This topic has been discussed in a few threads on Hunt Talk - carry a live round in the chamber when it is not necessary. I've read the past HT threads. I read the comments on a YouTube video Michael posted. I've went and read/re-read what is currently being taught in Hunter Ed.
Accidents happen all the time while out hunting. Fortunately, most times they are just that, an accident. Yet, too many times each year, an accident becomes a tragedy when a hot chamber sends a round into a hunter or bystander. Accidents don't have to be tragedies.
As I address at 0:25 and 1:40, there are times when you are in close, or on a stand, or in a blind, or hunting birds, when it necessitates a live round. Yet, for much big game hunting, especially considering the time it takes to "identify our target and beyond," I can easily rack a round in the chamber and be ready in about one second. I've never missed an opportunity on a big game animal because I didn't have a live round in the chamber.
I know it comes with a lot of personal preferences. I know some will defend a live round in the chamber to the ends of time. Most will say they hunt alone, so it doesn't matter, and thus the reason I have the chart around 4:00.
For me, there are too many experiences from people I know, none of whom expected an accident to happen when they left for the hunt that day. My grandfather's brother, my great uncle, didn't leave the house with the intent for his rifle to fall and shoot him dead that day. My brother-in-law did not expect his father to slip down a greasy hillside and have a shotgun discharge into his armpit where his 14 year-old son had to watch as he bled out waiting for help. My cousin didn't plan on a rifle laying across his back truck seat having a delayed discharge from a frozen firing pin, with the round "luckily" only to go through his forearm. A friend of the kids I coached in Pop Warner football died when a parent was unloading a live round from a firearm that was loaded "hot" for the hunt/hike that day. None of them expected that would be how the day ended. They were all accidents that unfortunately became tragedies.
My point has always been, when it is not necessary, don't let an accident become a tragedy. An accident will happen in hunting conditions. So long as the chamber is empty, it's just an accident. It can only become a tragedy when there is a live round. If our video provides reason for a few people to think about it and it prevents even one person from having an accident turn into a tragedy, it will be worth all the work to script, film, edit, and publish.
Accidents happen all the time while out hunting. Fortunately, most times they are just that, an accident. Yet, too many times each year, an accident becomes a tragedy when a hot chamber sends a round into a hunter or bystander. Accidents don't have to be tragedies.
As I address at 0:25 and 1:40, there are times when you are in close, or on a stand, or in a blind, or hunting birds, when it necessitates a live round. Yet, for much big game hunting, especially considering the time it takes to "identify our target and beyond," I can easily rack a round in the chamber and be ready in about one second. I've never missed an opportunity on a big game animal because I didn't have a live round in the chamber.
I know it comes with a lot of personal preferences. I know some will defend a live round in the chamber to the ends of time. Most will say they hunt alone, so it doesn't matter, and thus the reason I have the chart around 4:00.
For me, there are too many experiences from people I know, none of whom expected an accident to happen when they left for the hunt that day. My grandfather's brother, my great uncle, didn't leave the house with the intent for his rifle to fall and shoot him dead that day. My brother-in-law did not expect his father to slip down a greasy hillside and have a shotgun discharge into his armpit where his 14 year-old son had to watch as he bled out waiting for help. My cousin didn't plan on a rifle laying across his back truck seat having a delayed discharge from a frozen firing pin, with the round "luckily" only to go through his forearm. A friend of the kids I coached in Pop Warner football died when a parent was unloading a live round from a firearm that was loaded "hot" for the hunt/hike that day. None of them expected that would be how the day ended. They were all accidents that unfortunately became tragedies.
My point has always been, when it is not necessary, don't let an accident become a tragedy. An accident will happen in hunting conditions. So long as the chamber is empty, it's just an accident. It can only become a tragedy when there is a live round. If our video provides reason for a few people to think about it and it prevents even one person from having an accident turn into a tragedy, it will be worth all the work to script, film, edit, and publish.
