To chamber, or not to chamber? That is the question.

pabearhunter · Dec 11, 2018

IF YOU are NOT responsible enough to carry a weapon with a chambered round WITH the SAFETY ON and the MUZZLE pointed in a SAFE direction. YOU should not have a weapon to begin with !!!!!!

Nameless Range · Dec 11, 2018

thecrittergitter said:
Super sad story for Jay and families. Been a while since I've been able to jump on here but going to throw my 2 cents in. I USED to hunt with one in the chamber when I was younger, maybe a little naïve about potential accidents, maybe because I didn't have any near misses. However, more the last 10 years, and mostly the last 5 or 6 when my kids and others kids are hunting with me, there is no bending the rule when hunting with me. There are NO loaded chambers until we are ready to shoot, and since for the most part, I spend almost no time on the gun anymore as I'm typically watching my kids shoot or friends kids shoot, we are only taking shots that are good setups and not hurried. We had a great learning lesson this year with my boy as we were hunting Thanksgiving morning and my son slipped and slammed into the mountainside and as I turned around to see if he was ok, I noticed his rifle was pointing straight at me......all out of his control as he was lucky to even keep the rifle near him on the fall. It was a perfect learning lesson as to why we do things the way we do. I explained to him right at that very moment that this is the exact reason we just don't take the risk. Had there been one in the chamber, and the impact would have caused a discharge, that bullet may have gone right through my back. As a few have said that they can't recall ever not being able to chamber a round fast enough to lose an animal, I'm still not convinced that even if it cost me an animal that it would change my mind...……….it most certainly wont when I have kids along. Kids learn from your example, if you tell them something 100 times but you do something different than what you preach, then they are still going to think its ok because you did it. No animal is worth going through the tragedies that some have faced.

Excellent case in point. This thread has really changed my mind on this issue.

mtmiller · Dec 11, 2018

pabearhunter said:
IF YOU are NOT responsible enough to carry a weapon with a chambered round WITH the SAFETY ON and the MUZZLE pointed in a SAFE direction. YOU should not have a weapon to begin with !!!!!!

Lots of things can happen that can cause a firearm to have a failure of control of a muzzle. The safety may mitigate that....or an empty chamber will negate. I don't sit much in a tree.

huntin24/7 · Dec 11, 2018

I grew up with a round in the chamber, doing deer drives and thinking you had to have a round in. I stopped carrying a round in the chamber about 6 years ago and have never had an instance where it cost me an opportunity.

pabearhunter · Dec 11, 2018

mtmiller said:
Lots of things can happen that can cause a firearm to have a failure of control of a muzzle. The safety may mitigate that....or an empty chamber will negate. I don't sit much in a tree.

IT is not the firearm that caused the failure of control of the muzzle. Maybe sitting in a tree would be a good choice.

mtmiller · Dec 11, 2018

pabearhunter said:
IT is not the firearm that caused the failure of control of the muzzle.

I deserved that.

Nameless Range · Dec 11, 2018

I get the concern over losing an animal. I hunt thick timber often and feel I could lose one because of racking a round, but I agree with critter when he said, "I'm still not convinced that even if it cost me an animal that it would change my mind."

There has been a fair amount of study when it comes to Risk Analysis. Firefighting trainings I've sat through always harp on it. The Swiss Cheese Model is an accident causation model. When accidents happen it is usually many little things that align. Having one in the chamber is a big hole in the last slice of cheese that doesn't have to exist.

cahunter805 · Dec 11, 2018

pabearhunter said:
IF YOU are NOT responsible enough to carry a weapon with a chambered round WITH the SAFETY ON and the MUZZLE pointed in a SAFE direction. YOU should not have a weapon to begin with !!!!!!

Seriously! There are many things that may cause a rifle to be at some point in an unsafe direction such as slipping on loose dirt, tripping on an unseen rock or branch, sling/sling stud failures, etc etc. Also any safety can fail or break as can anything mechanical.

Boarmaster · Dec 11, 2018

I have faith if you are slippery enough to sneak up on a buck in the woods your slippery enough to quitely get a round in the chamber.

BrentD · Dec 11, 2018

Maybe we should all be required by law to have a florescent OBI in the rifle until the gun is on one's shoulder and aimed at the intended target.

Personally, I think we all need to make our own decision every time we go out. Or maybe we should stay home - that would be safer yet.

VikingsGuy · Dec 11, 2018

pabearhunter said:
IF YOU are NOT responsible enough to carry a weapon with a chambered round WITH the SAFETY ON and the MUZZLE pointed in a SAFE direction. YOU should not have a weapon to begin with !!!!!!

The problem with this grand over simplification of the issue is that many folks who think they meet your standard still end up shooting themselves or others every year.

Curvebow · Dec 11, 2018

1) always chambered.

2) I hunt the Northeast in NYS. When hunting in Newfoundland this year a lot of times the chamber was unloaded.

pabearhunter · Dec 11, 2018

VikingsGuy said:
The problem with this grand over simplification of the issue is that many folks who think they meet your standard still end up shooting themselves or others every year.

Then maybe you should teach them to keep their finger OUT of the trigger guard.

HighDesertSage · Dec 11, 2018

pabearhunter said:
Then maybe you should teach them to keep their finger OUT of the trigger guard.

That is a completely invalid point. Safeties don't stay on, mechanisms fail, people aren't perfect, brush is a bitch. I agree with Greenhorn this thread is eye opening.

The Hedgehog · Dec 11, 2018

It's odd how far guys will go to argue/justify their ignorant ways.

pabearhunter · Dec 11, 2018

Greenhorn said:
It's odd how far guys will go to argue/justify their ignorant ways.

I agree 100%.

belly-deep · Dec 11, 2018

MTGomer said:
Everybody should watch the first 5 minutes of the video at the Fb link and think about how they do things.
Mike Drexler was the father of a friend. A terrible tragedy that happened to fine men on both ends of the gun.

https://www.facebook.com/100004543871821/posts/1111992622295523/

Wow.

beginnerhunter · Dec 11, 2018

As I mentioned earlier, are you guys unloaded when hunting with shotguns? Ducks, upland birds, squirrels, whatever. If you are waiting until a bird is coming in to put one in the chamber, you certainly have my respect. But the vast majority of shotgun hunters don't do that. I'd guess most of these rifle accidents are close enough range that a shotgun could've done the work just as well.

Tiredofthebickering · Dec 11, 2018

MTGomer said:
Everybody should watch the first 5 minutes of the video at the Fb link and think about how they do things.
Mike Drexler was the father of a friend. A terrible tragedy that happened to fine men on both ends of the gun.

https://www.facebook.com/100004543871821/posts/1111992622295523/

This was a little hard to watch. It was certainly eye opening. I've always carried with a round in chamber since I'm usually still hunting through thick brush with limited visibility. I try to always be careful and know where the barrel is pointing at all times, but accidents happen.

MinnesotaHunter · Dec 11, 2018

Nameless Range said:
I get the concern over losing an animal. I hunt thick timber often and feel I could lose one because of racking a round, but I agree with critter when he said, "I'm still not convinced that even if it cost me an animal that it would change my mind."

There has been a fair amount of study when it comes to Risk Analysis. Firefighting trainings I've sat through always harp on it. The Swiss Cheese Model is an accident causation model. When accidents happen it is usually many little things that align. Having one in the chamber is a big hole in the last slice of cheese that doesn't have to exist.

View attachment 91571

That is a really good model. We use it in the army as well.

To chamber, or not to chamber? That is the question.

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