To chamber, or not to chamber? That is the question.

[mtmuley]

Pretty much. Steep, but not too tough to stay upright relative to a midwestern cedar swamp.

Fricken badass. Old guns and no Western landscape too tough. mtmuley

 

[belly-deep]

But the quality of the footing is FAR better and safer than what midwestern upland bird hunter sees.

The fine art of spreading bs on the internet about things you’ve never done is to keep it believable, lest you be outed as a fraud.

I think you’ve just outed yourself.

 

[BrentD]

Fricken badass. Old guns and no Western landscape too tough. mtmuley

you can misread me as you will. But you know what I said and what I meant. Come hunt with me sometime. I'm not so tough, but you will find it challenging in ways you haven't contemplated before.

 

[noharleyyet]

Fricken badass. Old guns and no Western landscape too tough. mtmuley

ahem...https://onyourownadventures.com/hun...na-contemplates-shooting-more-cows-less-bulls

Hunt what?

 

[mtmuley]

you can misread me as you will. But you know what I said and what I meant. Come hunt with me sometime. I'm not so tough, but you will find it challenging in ways you haven't contemplated before.

Nah. I'll just stay out West here in the park where it's safe. mtmuley

 

[Rancho Loco]

Aaaaaaand it's all about BrentD..

 

[Hem]

I'm pretty certain a Westerner like myself would be less of a liability in your swamp than a flatlanders like yourself would be to me in 2' of snow at 10k.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Hey he’s hunted a 3000 square mile mtn range in Wyoming from stem to stern in a few seasons. It’s pretty impressive to say the least.

 

[shaffe48]

I've never hunted 'Out west'. When I hunted in alaska, I was more prone to 'neglect' my rifle because I was tromping around all day with it on a pack. Out east, you are usually moving directly to a stand or moving slowly and carefully still hunting. It's rare you are out overnight which i found diminished the focus on the gun. If you are crossing a stream or a fence, you unload the gun then you cross.

So I can definitely see there being a difference out east on average.

Regardless, you can always keep the gun loaded when you have positive control especially. That includes slung with your hand on the sling.

Many of these things are just universal rules. I was taught them in hunter safety. I was taught them in the military where, by the way, there was no such thing as an accidental discharge only a negligent discharge. You.may hold yourself to higher standards, but these are the agreed upon rules.

 

[pabearhunter]

I've never hunted 'Out west'. When I hunted in alaska, I was more prone to 'neglect' my rifle because I was tromping around all day with it on a pack. Out east, you are usually moving directly to a stand or moving slowly and carefully still hunting. It's rare you are out overnight which i found diminished the focus on the gun. If you are crossing a stream or a fence, you unload the gun then you cross.

So I can definitely see there being a difference out east on average.

Regardless, you can always keep the gun loaded when you have positive control especially. That includes slung with your hand on the sling.

Many of these things are just universal rules. I was taught them in hunter safety. I was taught them in the military where, by the way, there was no such thing as an accidental discharge only a negligent discharge. You.may hold yourself to higher standards, but these are the agreed upon rules.

X-2

 

[TRS_Montana]

First, to answer Ben's question:
1.) I usually have one in the chamber
2.) Montana

Now...to the more general discussion.

As Nameless_Range put it, what is being discussed here is one facet of the broader arena of gun safety. Honestly, there are some people that I would trust more while hiking with an unpinned hand grenade, than others with a sheathed butter knife. Commonly, the distinguishing factor that separates those that I will hunt with (which is a VERY small group, for multiple reasons...one of which is safety), and those I will not hunt with, is what I would describe as desperation.

People lose their minds when they are desperate to kill something. I don't think it is too far off from what is very well described in the literature as the "mindset of depravity". When a person feels they NEED something, it is the only thing they can focus on. I would be lying if I said I haven't struggled to avoid being engulfed in this mindset while hunting, myself.

When someone chambers a round at the truck in the spirit of "I have to do everything I can to make sure I kill something on this hunt", it is a symptom of a mindset that is prone to induce mishap. When someone chambers a round at the truck out of habit, and still has their mindset focused on establishing an environment where safety is the top priority, I don't usually get puckered.

My best friend and hunting buddy is a special agent with a federal law enforcement agency. We've had these discussions and he still has a bullet in the chamber (roughly) 75% of the time we are in the field. While I realize that mistakes can happen to anyone (and often happen when least expected), I feel much safer in that context than I imagine I would sitting a half-mile from a person in a tree stand who has subconsciously made shooting an animal the top priority of the hunt.

Admittedly, reading this thread has caused me to rethink my stance on chambering a round prior to getting in the red zone...but I also feel that the discussion is severely lacking if the blame of (potential and realized) tragedy and irresponsibility rests solely in a loaded chamber.

 

[BrentD]

First, to answer Ben's question:
1.) I usually have one in the chamber
2.) Montana

Now...to the more general discussion.

