Sleeping with your rifle in your tent?

[Harvest the Land]

Hey guys,

The wife and I are going hunting this weekend for the first time - pretty stoked! Anyway, we will be pitching a tent right next to our truck and I was just wondering if some of you sleep with your rifle in your tent (protection from bears, cougars etc.)? or do you just leave it in the truck? I will be carrying bear spray and a whistle (which I've used before to stop a bear from getting into my tent before), so I know the whistle works well. Should I also sleep with the rifle in the tent or leave it in the truck?

What do you guys do?

Thanks in advance!

[ditch donkey]

i sleep beside my gun, im usually big spoon though

[Sharpish]

I usually hang it up right outside the entrance to the tent in the vestibule. If you bring it in and out the temperature difference (cold gun, warm humid tent) makes it collect condensation and rust. If there's meat hanging from the pole and its grizz country the gun is loaded and within reach of my sleeping bag.

[M.Dean]

And a side note while I'm thinking about being ripped apart by a bear in my tent, my Brother picked me up a motion light for my front yard, it's a solar powered motion light, has 100 LED bulbs and is real bright. It's rechargeable and simply screws to anything, like a tree a few feet away from your tent in bear country. I know I've had the odd time camping when you hear that growl or some other dam noise and you have to get up and go outside the tent to see what it was, sure be nice with that big light, and if you did have to shoot at something, it would make it alot easier for sure!

[Big Lew]

And a side note while I'm thinking about being ripped apart by a bear in my tent, my Brother picked me up a motion light for my front yard, it's a solar powered motion light, has 100 LED bulbs and is real bright. It's rechargeable and simply screws to anything, like a tree a few feet away from your tent in bear country. I know I've had the odd time camping when you hear that growl or some other dam noise and you have to get up and go outside the tent to see what it was, sure be nice with that big light, and if you did have to shoot at something, it would make it alot easier for sure!

I really like that 'motion detector' light idea...for many reasons other than just predator spotting.
I've done a lot of tent camping and only had my gun loaded beside me a couple of times. Many of
my tent camping nights haven't been while hunting or carrying a gun. I'm very paranoid of having
a loaded gun in the sleeping area if camping with others. I don't know how many times I've been
wakened by a camping companion making noise while outside for a pee break. When you consider
the number of people out tenting all year long throughout the wilderness in relation to the very few
nasty predator incidents, the actual risks are very low, especially if you exercise good camping
protocol.

[Downtown]

For those whom may think to leave a loaded Firearm in the Vehicle I say don't do it. (A) It,s illegal in BC therefore you could be charged and (B) the Firearm is out of your reach if a Grizzly got hold of you while you are still in your Tent.

Myself I prefer a good Tarp instead of a Sack (Tent) so I can get out anyplace and yes I always have my Firearm beside me and wear my headlamp even while sleeping.

Cheers

[Sofa King]

gun sleeps with me.
condensation or not, the gun ain't much good to you if it ain't in your hands.

[kgs]

gun sleeps with me.
condensation or not, the gun ain't much good to you if it ain't in your hands.

\

I agree gun ain't much good to you if it ain't in your hands

[180grainer]

\

I agree gun ain't much good to you if it ain't in your hands

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[albravo2]

This thread reminds me why I like to sleep under a tarp instead of a tent. My son and I were up Tuchodi a couple years ago, spiked out in our tent. Middle of the night something big was snorting and snuffling just outside the tent. I had my gun but had no sense of the threat level and I just waited for the tent fabric to ripple, but it didn't. Under a tarp I would have been able to see.

But to answer your question... of course take a gun with you in the tent. Unless you have one that works on voice command