No doubt there are circumstances where you could hunt with no round in the chamber, [/b]such as where you are using binos or a scope to find game, and not expecting that you might walk into it.[b]
There are other times when having the chamber empty makes good sense,..
[/b]However when I am actively hunting I have the chamber loaded, rifle on safe.[b] I hunt a range of animals from rabbits, foxes, pigs, goats, to deer and bigger animals, and in a range of locations, [/b]but almost invariably by walking them up. There are any number of times where I have bounced critters at close range, and would not have had a chance if the chamber was empty, either because chambering a round would have spooked them or because they were already spooked and I had a narrow window to drop a critter intent on getting away. [b]
I have carried that way for decades, and also carried cocked and locked in my years of military service. It doesn't bother me a bit if people want to hunt with chamber empty, but it doesn't work for me.
Thanks Dan - you have exactly described the situation/s I have encountered.
I NO longer hunt from Tree Stands or "shooting houses" we called them QUAD pods. I hunt ON my feet and either Still Hunting or Stalking.
When I'm HUNTING the rifle is HOT. Since 1972, when I began deer hunting, I have NOT had a single Accidental Discharge of a firearm.
Jerry