As Nameless_Range put it, what is being discussed here is one facet of the broader arena of gun safety. Honestly, there are some people that I would trust more while hiking with an unpinned hand grenade, than others with a sheathed butter knife. Commonly, the distinguishing factor that separates those that I will hunt with (which is a VERY small group, for multiple reasons...one of which is safety), and those I will not hunt with, is what I would describe as desperation.

People lose their minds when they are desperate to kill something. I don't think it is too far off from what is very well described in the literature as the "mindset of depravity". When a person feels they NEED something, it is the only thing they can focus on. I would be lying if I said I haven't struggled to avoid being engulfed in this mindset while hunting, myself.

When someone chambers a round at the truck in the spirit of "I have to do everything I can to make sure I kill something on this hunt", it is a symptom of a mindset that is prone to induce mishap. When someone chambers a round at the truck out of habit, and still has their mindset focused on establishing an environment where safety is the top priority, I don't usually get puckered.

My best friend and hunting buddy is a special agent with a federal law enforcement agency. We've had these discussions and he still has a bullet in the chamber (roughly) 75% of the time we are in the field. While I realize that mistakes can happen to anyone (and often happen when least expected), I feel much safer in that context than I imagine I would sitting a half-mile from a person in a tree stand who has subconsciously made shooting an animal the top priority of the hunt.

Admittedly, reading this thread has caused me to rethink my stance on chambering a round prior to getting in the red zone...but I also feel that the discussion is severely lacking if the blame of (potential and realized) tragedy and irresponsibility rests solely in a loaded chamber.

It would be very hard to improve on this post. Thanks.

 

[maxx]

Have hunted for a long time and never had a critter get away because I was too slow to chamber a round.

Have you ever pheasant hunted behind a flushing dog?

I get not having one in the chamber on certain types of hunts. If I am bird hunting of any kind I always have one in the chamber.

If I am deer hunting I typically chamber once I sit or get in the stand. Same with a muzzle I wont put the primer in until I am read. If I had to put the primer in once I saw the deer I may as well just throw a knife at them. I am super careful with arrows on my bow also.

 

[maxx]

Not saying I have the answers, but here are my reasons:

- There really is no other way to hunt upland so I take additional risk to participate in that sport, but I view it as unnecessary risk when rifle hunting so why take it
- Where we pheasant and grouse hunt the terrain is a flatter and more stable/friendly than broken up western rocky terrain
- I find upland hunting less distracting with fewer gadgets - no binos, no spotters, no big backpacks, all of that make it easier to focus on muzzle awareness
- Also, I find myself more focused on where my gun is when I upland hunt as it is relevant to getting a good swing, whereas when walking with a rifle I tend to focus more down range and footing
- Beyond 10-15 yards, shotgun blast with bird shot is not a deadly as rifle round so safer for those around me

This is a reasonable response.

And yes I didn't realize I answered back in july but at least my answer is similar.

 

[maxx]

Another twist is does anyone on here hunt big game with a AR?

I have hog hunted and used them a little for deer. There really is no way you would be able to chamber a round and still shoot.

You see a lot of people hunting with Modern Sporting rifles these days.

 

[shaffe48]

Another twist is does anyone on here hunt big game with a AR?

I have hog hunted and used them a little for deer. There really is no way you would be able to chamber a round and still shoot.

You see a lot of people hunting with Modern Sporting rifles these days.

Why not noise in chambering? How is this different than a pump lever or standard auto?

 

[maxx]

Why not noise in chambering? How is this different than a pump lever or standard auto?

They are dam loud when you are closing them. I suppose you could leave it closed, throw the mag in and then use the charging handle to slowly let one in, then you could use the forward assist to make sure it closes.

I had a AR10 that didn't have forward assist. My buddy did what I just said above and he got a click. Slamming is really the only way on an auto.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Throw the mag in and then use the charging handle to slowly let one in

I assume this would be the safest way to carry one if you were hiking around. That said, I haven't heard of many people using an AR platform to hunt and have never heard of anyone using it as a spot and stalk weapon or in a situation where you are doing lots of waking... most in blinds, stands, predator calling, etc. and in those circumstances I think it's probably fine to leave it hot.

 

[belly-deep]

I assume this would be the safest way to carry one if you were hiking around. That said, I haven't heard of many people using an AR platform to hunt and have never heard of anyone using it as a spot and stalk weapon or in a situation where you are doing lots of waking... most in blinds, stands, predator calling, etc. and in those circumstances I think it's probably fine to leave it hot.

People are using them for all kinds of hunting, including spot and stalk.

 

[shaffe48]

Yeah i think an ar was far from anyone's mind. Just sounds like a(nother) disadvantage of an ar if you can't find a way to load it quietly...period.

Ps, thanks.for adding to my another reason to not buy an ar list other than price, complexity, and maintenance

Ps2 and the fact that infind them ergonomically impossible.