When do you chamber a round while hunting?

When do you chamber a round while hunting?

  • A. No round in the chamber until you are ready to take a shot.

    Votes: 111 27.9%
  • B. Round chambered, safety on while hunting.

    Votes: 275 69.1%
  • C. Round chambered firing pin disengaged. If you hold the trigger down while chambering a round

    Votes: 12 3.0%

  • Total voters
    398
Status
Not open for further replies.
Let me preface this by saying I deal with a 6 and 3 year old everyday along with about 80 holsteins. I know what stubborn is, but some of you take the cake. Double action revolver? Really?! Bolt guns don't have rebounding firing pins! They protrude!

Left to right... Mauser 96, Tikka, Rem 788, Browning A-Bolt, and Rem 700. I must have an awful lot of "out of spec" rifles!

View attachment 118871

Where's that "cam over" spot Mud? I don't see it...View attachment 118872

One more time in case you missed it...
View attachment 118873
FINALLY THEN,.. THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A few of you Guys ARE,.. WRONG !!!!
Mud and Fig this, Option "C" is, an UNSAFE,.. "CONDITION" !!!
 
I use a Blaser R8 and answered C but there really isn't a category to match my rifles action because with the R8 the firing pin is uncocked until the firing lever is pushed forward. There is no need to pull the trigger and lower the bolt, an uncocked firingpin is the natural state. This in my opinion is the safest of all actions with a chambered round because there is no uncocking process to be done.
 
If anyone gets offended by my next statement I apologize in advance. but safety's and systems are just mechanical devices. And all mechanical devices can and do fail.
 
I would never hunt with anyone I did not trust to properly handle a rifle. :)
What I dont trust is a safety, accidents happen, I hunt in rough country where slips and fails happen regularly. Get the round out of the chamber and I dont have to "trust" the safety to do its job when they or I slip and fall on the gun
 
Again - it's where you point your rifle that matters a lot. No swinging, gesturing - etc. and NEVER at somebody else !!!! Get chewed out a couple times and you remember !!!! I was trained by my Dad - who grew up hunting on a big farm in North Dakota - and a former Marine Sniper from WWII - who was also an Indian (now - called Native American) - and he was quietly proud of both. Loved hunting with both of them - sometimes on the Indian Reservation where HUGE Mulies hung out ---over 300 lbs easy - some of them. We didn't talk Rack scores then - but weight !! Racks were also BIG. Of course - that was over 50 years ago - not the same now. :) 230 lbs is now more the norm.
 
What I dont trust is a safety, accidents happen, I hunt in rough country where slips and fails happen regularly. Get the round out of the chamber and I dont have to "trust" the safety to do its job when they or I slip and fall on the gun
We hunted in thick timber - but fairly easy walking. On tricky ground - I would think about going empty in the chamber.
 
96% use option A or B
ONLY,.. 4% use option "C",.. the UNSAFE, option !!!!!!!!!!!!
Mud and Fig are,.. WRONG,.. case CLOSED,.. IMO BYE !
 
There is nothing wrong with some healthy debate is there? :D:cool: I am 100% ok with being wrong with C - in fact even though this wasn't the intent of the post, at some point I am going to have to decide what to do with my son. Right now it is always option A - for both of us when we are hunting together. He is 11, option A just makes sense. Are there situations when B makes sense? Sure, I used B in different scenarios for 23 years. 2 years ago I was introduced to C - thought it was complete BS, Instead of completely dismissing it, I tried everything I could think of to cause the gun to discharge and it wouldn't.

So I bounce back and forth between B and C and have been leaning towards C. If C really is more dangerous than B I want to know...so when I say I understand somebody being against it, I have been there, so I really do understand. But after my own testing I am not convinced it is any more dangerous than B.
Play with option "D" when your child is not around. See my post below the one quoted above. I think if you play with it, you will see it is both safer and quieter than option "C". I understand your concern, and applaud you for trying to teach your child to be a safe and responsible hunter. Today, his hands might not be large enough to do it correctly, but he will grow so quickly you will wonder where the time went. Enjoy every moment you get to spend with him.
 
While 95% of my Rifles are Custom built single shot Bench guns, I NEVER chamber a round until I've acquired my target & Ranged it into my ABS Program; be it LIVE targets, paper or metal. However while hunting large game as Deer and such, if I'm carrying 1 of my rifles that have a magazine, clip, or the ability to carry multiple rounds, I load 3 rounds with 1 in the chamber and the Safety ON. I'm ALWAYS ARMED! Everywhere I go, every MOMENT I'M awake; in this case I'm ALWAYS LOCKED & LOADED. Reason being, sudden appearance of game that JUMPS UP in front of me. Or in the case of self defense, the second it takes to pull back the slide on my Handgun could be the second that costs me MY LIFE! While hunting small game or birds with a shotgun, I'm ALWAYS LOCK & LOADED to capacity with the SAFETY ON! In the event I'm somehow taken by complete surprise, or held at Gunpoint by an assailant, I ALWAYS have my Derringer in my right pants pocket! Reason being, say a would be mugger walks up and sticks a weapon in my face or back; disarms me of my .45 Auto, then tells me to EMPTY MY POCKETS! Why GLADY sir! And what I retrieve from my pocket is their WORST & LAST NIGHTMARE! BETTER to HAVE IT. & NOT NEED IT, than to NEED IT & NOT HAVE IT! I was a STAR BOYSCOUT, BE PREPARED! This a CRAZY WORLD WE LIVE IN! YOU DON'T WAIT until you GO to WAR to CLEAN & PREPARE YOUR WEAPON! I count on my weapons to TAKE CARE of ME, so I TAKE CARE of THEM!
Theosmithjr
 
With kids there really is only one option IMO, I'm involved in hunters safety and after a week of safe rifle handling being drilled into these kids range day feels like starting back at square one. Safety with a firearm is a habit that needs formed and until then we work from totally safe no possibility of issue which is empty chamber. Just the though of having an accident with my kids has made me take a step back and ask myself if a split second shot is worth the on in a million chance, for me it just isn't.
With me and my buddies I have no issue with one in the chamber and on safe because I know there is a habit and muzzle control is a habit.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Recent Posts

Top