Chamber Empty or Loaded

[madtom]

Rifle: 100% always empty chamber until the rifle is set up on an animal and ready to aim/shoot.

Shotgun: I hunt upland and turkeys with a pump action. Loaded chamber, safety on, action cracked open. Open action adds a second layer of safety, and it’s still quick to slide the action forward, take safety off, and shoot. Having the action open also makes it visible to others and myself that the gun is loaded when the brass is visible.

 

[Wild Bill]

I've always detested these sorts of comparisons. They usually appear in discussions about empty chamber carry for defensive handguns, often something like "If you carry with an empty chamber, you might as well carry a brick".

Well, no. I've never seen a brick that can be racked in less than a second and turned into a chambered handgun. I've also never seen a shotgun that can be chambered with a rock and made to fire at birds.

These "you may as well" statements aren't helpful, and they are completely inaccurate.

I wasn't insinuating that you load your shotgun with rocks. That would be foolish.

My point was, in my experience, you have as good of a chance of killing a bird by throwing rocks at it than you would to try and chamber a round, shoulder the firearm, acquire your target, and fire your round before the bird is out of range or behind an obstacle. Getting a shot at a ruffed grouse flushing in a thick aspen stand before disappearing, or getting a shot at a jumpy rooster pheasant that gets up at 25 years and catches its wings in a 30 mph sustained wind does not leave much for extra time.
Sure you can snap a double barrel closed or engage a pump action in under a second, but I'd love to see someone safely load an autoloader in under a second. Seems to me it would be safer to keep it loaded and practice all the safety measures I listed earlier. ‍

 

[338BearHunter]

I wasn't insinuating that you load your shotgun with rocks. That would be foolish.

My point was, in my experience, you have as good of a chance of killing a bird by throwing rocks at it than you would to try and chamber a round, shoulder the firearm, acquire your target, and fire your round before the bird is out of range or behind an obstacle. Getting a shot at a ruffed grouse flushing in a thick aspen stand before disappearing, or getting a shot at a jumpy rooster pheasant that gets up at 25 years and catches its wings in a 30 mph sustained wind does not leave much for extra time.
Sure you can snap a double barrel closed or engage a pump action in under a second, but I'd love to see someone safely load an autoloader in under a second. Seems to me it would be safer to keep it loaded and practice all the safety measures I listed earlier. ‍

In regard to shotguns, I'm actually in your camp here. I carry shotguns chambered with the safety on, because its clumsy to try to chamber a round quickly. (I have pump actions only). In the case of rifles, I don't need to press a special release to chamber a round, so I carry rifles unchambered.

I just think comparing carrying an unchambered (yet either loaded, like a shotgun tube), or empty (like a break action) to carrying rocks is hyperbole - the same type of hyperbole I read on discussions of defensive handgun use. We all agree that unchambered is slower than chambered, but many consider the tradeoff for safety worthwhile.

To make an intelligent decision, one must have a good sense of how much slower or less effective unchambered carry is. The rocks analogy is ridiculous, which may lead to poor decision making.

 

[Chama Grande]

 

[Scott85]

Most of the time we are just hiking with a rifle, the hunt doesn’t start until you have spotted one and putting the stalk on one.

 

[cahunter805]

Empty chamber until I’m ready to shoot. If the split second it takes for me to work the bolt and chamber a round causes me to not get an animal I’m fine with it.
Anything mechanical can fail and I wouldn’t rely on it when a round is in the chamber. A life is worth wayyyyy more to me than any animal.

 

[np307]

Not at all from me. Do as you wish. More surprised by some folks answers than anything. Still have yet to hear a compelling reason to carry a rifle with one in the chamber.

"None of you has a good reason to carry with one in the chamber" counts as contempt in my book.

 

[338BearHunter]

"None of you has a good reason to carry with one in the chamber" counts as contempt in my book.

Who said that?

 

[np307]

Who said that?

People have posted their reasons for carrying chambered. Multiple people have said they haven't seen anyone give a good reason to carry chambered. Ergo, those who have posted such are telling all the people who have given reasons that they don't have good reasons.

 

[Shangobango]

I would have killed a lot less deer if I was hunting without a round in the chamber. With that said, if I am around other people, in a vehicle, walking a long distance into where I am hunting, etc., I have an empty chamber.

If I am actively hunting I have a round in the chamber unless I am still hunting with someone, which is rare.

 

[thusby]

When you grow up hunting thick timber, you always carry chambered. Hunting out west, this doesn’t seem necessary, but I still can’t break myself from the habit.

 

[Deleted member 18333]

"None of you has a good reason to carry with one in the chamber" counts as contempt in my book.

To each their own.

 

[BuzzH]

So, I've got another question to add to this. For those of you who hunt with chamber empty, what is your firearms educational background? Any formal training? If so, what kind? I'm betting a person's training background makes a difference.

I haven't killed but a few hundred head of big-game in the West, and the only time I chamber a round is when I'm either: 1. about to finish a stalk and start shooting 2. in very thick cover when I feel I'm close to an animal.

Other than that, its empty chamber.

I agree with Greenhorn, if someone is wandering around the woods with a round in the chamber you should probably find a set of golf clubs or knitting needles.

 

[np307]

When you grow up hunting thick timber, you always carry chambered. Hunting out west, this doesn’t seem necessary, but I still can’t break myself from the habit.

Yeah I think its hard for me to overstate how much influence the terrain I hunt has over this question for me. Of the 20k acres of game lands I might hunt during a year, theres probably 20 spots that you can see more than 100 yards. Most of it you can see less than 50. I bump plenty of deer but I'm also in constant proximity to them.

 

[338BearHunter]

People have posted their reasons for carrying chambered. Multiple people have said they haven't seen anyone give a good reason to carry chambered. Ergo, those who have posted such are telling all the people who have given reasons that they don't have good reasons.

In other words, nobody actually said that. You're paraphrasing but treating it as a quote. Your "ergo" statement is also logically fallacious.

 

[Redside]

I carry a rifle unloaded and load it when its time to shoot. Haven't lost an animal because of that. Oh well if I do.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I haven't killed but a few hundred head of big-game in the West,

 

[belshawelk]

With someone never in chamber. By myself not in chamber unless I am on legit final stock or areas with quick shots needed. IN all my years only a few times I remember when I jumped a critter with a legit shot chance and didn't have one loaded and I could make it happen, BUT, I am still alive to tell about it. I have slipped on my ass bad many times and glad I never had one in chamber

 

[CowboyLeroy]

I haven't killed but a few hundred head of big-game in the West

Come on now..

 

[Hammsolo]

Are you saying that hunting with a loaded chamber is "negligence and defiance of safety rules"?

No, I should have been more clear. A group of 4 boys (mid to late teens) were riding in a truck. All had loaded guns. One boy had his rifle between his legs. The rifle discharged, and it was later determined the safety was off. His stray bullet struck him in the head, but I won’t go into details. They drove into town to the Sheriffs office. It was determined that negligence was the defining cause of death. These boys were also known to be defiant of safety and rules. It is a sad story, but completely preventable.