Hypothetical situation, you miss a shot at a deer while brush hunting. The deer does not know your location and is quiet, yet alert, obviously. You want a follow up shot, but ejecting and chambering is going to be noisy.

What action type would you want in that situation? Lever, bolt, break-open, pump, falling block, or other. By the way semi-automatic is not an option, as it is illegal north of the border.

Dude, I hunt without one in a chamber period. I've worked all kinds of bolts and levers. Trust me if the shot didn't scare the [bleep] out of him the action ain't.

The Remington 740,742,7400 or the Browning BAR if a follow up shot is important these are ready for your second miss.

Ruger #1 will do it for me!!!

An accurate well aimed first shot, so a second one isn't required. But if the deer ain't running like the end of the world is in sight, any action other than maybe a Winchester lever will do. (Nomex suit on.)

90% of the time I use a bolt rifle and I've got another shell chambered within a couple seconds if I need it or not. I don't even think about it, it's second nature just as putting the safe on/off or flipping up my scope caps.

Most people that are familiar with their bolt guns can fire an accurate second shot just as quickly as most any other action.

I emphasize accurate in that sentence

This one...

Likely a semi auto will cycle while the rifles report and subsequent echos are still rebounding around the landscape. Of all of my rifles, the Ruger #1's are the quietest.

Of those, I'd say the Remington is the quietest. It goes "bang" one time and that's pretty much all you hear...




'till the cussin' starts...

BAR - no noise at all.

And if you hunt from a deer stand in the thick stuff this is an issue.



Spot

BAR or AR-15 or 10

I've never shot a semi-auto yet that could be closed quietly and be reliably locked up. One of the few times I have ever missed a moose was when I was using a BAR that had an empty chamber.

Nowadays I use a bolt gun with one up the pipe. Of course this has a lot to do with the way we hunt.

Jim

Learn how to work a bolt gun quickly and the next round will be in the chamber before the sound of the shot has subsided. With practice you can work a bolt rifle pretty fast.

I have popped caps on my side-lock muzzle loader at deer that were only 25 yards away, and managed to clean out the nipple and slide on a new cap without them running. The noise isn't always a factor.

The quietest is probably a break action single or double. Ruger, Merkel, H&R, Knight...

After that... pick your risks. A hammerless lever or a bolt would likely be next, but as Steelie already indicated, you're taking an unnecessary risk at that if you're rolling with a hot chamber.

Remmy, Sako, Tikka...

But my most quiet is a Matthews...grin.

DJ

For a follow-up shot, cost no object, the quietest is a double rifle. Here is John "Pondoro" Taylor discussing the subject in his classic book, "African Rifles and Cartridges," from his experience of hunting elephants professionally in thick cover.

"Then there's the question of silence: one seldom hears this spoken of or mentioned in writing except, of course, by other staunch upholders of the double; but personally I consider it of the very utmost importance. No matter how careful you may be you cannot avoid the metallic clatter of the bolt when reloading with a magazine rifle. It frequently happens that game stands motionless after the first shot, quite unable to place the danger zone; if you want a second shot you can get it with a double; but the inevitable clatter of a magazine [rifle] will stampede them before you are ready to fire with that type of weapon."

Incidentally, his technique with using a double for dangerous game was to reload quietly after the first shot whenever possible, before firing a second, in order to always have a shot in reserve in case of a charge. For this reason he always used non-ejector doubles so as to avoid even the 'click' of the ejector as a giveaway noise.

Thanks 222, that's the kind of information I was looking for. That makes good sense. Would be interesting seeing his non-ejector drillings.

I forgot the model, but it was an Anschutz in .22 hornet.

Nobody that I know of in the south hunts deer with an empty chamber; it's simply unheard of and would be virtually impossible to get away with on whitetails in close quarters. Hell, I won't even hunt with a rifle with a noisy safety let alone have to work the bolt before I shoot. I believe the OP asked about actions other than semi-autos. I suspect that a single shot would be the quietest, but probably not the fastest. As another poster suggested, if you work the bolt right after the shot I doubt the animal will hear the sound of the bolt during the blast. That is what I do and have used a follow up a time or two to prevent an animal from running someplace I didn't want him to with a second shot or taking a second, third or fouth animal out of a crowd.

