When do you load your gun - at the truck or after you get to your first set-up? I load up when I leave the truck, but that always creates a problem at fences, etc.
I load up when I leave home but don't chamber up until I'm in the blind and all set! And as a lot of other hunters have done also, I've forgot the chambering until I clicked the trigger! :(
I load mine when I am at the truck, no fences to cross, just a 1/4 mile walk through field and grass..
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
x2
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
X3
When I leave my tent.
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
X4 works for me.
I go hot as soon as I'm outta my car. I don't have any places I hunt where fences are a problem.
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
Me too.
load at the truck, always with a buddy so fence crossing isnt a big deal
At the truck and yes I have dropped the hammer on an empty chamber with three gobblers at twenty yards.
When I leave the truck
When I leave my truck
AT THE TRUCK! :fud:
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
yes
As soon as I step foot in the woods.
Quote from: Snoody Bastid on April 09, 2011, 09:31:48 PM
As soon as I step foot in the woods.
Yep.............. :fud:
I usually load up as i'm pulling up to where ever i'm parking. I've shot a coyote when I was standing just a few yards from my truck. I believe you gotta be ready the whole time your out there.
I get out of the truck, put on my vest and then load the Beretta!
At the truck, where I can see what I'm doing and not making all that noise in the trees or blind.
At the truck.
At the truck for the adults. Load the mags for the youngsters and leave the chamber open and empty with their guns slung until we strike a bird. It's game on from there!
I want to be ready so I load up at the truck. If I have to ride the 4 wheeler then I load up once I stop the 4 wheeler.
Quote from: WyoHunter on April 09, 2011, 11:28:57 PM
I get out of the truck, put on my vest and then load the Beretta!
Its a Remington - but same process.
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
:icon_thumright:only way to go if you ask me. have heard to many stories about guns not loaded when the bird arrives and put to much work into it to let them walk off do to an error like an un loaded gun
If I am driving in, when I pull through the gate onto private property I load up, if I am where I can walk out of the camp and go hunting I load it up as I walk out the door.
Daman
x 3
When I leave the truck. :fud:
First day of season. :z-guntootsmiley:
I load when I leave the truck
Quote from: redarrow on April 09, 2011, 04:52:35 PM
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
Me too.
:agreed:
I put three shells in the sleeve...but I do not chamber a round until I'm setting up on bird. If my set up fails I remove the chambered round to change locations. My Supernova has a VERY convenient button on the forend that allows me to un-chamber a round without re-chambering another round....safety first for me. I WILL NOT hunt with another hunter that doesn't do the same. I've seen TO MANY guys that don't practice good gun handling.
Load mine while standing beside my truck using the cargo light to see by....wont step in the woods without a loaded gun.
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
same for me :icon_thumright:
right after I buy the gun.
My daddy always told me carrying an unloaded gun was like carrying a stick
Gun stays load 365 but without one in the chamber. I only unload it for cleaning and huntin WMAs.
As soon as it comes out of the case.. :you_rock:
By myself: in woods lock and load at the jeep.
With buddies: load gun (overunder) but walk with gun broken over my shoulder from truck to setup.
Hunt with a guide: follow his instructions (load at setup).
I really dont want to have my 835 go: SNICK,SNICK, KACHUNK, SNICK-CLICK at the setup. My safety is always on and barrel is straight up until I sit.
YEP.. SOON AS I START WALKING TO SPOT.. FENCES ARE NO PROBLEM .. JUST MAKE SURE SAFETY IS ON AND ALWAYS POINT THE GUN AWAY FROM YOU..
GOOD LUCK HUNTING
Right after I pull it out of the car.
i know it aint "safe" hunting but i keep a shell in the chamber at all times, just keep my safety on, keeps you from forgetting and ya never know when ya might just spot one somewhere where you can hunt and set up quick and quiet
This issue has caused several dust-up's on 24hourcampfire.com.
Always seems to come down to a East vs West thing.
East carries guns loaded.
West waits until they see game or arrive at stand.
I carry my guns loaded.
I carry a loaded gun every day of my life.
I always get a kick out of guys who say they will never hunt with a guy with a hot chamber because of poor gun handling they have witnessed.
If a guy handled a gun poorly hot or not I'm not hanging out with the guy.
Quote from: drum817 on April 12, 2011, 08:34:04 PM
I put three shells in the sleeve...but I do not chamber a round until I'm setting up on bird. If my set up fails I remove the chambered round to change locations. My Supernova has a VERY convenient button on the forend that allows me to un-chamber a round without re-chambering another round....safety first for me. I WILL NOT hunt with another hunter that doesn't do the same. I've seen TO MANY guys that don't practice good gun handling.
It's called a safety. It's normally located near the trigger. Use it and you don't have to unload your gun after each setup.
I load my gun at the truck.
Quote from: Spring_Woods on April 22, 2011, 05:31:57 PM
Quote from: drum817 on April 12, 2011, 08:34:04 PM
I put three shells in the sleeve...but I do not chamber a round until I'm setting up on bird. If my set up fails I remove the chambered round to change locations. My Supernova has a VERY convenient button on the forend that allows me to un-chamber a round without re-chambering another round....safety first for me. I WILL NOT hunt with another hunter that doesn't do the same. I've seen TO MANY guys that don't practice good gun handling.
