Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Mr. Murphy dropped by for the opener

"Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong". Lol.....

Note to other hunters out there: The elastic loops in a stock pack can suddenly lose their tension after 7-8 seasons, especially with a heavy round like a Whelen. I was hiking in on opening morning this Saturday when I heard a metallic "clink" noise behind me. There was nothing in my backpack that should have made that noise, so I stopped to check it out. It was the last couple rounds that had fallen out of the shell loops on my shell holder (rifle slung on my back). I made it to my stand with 2 cartridges after some flashlight searching. Found a few more on the hike out. So.....replace those $15 ammo carriers every couple years for cheap insurance. And it's probably a good idea to pull the rounds out during the offseason.


You can maybe get away with having tired elastic in your worn-out socks and old busted underwear, but you aren't trusting them to hold your ammo.

I need to replace the one on my 22-250. I'm always leery of those '1 size fits all' types that are supposed to fit everything from a 223 to a 458.

I like the neoprene Uncle Mikes unit, as it makes a nice cheek cushion on heavy kicking rifles and the grabby texture stays put on the stock fairly well. Ordered a handful of new ones at $12 each. Well worth it. I think I use them on a couple of CVA single shots and several Ruger M77 stocks that don't have a cheekpiece.

Turns out that this ammo carrier has been on that rifle for 8 seasons. Was due to give out....

Had a hunter dump all 9 rounds out of his .270 butt buddy in the back floor of my Jeep last week, when we got to the blind he didn't have any Ammo, gave him my gun to use. not a fan of butt buddy's. Rio7

You should give Beartooth Products a try. Made in America.

Never really was a fan of those. But a good idea to replace them regularly if you do use them.

Once the mag is topped off, I put one round in each pocket. No matter which pocket I reach for, there's a round readily available.

I would go with one with wider elastic to grip the case better.



one more like this one:

Fair point. The 308-size cases seem to stay put pretty well with the narrow band, as do belted magnum cases, but the heavy/slim Whelen ammo was more than it was willing to hold when it weakened.

Great reminder, thanks for posting. I'm probably due to replace 3 or 4 of them myself. Haven't tought to much about it till I read about your mishap. At least you didn't end up at your stand no ammo at all. That would have really sucked.

The big 9 round one is what my hunter had on his .270, I have no idea how old it was. Rio7

I like wool even when it's wet it will help keep you warm. Gi wool gloves are great. Their ambidextrous work on either hand. Pull the glove on, roll the cuff back down to the finger and thumb openings, ease it off your fingers, stick a cartridge in each finger hole and the thumb hole put it in your pocket. Do both gloves.now you have10 extra rds 5 in each pocket , no they don't rattle or clink. Your hands get cold, turn them back into gloves. Pretty damned simple if you think about it. You can buy 3 prs for the cost of a butt buddy.

Mb

That's why men's clothing has pockets.

So, you got 2 deer, right ?

A stock pack makes more sense on the single shots than it does with the bolt guns, as it's always been handy to have that extra ammo right there after pulling the trigger. For most of my repeating rifles I keep a velcro ammo wallet on the top shelf of the safe with 8-10 rounds or a spare DBM with 5-10 rounds. When I get a rifle from the safe, I grab the extra ammo. The stock packs on my Ruger bolt action rifles are mainly there for the comfort in shooting, but I have been rather glad to have at least three guns that were "ready to go" when you pulled them out of the safe with all their ammo attached. Less ammo wallets taking up space on the shelf too. Doubt I'd go on a really long trek with all my ammo in them though, especially after seeing this Whelen dump its load all of a sudden.

I have a butt buddy that has an integral "cover". It helps keep them in until needed. After season, I always remove the rounds. My "slimmer/trimmer" Stalking Rifle type rifles do not get a butt buddy at all. I once tried an inexpensive shotgun ammo Bandolier, load and kept by my HD 12ga as a grab and go. Gosh, those loops didn't last a year, ha

That was the plan, but wound up just watching a forkhorn and two spikes tussle most of the morning. Busted a big hog walking in at maybe 10 yards in the dark (red flashlight), but he was just off the edge of my trail and out of sight.

They were all over my stand while I was getting dressed and eating breakfast.

Hornady makes/made one that has a zipper compartment on it, and the loops are inside there.
Cartridges go in the loops, inside the zippered compartment. Can't lose 'em.

These stock packs with internal loops made by Triad Tactical have worked well for me:

https://triadtactical.com/triad-tactical/all-triad-stock-packs/

I wouldn't put one of those things on my rifle. Stick the shells in your pocket.