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

You�re obviously in a state of denial, but that�s OK.



�Yes� and �No� are not always appropriate answers, as is the case here. Neither would be entirely correct as I hunt with my muzzle stuffers both capped and uncapped depending on circumstances. As I said before �You ask if I hunt with an uncapped muzzlestuffer and the answer is clearly provided in my post above as �frequently�. That would be a �Yes� in some circumstances and a �No� in others. � If you must try to simplify the answer to a single word, choose one. You will be partially correct either way.





Please show me where I�ve stated anything of the kind. You can�t because I haven�t. Instead I�ve repeatedly stated that both are equally dangerous. Once again you�re making things up and attributing them incorrectly to me.



Since many people and animals have been shot with loaded firearms, accidently or intentionally, and none have ever been shot with an unloaded firearm, one might reasonably conclude loaded firearms are more dangerous.

The level of danger varies due to the circumstances extant. Sometimes the danger increases to a level I am unwilling to accept, in which case I modify my behavior. Even with my cartridge rifles there are times when I am willing to accept a higher level of danger than I am at other times. There is nothing hypocritical about that.



Once again you�re making things up.

Please show me where I made such a statement and I�ll concede your point.




You have attributed a number of statements to me that I have never made. In such cases you have NOT quoted me because there is nothing to quote.




What I�ve contended is that it is more dangerous to hunt with a loaded firearm than an unloaded one, for the simple reason that no one and no animal has ever been shot with an unloaded firearm.

And yes, I hunt with both hot and cold weapons depending on circumstances at the time.


Yes, a loaded muzzlestuffer is just as dangerous as a loaded cartridge rifle.

And yes, I often treat them differently. There have been many times when I have hunted with a loaded muzzlestuffer (capped with powder and ball in the barrel) in situations where I would have an empty chamber in my cartridge rifles. More frequently, however, in situations where I would empty the chamber of my cartridge rifles I will remove the cap from my muzzlestuffers.



I said comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. Apples and oranges are easily compared and in fact, as you pointed out, have many similarities. They are equally dangerous when loaded but their mechanical differences are significant enough to warrant, in my case, handling them differently in the field.




Actually I am quite familiar with it but disagree. Whether you define �unloaded� as �actually unloaded� or �loaded but mistakenly believed to be unloaded�, many millions more people have been shot with �loaded� firearms than �unloaded� firearms.

No one has ever been shot with an unloaded firearm. A mistaken belief that a firearm is unloaded does not make it so.




No � I take no credit for the things you made up and attributed to me.




My take is that loaded guns are always more dangerous than unloaded guns and that no amount of safe handling can make loaded guns as safe as unloaded guns.

I do agree, however, that good handling technique requires that guns be treated as if they are loaded. Better safe than mistaken and sorry.



[Edited to correct a spelling error ("forearms" instead of "firearms") and to add the missing word "be" in the second to last sentence.]