I hunt where most carry hot yet very few if any are hurt each year. I carry cold and don't feel handicapped for doing so.
Here in Colorado its a rare year when no one gets killed by a firearm during the hunting seasons. Some are shot intentionally (mistaken idnentity, "Officer, with the blaze orange hat and vest he looked JUST LIKE A DEER") while others are "accidents" involving loaded weapons and vehicles, falls, general stupidity, carelessness, inattention, etc.
The ONE CONSTANT in each case is the chamber was HOT at the time.
I understand the occasional need to hunt hot but in most cases I don't think it is really necessary. In griz country I would probably be hot all the time. In Colorado's open grasslands/sage I generally hunt cold, in dense pines where a shot opportunity may be fleeting at best, I tend to hunt hot. Other times it depends.
As I pointed out before, the chances of an AD/ND are:
Cold chamber = ZERO Hot chamber = INFINITELY GREATER
Assess the risks and act appropriately. Its not hard to live with a missed shot opportunity. Killing your hunting buddy or family member, as happens almost every year here in Colorado alone, is a whole other issue.
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
