GH,
In my style of hunting -- still hunting/ambush from the ground --- and choice of rifle -- Ruger #1s -- a round goes in the chamber and the safety is set as soon as I am in active hunting mode. The round only comes out to cross difficult terrain or fences; during encounters with other hunters for a chin wag; or shutting down the active hunting mode for other reasons --lunch, call of nature, or a snooze. It is empty always in or around a vehicle, at base camp, and with an animal dead on the ground.
There is no way to silently load and lock a #1 just before pulling the trigger. It is hard enuff learning to work the safety w/o blowing the hunt! Blind hunters -- ground or tree stand -- and those who get away with having their guides jabber away all during a hunt -- those damn staged TV hunts are what I refer to here -- might not have the same need for bringing a rifle quietly into battery.
1B
