Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Poll: Do you hunt with a round in the chamber?

This thread and the other cold/hot thread have been quite educational to me. I had no idea how many people walk around in the woods hunting without a round in the chamber. I do know all the guides with whom I have hunted have said that they would tell me when to chamber a round. I also seem to remember Capstick saying that one of the things he feared the most was walking in front of a hunter who had a loaded chamber and that Nash Buckingham did not have a safety on his favorite duck gun. I doubt, however, that I will change the way I have been doing things for over a half of a century.

I wouldn't expect that to be answered.

I got an email today that reminded me of this ongoing argument. Part of it follows.

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't own one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative isn't interested in hunting, he doesn't hunt.
If a liberal isn't interested in hunting, he wants hunting outlawed with severe penalties.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

...anyway this thing went on and on. I'll spare everyone from reproducing it all, but the point is this.
Does it seem to anyone else here like there are two distinct camps here other than the hot and cold chamber?
One group wishes to be left alone while the other feels everyone should do it their way.

Not gonna get into the same "he won't post it" bullchit you like to play.

Childish.....

My locale, to you personally, is none of your [bleep] business....period.

That's privilaged info to a very few folks here whom I trust, and you are not one of them.

Be proud, you earned that with very little effort.......

No feeders or even bait here, nor dogs.

Organized drives are illegal, as is hunting from a truck.

Can't hunt deer or bear with a .22 caliber anything, ect., ect.

Can say my state runs the full ambit of terrain, from deep dark and swampy to high steep and slippery, and much in the middle. Even get a good share of snow and ice here. It happens to be the second state I've lived in that's like that, though one was definately worse on snow, and taxes. I don't live there anymore.

I live where it's high steep and slippery, and on purpose. Even still it's easy here to show you places with five feet, at best, of visability. From where I'm sitting now there's terrain I hunt that 20 yards would be a damn long shot due to geographical features and veg, yet also, I can easily walk to where a 700 yard shot is possible should I see fit.

My point Jeff, isn't one place is easier to hunt than the other, or that having some deciding factor on a level of gun safety. When my kid lost it on the ice and the rifle he was carrying flung 6 feet in the air and came clattering down with enough force to fire it, he was on the flat, very flat. As I said before neither one of us could imagine anyone losing that much control of a rifle. But he did, it was cold chamber, and we are both still here.

I called Dad last night to ask him about his cousin, and what happened. The person carrying the gun thought the safety was on, it wasn't. Cousin was running across the barnyard to greet the hunters and suprised them with his presence. The trigger caught on something he was wearing as he swung the gun in a "safe" direction away from Cousin. The round bounced up off the ground and caught him in the belly. Back then THE fastest way to the hospital was get in the car and drive like hell. Cousin bled to death on the way......

My point is and always will be trusting a mechanical device with 100% reliability to prevent a tragedy, too many "hunters" do that, and worse actually defend that. Steelies point is noone have 100% control of their muzzle 100% of the time, too many hunters "think" that, and worse actually defend that.

Cousin died from a combination of both.........

We've repeatedly stated over and over that if our azz is moving then we are cold chamber, and there in lies the crux of our argument/intention. Can see many reading into this that we rigidly intend cold chamber until the exact moment of the shot, even on "stand". And I think much of the hot chamber argument comes from them, and even you.

I spend a lot of my time moving around with a cold chamber, and have killed plenty doing that, so I personally KNOW it's not impossible, nor even really difficult...BUT, there's plenty a time too when I reach a "deery", or a "beary", or whatever game fits place/time, plant my azz, then chamber a round in expectation of an animal showing itself. I don't do that with my kids in tow, and that's MY only concession on hunting hot "alone".

Jeff, I simply hunt. I guess I have an idea what you do from the way you tell it but I know the animals I'm killing, I know where they are going to be and have a fairly good read on what time they will be there, and why. I hunt the wind and terrain to my advantage, and I usually spot them long before they spot me. Now that might mean only 20 yards from me in the thick, or it might mean glassed at 700 yards, or somewhere in between...but that's what I mean by hunting. To me hunting with a cold chambered rifle spot and stalk is no different than hunting with my Mathews bow spot and stalk. I'm either chambering a rifle, or I'm drawing a bow. I guess I'm fairly good at it because to me it's no hinderance to do either. I don't feel the need to walk around with my bow already drawn, nor do I feel the need to hunt absolute with a round in the chamber.

I also voted against that insane POS [bleep] Obama, and on purpose......

Very well put Wilds....

Wildswalker,
Excellent post.
Compelling also.

Yeah and then there's the 347 posts out of over a 1000 that are some whining [bleep] bitching about the thread.

Can't believe someone is holding a gun to your head right now to read it.

Better ask 'em though, if the safety is on..........

JO will find a loophole to nitpick...

He's predictable.......

The only thing i was ever trying to get at was, is it the only option 100% of the time??

lion?
bear, by yourself? wounded?
even pigs or wounded pigs?

will one "cold" supporter admit it might not be an option 100% of the time? and if so, can you make it without killing someone?

I just did, when I'm planted on my azz and not moving.

You wound stuff?

Bet that could garner another 1000 posts from the azz shooting glee club......

if you can't answer that,your a bigger [bleep] idiot than i thought.

answer the question "All knowing one"

What question is it that you expect me to answer?

I want you to say "I'm a [bleep] idiot and i have been a [bleep] idiot since birth"

Um, again...I did, when I'm planted on my azz and not moving.

You can't read very well can you........

It doesn't always work that way.

answer?

hello?

c'mon, you can't have that much pride

maybe you do...sad