Sweet Jesus is this some funny [bleep]

I agree with Steelhead on empty chamber when stalking. When hunting from a treestand I'll chamber a round after I'm strapped in.

All in all, my CRPF model 70 in 358 WSSM cycles the most quietly.

What is the most quiet action?.....one you dont have to cycle a second time....make the first shot count.

That's funny right there!

You apparently know what I'm talking about.

I do, luckily from watching a friend.

Many years ago a buddy had a 742 carbine in 308. That rifle was incapable of reliably hitting a broadside bale of hay at 200 yards with every shot. Luckily the fact that it usually wouldn't cycle the second round into the chamber made him forget about the inaccuracy. Or the third, or the fourth...

Why isn't another round being brought into battery as soon as the first shot is away? You should be familar enough with your rifle that you can cycle the action without taking your eyes off the deer.

seems to me the obvious answer would be a semi-auto action. noise and movement of the bolt is lost in the initial shot. if you're thinking of a bolt or pump, everyone has a different opinion/experience.

I have no experience with a Ruger #1 so I's say a bolt action. The double rifle would make less noise obviously but not many can afford one. I have hunted with pumps for years and they're not quiet. Lever actions are about as noisy as a pump.

I'll say that a Kimber Montana action is loudest I've used.

You obviously haven't hunted in an area where the mere clicking of a safety can mean that you are eating TAG SOUP... Laffin!

North of which border? Unless they just banned them, semi-automatic hunting rifles are perfectly legal North of the Canada/US border...just not those ultra-scary AR-type rifles - which of course, are fine for the rifle range.

I have always thought that a Krag Jorgensen was pretty
quiet when working the action.

Illegal in AK??

The quietest I own are the Husqvarna push feeds.

djpepper,
Thanks for the heads up. I had not realized this, for some reason I had it in my head that all semi-automatics were restricted or disallowed, but like you say not the case. From what I've read they are non-restricted in a centerfire rifle with five round max. Great catch, however, I'm still back to non semi-autos because few are made in an inclement weather rifle and this is a definite concern in North rain country, as I'm sure you are aware.

Also, I think someone else asked about Alaska not allowing them. No, this is not true. I don't know what the gun laws are on that but Alaska has always been very open with theirs, including semi-automatics.

+1! My two 20's era Krag sporters are quiet and slick as glass!

BN

Personally I think the whole thread is a mental wank. Keeping noise to a minimum is always a plus, but eventually one must get practical. The woods is not necessarily the quietest theater one will watch a movie in.

More than once I've made an unwanted noise only to look around and see a Deer standing or walking with apparent unconcern. Sometimes they are wired and others it seems you can jump up and down and all they do is look harder. Wind direction and velocity, land contour, hunting pressure, etc all play an unknown part in what will set a Deer off.

Many Deer I've encountered in the thick stuff that think they are concealed often are willing to play the waiting game.


The only thing that is certain is that you must get one in the chamber before you can accomplish anything.

It's hard to say, because they seem the same to me. However, if I had to pick one, I would say my Sauer 202s the quietest- I know the safety is.

Ruger #1 falling block, it takes no time at all to have a follow up shot chambered.

I have never noticed a quiet actiion chambering metallic cartridges. If I felt it was critical for my hunt area I would probably use a Browning BAR so I could get the noise over with during the shot.

Worrying about how loud my action is ranks up there with wondering if I should put my left leg or right leg into my pants first while getting dressed. You really can't figure on what the deer will do if you have to reload no matter how loud/quiet your action is. Probably in most cases the time factor is more important than the quiet factor in the situation the original poster described. If you shoot and miss, you probably won't have all day to reload and shoot again as the deer is going to figure out it's time to go elsewhere, if it hasn't already. A rapid reload will trump the noise factor in my experience/opinion.

The Savage 99, rotary magazine, controlled round feed is not loud to cycle when done slowly. If you find yourself with a dud or empty chamber, then it might matter.