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Thread: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

  1. #61
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    4,804

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    I usually keep mine unloaded and locked in a hard case until I'm ready to shoot. A bit of a bugger in thick brush but best to be safe than sorry.

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Quesnel
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    3,042

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    As a millwright, I deal every day with the failure of mechanical devices. A rifle safety is not a magic on/off switch....it is a simple mechanical device which most certainly can fail.

    true story.....hunting with a buddy many years ago that employed the "round in the chamber/safety on" method. we were back on the road and almost back to the truck after hiking around all morning. Buddy had his rifle on his shoulder and for no apparent reason the rifle went off, firing a round in the air ( and giving him quite the headache/earache!) ....he was out in the middle of a wide open road and was not handling the rifle, just hanging on the sling on his shoulder. we took it to a gunsmith who could find absolutely nothing wrong with it and try as he might, he could not make it fail again.

    the ONLY way to be certain that a rifle cannot accidentally discharge....is to not have it loaded. I cant recall racking the bolt costing me an animal....but if it did, I can live with that.

    JMO
    "Do not go where the path may lead,
    go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
    Emerson

  3. #63
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    122

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    There Are a few people on this thread I would never hunt with. You should be able to have one in the chamber by the time you have the butt on your shoulder. If you can’t you better practice till you can. You should never depend on a safety.

  4. #64
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Nanaimo
    Posts
    433

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    Depends on the gun. A bolt action or semi. Not a chance. Any gun with a hammer that you can decock is better. To many firing pins can be jolted into releasing. At least with a hammer it wud have to be some how pulled back and jolted.
    I support PETA!
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  5. #65
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    New West
    Posts
    102

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    Depends on the situation. Solo in grizzly country, one in the chamber safety on, but where I am it tends to be pretty dense. Same when stalking.

    Hiking or in rough conditions, mag loaded, chamber empty. Been keeping a round in the bino harness and can load quite quietly without raking one out of the magazine.

    Most importantly, discuss with hunters partners what we do, when, how and communicate when loading / unloading. No guessing.
    Last edited by cptnoblivious; 11-08-2019 at 09:16 PM.

  6. #66
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Posts
    476

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    Get charged by a bear and we’ll see if all u empty chamber guys don’t change your mind. Nothing faster than a pissed off bear. Believe me you barely have time to pull the trigger. Locked and loaded at all times even my buddies are the same. 40 years never a mishap. You kids now a days sure make me wonder. Sure don’t make em like they used to.

  7. #67
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    The Ville, B.C.
    Posts
    5,627

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    Dream up all the magical scenarios you want, to justify packing a hot rifle.

    I've seen a safety stump more than one 'hunter' over the years as well, in a high pressure situation.

  8. #68
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    Oct 2005
    Location
    The Ville, B.C.
    Posts
    5,627

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    Oh ya, I've done the bear charge deal as well...
    bolt cycled like a charm and bear died.

    There's another cold chamber advocate in this thread who snuffed out an angry g-bear as well.

    Composure is a much bigger factor in high pressure situations than a hot pipe.

    But like I said earlier, I simply don't care what other guys do when they're off on their own. I just won't hunt with one who insists on packing hot when I'm in close proximity.

  9. #69
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
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    6-04
    Posts
    1,820

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    Quote Originally Posted by willyqbc View Post
    As a millwright, I deal every day with the failure of mechanical devices. A rifle safety is not a magic on/off switch....it is a simple mechanical device which most certainly can fail.

    true story.....hunting with a buddy many years ago that employed the "round in the chamber/safety on" method. we were back on the road and almost back to the truck after hiking around all morning. Buddy had his rifle on his shoulder and for no apparent reason the rifle went off, firing a round in the air ( and giving him quite the headache/earache!) ....he was out in the middle of a wide open road and was not handling the rifle, just hanging on the sling on his shoulder. we took it to a gunsmith who could find absolutely nothing wrong with it and try as he might, he could not make it fail again.

    the ONLY way to be certain that a rifle cannot accidentally discharge....is to not have it loaded. I cant recall racking the bolt costing me an animal....but if it did, I can live with that.

    JMO
    Funny, a millwright here as well, and won’t pack a loaded (safety on) firearm for the exact same reason, Iv seen to many failsafes, fail. The odds of a safety failing, very slim, but the reward is not worth the risk imo.

  10. #70
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    The Okanagan Valley
    Posts
    1,655

    Re: Hiking with loaded rifle yay or nay?

    When alone I hunt with one in the chamber and the safety on. The only time the safety comes off is when the rifle is at my shoulder. When, in the company of another person, I do not have one in the chamber. I have spoken with people who only put one in the chamber when they see an animal they want to shoot. I ask them if , once a round is in the chamber, they engage the safety. Most of the time the answer is no. So, in the midst of the most intense part of the hunt they have one in the chamber without the safety being engaged. If for some reason they do not shoot right away they have a loaded rifle in their hands with no safety engaged. It is such a conditioned response to chambering a round that, at the shooting bench, I am squeezing the trigger and find out I have put the safety on.

    As far as a safety being a mechanical device and mechanical devices do fail, think of the things we use in our every day lives which could be impacted by the failure of a mechanical device.
    Last edited by Walksalot; 11-09-2019 at 08:36 AM.

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