Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Rifle goes where in camp?

In my teepee I've stood it on the butt and tied a short length of paracord around the barrel to the center pole. Rifle is upright, accessible and doesn't get stepped on knocked over or wallowed in the dirt. Don't have to step over it when getting up in the middle of the night to pee. I tie a bow like a shoelace so I can pull one end and untie.
As far as hammocking, never hunted and hammock camped but I would be darn sure I had that rifle secured if I hung it from my ridge line. I'd hate for that thing to drop loose and bang me in the noggin(or nabs) in the middle of the night! I'd vote for on top of my pack under the hammock in that scenario.

You travel light! I'm impressed.

What Snubbie said, except I use a Niteeyze LED light that has gear ties for feet. Of course I do that after the stove is out for the night. The leftover heat will dry out a rifle pretty well, and the centerpole is the least likely area for tent rain. The legs on the Nighteyze can be setup to skin a rifle pretty quick if that's a concern. Personally, I worry more about getting to my headlamp and asswipe in a hurry more that my rifle.



It comes in handy for a lot of things, besides a gunrack...

+1 on a backpack hunt. If straddling a nag, the rifles are under the kitchen tarp and a .44 and 454 are in the tent right close to the 1Meg Cp torch.

Yep, and when wet/freezing conditions are bad, check it several times a day. As you say, there are ways around it, or at least to have the action ice up less and get it back to functioning quicker. First choice is to keep a cold rifle dry and below freezing. That is not always possible in far western hunting. The worst scenario is back and forth above and below freezing: a recipe for condensation and freezing inside the action. I've hunted elk in freezing rain with an external coat of ice on the rifle so thick that it takes noticeable effort to break ice and lift the bolt. Most of the time we hunt wet country in the marginal temps just above and below freezing, so are very aware of this problem. We've been through all of Rayporter's scenarios. Even in dry Idaho I had a firing pin ice up when the temps dropped after a light rain. First shot at a bull elk made a "chinque" sound, which I recognized as ice being crushed. I figured that first try had broken enough ice to fire a primer on the second try and it had. We've had rifles with action so internally iced that only holding over a warm campfire released internal parts to move.

FWIW, condensation is one of the reasons I backpack with a tarp, not a "cold sauna" tent.

The condensation/freezing problem is one reason why I like my rifle made with Mauser 98 action. It has a long lock time, but a very strong firing pin spring that makes them go "bang" when other rifles won't. I understand JJHack has found Rugers 77 and Winchester M70 very reliable in that regard as well.
I like to put mine in a plastic bag used for rifle cases if I sleep in the open.
The tent I use, a Mtn Hardware design, has almost the entire top made of open mesh. A fly fits over all of it, allowing a great deal of air circulation. Odviously made to combat the condensation problems. E

Good for you

We're on a tangent from the original topic, but FWIW, we have had repeated ice-impaired action problems with Rem 700's, one Rem 788 and one Tikka T3 Lite. I doubt that any rifle is totally immune to ice inside the action. I have not used either a Ruger nor a Winchester in icing conditions. I have used a Model 98 customized Mauser without problem though without controlled temps etc. my experience of one is anecdotal evidence too thin to prove anything.

E., when tenting from vehicle on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, I put a mesh topped 4 man dome tent under a 16x24' tarp, with no rain fly on the tent. If we zip the screen only on the door and windows, condensation is tolerable.

I learned long ago, in my first season, 1964, all about frozen bolts, etc and what type of rifle action works best most consistently in the type of weather that Okanagan describes.

The following spring, some six months later, I started work in the BC wilderness for the BCFS. We were not allowed to carry guns on the job and so we tended to keep our rifles out of sight and they often went without attention for days on end.

I have now owned about 150 different rifles, all types and carried them over most of BC, wilderness Alberta and usually on backpacks and living under tarps or in tents. This, has given me some ideas as to what works best and what is most comfortable for me to use.

I now own 35 rifles, of which 32 are bolt actions and of these, ONE is an "ultra light" full custom Remmy Mod. 7, the others are ALL Mausers, older Brnos, P-64 and two sts Classic Mod. 70s and HVAs. This has not come about because I want to be part of any "in" group and hunt with, some "cult" rifle, such as the P-64s, it is because I can and have had to disassemble bolts that are frozen and slowly warm them under my jacket.

A good Mauser, chambered and adjusted correctly is SO superior to any other action in dealing with freezing that there is no comparison. My original Oberndorf Type B is a plain, kinda homely old gun, shows serious use, but, functions flawlessly, is VERY accurate with my "JB" 9,3x62 loads and just works in any weather in a way that gives me total confidence in the 76 year old gem.

So, I agree with Okanagan on this and I keep my rifle on my right side, loaded and ALWAYS in the SAME position with my flashlight beside it and a spare Petzl Tikka there,as well.

In the last late night Grizzly visit I had, Sept. 2007, in BC's remote Chilcotin country, I was happy to have them handy, although a loud curse from me made the big bugger leave camp and he did not return.

I've never used it in the field on a frozen rifle, but near pure alcohol will displace water and evaporate dry. I use it often to dry up triggers after wet weekends trekking.