wear my puffy and rain jacket for every minute of a hunt because it's not an all or nothing thing.
Scenarios that it might make sense to carry hot:
- when you're by yourself
- when you're tracking an animal, gutting/cutting, packing
- when you're in thick stuff and you perceive your reaction time available to cross some threshhold
Scenarios that it might make sense to not carry hot:
- when your partner(s) are also carrying a weapon
- when traversing difficult terrain
- when in a boat or airplane
You all should be evaluating risk all the time and adjusting your approach if you think it makes sense.