Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Safety locking bolt down.

yes wolf attacks are very rare but I knew a guy who never reported it but he did get attack by a wolf but did not get hurt bad.the other thing is here in Minnesota these liberals have protected these wolves so well, wolves here in Minnesota no longer fear man and are coming into yards more eating pets,killing cows wounding other farm animals including cows,some animals disappear nobody knows what has happened to them ? its very out of control now and I don`t plan on being on the list. here in the upper 1/3 of Minnesota we have now between 3,000 - 4,000 wolves even the famous David Mech says Minnesota has way to many wolves. hopefully with President Trumps new supreme court pick will help with this liberal foolishness !

I tried empty chamber for a couple years when hunting with family. I never got a single shot off. Heavy brush, short range, split second shots or no shots at all. Hunting alone, figure about 3 chances for aimed shots out of 10 buck sightings. It's pretty close to jump shooting quail with an empty gun, shells in your vest, not in your hand. Might as well stay home and watch the NFL, whatever that is.

Tom

Okay I have a Tikka and if I leave it cocked I can lock the bolt down with the safety but the spring in the bolt is compressed . If I leave it uncocked the safety doesn't work and the bolt can cycled. I always leave it uncocked to so the spring won't be compressed. What do you all do ?

So in short, you are guessing. Compelling argument, really.

Jwall I expect nothing different from, because he's a fugging idiot.

I used to hunt all the time with one in the chamber but no more. In the last few years we've had three fatalities in CO in situations where people lost muzzle control with a round in the chamber. One was a son who shot his father when the sling on his elk rifle came loose, the rifle fell from his shoulder and he grabbed for it. One was a client who shot a guide while crossing a shale slide. One was a grandson who shot himself while duck hunting with his father and grandfather. He was outside the blind, retrieving a downed duck in thick brush.

So my rule of thumb is, any time I might lose muzzle control like crossing a shale slide, I unload the chamber. What it comes down to for me is these two questions: What have I lost by not having one in the chamber, and what have I gained?

What I've gained is absolute safety. What I've lost is maybe the 1.5 seconds it takes to chamber a round. And if I'm on a shale slide for example, I'm not taking a shot until I get to more stable footing anyway.

Like you said, You are civil.

And a LIAR to boot.

Jerry

Yep, can't give exact stats on what never happened.
Do know that I have had many deer appear, and I didn't manage to get the sights on them before they spooked.
Stands to reason that some number of those I shot real close would not have taken the noise and movement.
I have shot several that were literally jump shot. Under 50 yards, jumped up and ran.

It's like I have said. I hunt from the ground, mixed cover. Against a tree, standing where I stopped walking, or walking.
I don't have shooting lanes, feeders, or any gun rest. Shots are usually offhand, resting on a tree if possible.
Mostly, a shot is taken in seconds, or not at all.

I have, on the couple occasions that I used someone's stand, opened the bolt so all I had to do was close it.
Have heard too many stories of guns falling out of stands and shooting someone.

Yes, Jorge, Remington rifles.

I have never thot about keeping count. I've had many close encounters w/deer over the yrs. and I'd never have gotten off a shot.

That's not all by any means but I never know when I'll encounter a deer I want to shoot.

When I HUNT.......the rifle is HOT.

Jerry

Everywhere, across recorded time, total number of wolf attacks fit on a single hand. Pretty amazing you would bump into one unrecorded victim...

You are being an argumentative idiot.

Guns are dangerous, so are chainsaws.
There are those who refuse to own or use either due to risks.
I enjoy using and benefitting from the abilities of both.
The risk is managed to access the benefit.

And I assume you are posting about fences.
When alone, I don't have the concern of another person,
and I can't possibly hand my rifle across the fence to myself.

Go argue wood finish, you appear knowledgeable there.

I much prefer a lockdown bolt.

Wow!

But as a former guide and someone with more than a bit of experience in the field I feel my opinion is better than a guess.

I see no viable point in your sidestepping, but that is certainly your option... was only trying to make a point that a number of other fathers have had their eyes opened with.

We must be on different pages somehow.
I mentioned my daughter because she is pretty much the only person I hunt with anymore.
If you and I were hunting together, I would assume we would cross a short obstacle that way.
It's just that alone, I am comfortable laying a loaded rifle under a fence, parallel to it, crossing,
then picking it up. If I had to carry it, unload the chamber.

No doubt there are circumstances where you could hunt with no round in the chamber, such as where you are using binos or a scope to find game, and not expecting that you might walk into it. There are other times when having the chamber empty makes good sense, such as when you have the rifle on a sling, or you put it down to cross a fence or something like that. When I am not actively hunting, such as when I sling the rifle for whatever reason, or go to put it down to cross a fence, I clear the chamber.

However when I am actively hunting I have the chamber loaded, rifle on safe. I hunt a range of animals from rabbits, foxes, pigs, goats, to deer and bigger animals, and in a range of locations, 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.

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.

There are worse habits than carrying a rifle cocked and locked though, or chamber empty for that matter. For example, I have seen people ease springs on a loaded chamber, and carry that way, which gives me the horrors, especially since I have witnessed NDs occurring that way. There are also those who have a round up the spout and the bolt closed but bolt handle partly raised, just enough to stay in place. This seems particularly popular in NZ. The problem is that a touch on the bolt knob - bump it against your gear or a branch as you push through brush - and it drops and is ready to fire, and with some rifles if you pull the trigger (or snag it) the bolt will snap closed and the rifle will fire too.

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

I like the three position safety with bolt lock down and of course safety on unloading. I have missed shots due to an empty chamber, bolt partially open, and bolt falling out.

The latter was caused by a bad spring on the bolt stop on a 700 but the bolt dropped out several times always seeming to land in sugar sand. The sand got into the safety of the Jewel trigger and it may need to go back to the manufacturer to fix now. Just polished it up and will mount on another rifle soon to see.

Is there a formula for pizzing matches based on how long the hunting seasons have been closed? Seem like JB's one quarter rule could apply in that the pizzing increases 25% for each month between seasons.

Tejano

Thnx for explaining how your bolt ‘fell out’. I have been skeptical to say the least about claims of that happening.

As you know there is ‘some’ type of latch/catch to prevent bolts from coming out of actions. Thnx for your explanation.


Jerry

Hot vs cold chamber? It depends. The International Hunter Education Association does not recommend cold chambers except when traversing rugged terrain, crossing fences, ditches, or climbing into elevated stands. And obviously when in vehicles or structures. I've been teaching hunters ed classes since 1986. That is the method I teach and practice. As a rule the chamber is hot, but when conditions change I go cold.

I prefer the 3 position safeties that will allow me to lock the bolt down and still work as a trigger block when loading/unloading. But most of my rifles have 2 position safeties that do not lock the bolt. It isn't a deal killer either way. I've had the bolt come open once and I lost 1 round of ammo while walking with my rifle slug on an easy trail. I have no idea how it happened, but it wasn't that big of a deal.

MR.SITKA from Alaska what makes you think you know what`s true ? well you don`t the old guy I know,he did get knock down by wolf but wolf not bite thru his thick coat,wolf just ran away.also I had another friend while coyote hunting had 3 wolves attack his dog and he was close enough he ended up braking a rifle stock on the head of a wolf to save his dog ! yes here in Northern Minnesota we have plenty wolves ,just because you live in Alaska doesn`t mean you know what happens here in Northern Minnesota !

What tribe are you from?