Still hunting without a round in the chamber???

kmckinnie said:

I leave the gun at the truck unload.
Go back and get it when I see a deer.
Gives me time to think if I want to shoot it.
Load gun once back if it is a shooter.
The whole time I’m talking to my camera man about how big he is.

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Yeah, not for me. I had my ole 30/30 lever one day. Missed a shot b/c I have to cock the hammer. Thing ran off hearing the "click".

I don't see the point of having a loaded deer rifle in your truck or in camp. When hunting,mine is loaded. All other times,mag is full,chamber is empty. I've hunted with an unloaded gun more times than I can count. Forget to load when I get in my stand.

I generally do not chamber a round until I am settled in the stand. I don't like to shoot on the level with a high powered rifle where I hunt. A shotgun is a different story. I tend to be over cautious.

95g atl said:

Yeah, not for me. I had my ole 30/30 lever one day. Missed a shot b/c I have to cock the hammer. Thing ran off hearing the "click".

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Over the years, I've heard several people say this same thing about their lever guns after they watched a deer vanish at the sound of a "click".

There is a simple way to eliminate the "click" sound in this case. I've done this for the past 45 years or so with my Marlin 30-30's and my 444. Normally, your gun should be in the half-cock position until you decide that you will shoot. At that point keep aiming BUT take your thumb and hold tightly onto the actual hammer and begin to pull backwards and at the same time, use your forefinger and hold pressure on the trigger as you continue to pull back the half-cocked hammer into the fully locked position all the way back. When it gets into the fully rear position, then you can release the pressure on the trigger and your gun is locked into the "ready to fire position". In this process, IT MAKES NO CLICKING SOUND WHATSOEVER. I've done this hundreds of times over all of these years and it never makes any sound. Even if a deer is within 5-8 yards of you, they never hear anything but BOOM.

Try and practice that long before season and until you feel comfortable doing this on the Marlin levers produced before mid-1983 (before the dreaded lawyer cross-bolt safety) and it works like a charm.

NugeForPres said:

I generally do not chamber a round until I am settled in the stand. I don't like to shoot on the level with a high powered rifle where I hunt. A shotgun is a different story. I tend to be over cautious.

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True. Target identification is relatively simple but knowing for sure what is downrange, which can be 1,000+ yards shooting at ground level, can be uncertain. Especially in a situation you've just walked into.

I hunt public land so I load and unload my rifle 50 yards from the road as required by law:

• Hunting within 50 yards of any road opened for vehicular
access. (Possession of a loaded firearm within 50 yards of a
road opened for vehicular access is considered hunting.)

shane256 said:

I'm with you. I think they do that to be over cautious in a recording just in case someone blames them for something. Another thing to remember is that it's a recording. They can cut/splice/etc all they want before putting it on TV. I've seen them "sneaking" up on game before where it was obvious nothing was out there. It's like they were recreating that part of the hunt, probably after the hunt, for a better TV presentation of the hunt. Maybe they didn't record it when it was actually happening for some reason or they didn't get good footage at the time... they just record something later and splice it in.

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"Cutaway shots" in industry jargon. After the deer is killed, then they video the Hunter spotting the buck, holding off for a good shot...sloooowly easing off the safety and taking the shot.

Never understood that process, as when I see a shooter the safety is immediately taken off and my crosshairs are on it. First shot opportunity..
bang. No dramatics, no kill music in the background, etc.

I don't even own a gun.
Not gonna spend the money till I got one pegged.
I just walk thru the woods with a bag of Corn , If I jump a nice Buck I'll pour it out..
Then I'm looking to buy a gun. I know he'll be back in 2 days...

All the guns I own are always loaded, ready if needed.