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

Just a FEW random thoughts, if I may....

After reading between the lines on several threads it's easy to see that geography, hunting situations, woodsmanship experience, and likely social demographics (urban/rural), all play a large part in how folks "feel" about this.

Am willing to, and without much real anomosity, venture a guess that most of the adamant hot hunters have never really experienced what makes the cold hunters hunt cold. Can easily figure that once they have they would seriously reconsider.

Also can venture a guess that those who insist on cold carry for the most part, are the ones who have guns in their daily civilian lives for one reason or another, hunt more days than any one man should be allowed to, hunt the places where the normal man would never think of going, and aren't hindered by a life that's made up of more desk time than woods time.

The concept of cold carry was never about whether or not someone is capable of safe carry, it's ALL about making damn sure things don't go wrong and taking premptive control of a situation that could so easily go so wrong. Sort of like an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Sort of like taping a muzzle, or using a bullet that is PROVEN to work.

Am not in tune with what happens in the urban world regarding muzzle control at a gun store, what I do see here in Rural America is a healthy respect for firearms and everyone I've ever seen in a gun store goes out of their way to not foul anyone with a gun barrel. Again probably a geographic and/or social demographic thing.

Can wager a fair bet that those folks who do constantly practice sloppy gun safety and pisspoor muzzle control are stacked heavily with evolutionary misfits, and likely have trouble knowing which way to flip a light switch despite it obviously being dark in the room......they are the precise reason we good drivers are required to purchase auto insurance.

Can't for the life of me know why a round MUST already be in the chamber to make a kill. I've my fair share of close thick cover kills; deer, bear, and turkeys, and the simple fact is that the whole idea is to spot them, and kill them, before they even know you are in the world. Can't see that if a hunter is THAT good to be able to sneak undetected into thick cover a mere 10 yards from a wary deer, and then have the balls to complain he can't effectively chamber round to make the kill at some point in time during his super slow ninja stalk prior to taking the shot. Too much telling contradiction there that doesn't add up.

The only thing that makes sense is the hot hunter in thick cover is stomping that cover and taking jump shots......

Jump shooting animals was never my thang and I can't imagine anyone without time to chamber a round being able to accurately assess the backstop behind the animal before sending their shot. If it's THAT much of a surprise that you MUST have a round chambered then you stand a GOOD chance of missing, and you stand a GOOD chance of hitting something on the other side that you don't see, and don't want to hit. The logic there simply escapes me that on one hand a hot jump shooter insists he is practicing GREAT gun safety with his hot chamber but sooo willing to take a risky shot at a fleeing animal.

Also can't for the life of me understand the noisy action thing so willingly put out there. 1.) if a hunter is actually hunting he's spotted the game with time to covertly chamber a round. 2.) all it takes is some practiced manipulation with ones digits within the system to feed and chamber a round as quiet as a church mouse, hell, my nine year old knows how to do that. I'm sort of a bolt gun snob so maybe we have a leg up in that regard. Could very well be WHY I am a bolt gun snob, to begin with.......

Can't, either, wrap my brain around the "I hunt alone" thing. Bullchit, I had my unwanted discharge while hunting alone and it scared the [bleep] out of me after I thought about it for a while. "What if" goes a long way, and bullets can't be called back once launched.

I live in VA, snow and ice are still a long way off for this year. We have more steep ridges here in SW VA than we do thick bogs. Been raining off and on here since last night. The boy and I went squirrel hunting this morning anyway. Upon deciding to head home I stepped on a wet and very slick stick hidden under the wet leaves with the inside arch of my hunting boot, and on a side hill of a ridge. I ALMOST went for a ride but caught myself before going down. Small and unimportant mishap, but everyone that's ever really hunted places like that knows exactly what that sort of "oh chit" thing is. Doesn't make me, or anyone else, a clutz in the woods. It does make it however an unexpected event that noone really can prepare for. Quick reflexes saved my ass and saved me from falling on my rifle. It could so easily have been a catastrophy tho'........