It's called a safety. It's normally located near the trigger. Use it and you don't have to unload your gun after each setup.
I load my gun at the truck.
A safety, like any other mechanical component, can and does fail.
IMO muzzle control is everything. NOT the safety.
If I got a gun in my home, in my truck, or in the woods, ITS LOADED. Flip the safety, pull the trigger and it will go off. Two exceptions, cleaning and climbing tree. If you do something with an unloded gun that would be dangerious with a loaded one you don't need to have one.
I hunt public land in IL, so I can't load up for deer/turkey until 1/2 before sunrise. I usually get to my spots well before that , so I get situated, maybe eat a little snack, relax a bit and load up the minute it is legal.
This is my safety
(http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab192/strutzone18/Index_finger.jpg)
Guess I am in the minority. I feel there is NO reason to have a loaded gun while walking through the woods 1.5 hours before the birds will fly down. I would like to hear a good justification for that. Now late morning hunts, yes, it is loaded at the truck and stays loaded until I return to the truck, but there is no reason to load the gun at 4 am in the pitch black before a long walk through the woods. JMO.
Load up at the road for turkey,deer,small game but dont load the gun when hunting geese or ducks till I get the boat set or in the blind.
Quote from: NYbassman on May 08, 2011, 09:25:46 PM
...I feel there is NO reason to have a loaded gun while walking through the woods 1.5 hours before the birds will fly down...
Noise is the #1 reason for me.
Loaded at the truck...
Great thread! I am not consistent, sometimes I load at the truck, other times when I set up. If I am going to a set up before daylight, I usually just load it after I set up. If I am leaving the truck going to a gobbling turkey I will be stuffing the gun as I leave! I have never noticed a little noise being a big problem when turkey hunting, although an empty chamber with a longbeard staring down the barrel is a huge problem.
More times than not I load the Mathews in the blind.
At the truck, as long as I'm not parked on a roadside. If thats the case as soon as I step into the woods.
Quote from: Spring_Woods on April 22, 2011, 05:31:57 PM
Quote from: drum817 on April 12, 2011, 08:34:04 PM
I put three shells in the sleeve...but I do not chamber a round until I'm setting up on bird. If my set up fails I remove the chambered round to change locations. My Supernova has a VERY convenient button on the forend that allows me to un-chamber a round without re-chambering another round....safety first for me. I WILL NOT hunt with another hunter that doesn't do the same. I've seen TO MANY guys that don't practice good gun handling.
It's called a safety. It's normally located near the trigger. Use it and you don't have to unload your gun after each setup.
I load my gun at the truck.
I KNOW WHAT THE HECK A SAFTEY IS !!!! ..... AND, anyone who relies on a safety to function 100% of the time is gambling with his life or anyone who may be hunting with them. With an answer like that you should probably take a hunters safety class ::)
Quote from: stinkpickle on May 08, 2011, 11:20:17 PM
Quote from: NYbassman on May 08, 2011, 09:25:46 PM
...I feel there is NO reason to have a loaded gun while walking through the woods 1.5 hours before the birds will fly down...
Noise is the #1 reason for me.
Noise has never been an issue for me and I have sat down pretty much right under many birds....just sayin ;D
Quote from: drum817 on May 10, 2011, 06:17:49 PM
Quote from: stinkpickle on May 08, 2011, 11:20:17 PM
Quote from: NYbassman on May 08, 2011, 09:25:46 PM
...I feel there is NO reason to have a loaded gun while walking through the woods 1.5 hours before the birds will fly down...
Noise is the #1 reason for me.
Noise has never been an issue for me and I have sat down pretty much right under many birds....just sayin ;D
You must not be shooting a Benelli auto. :TooFunny:
Quote from: stinkpickle on May 10, 2011, 06:32:56 PM
Quote from: drum817 on May 10, 2011, 06:17:49 PM
Quote from: stinkpickle on May 08, 2011, 11:20:17 PM
Quote from: NYbassman on May 08, 2011, 09:25:46 PM
...I feel there is NO reason to have a loaded gun while walking through the woods 1.5 hours before the birds will fly down...
Noise is the #1 reason for me.
Noise has never been an issue for me and I have sat down pretty much right under many birds....just sayin ;D
You must not be shooting a Benelli auto. :TooFunny:
Benelli Supernova ;D
i load up when i set down at a set up.there is no need to load up before that.and who ever i am hunting with will do the same.
I load up when I leave the truck. I unload when I get back to the truck. The pistol and shotgun in my bedroom and the pistol in my truck stay loaded. If they were not loaded, I'd prefer to just have a baseball bat.
I occasionally get loaded up on Saturday nights...and can't control my muzzle. ;D
Quote from: stinkpickle on May 13, 2011, 11:32:21 AM
I occasionally get loaded up on Saturday nights...and can't control my muzzle. ;D
I have a similar problem :laugh:
Quote from: gunnerj on April 10, 2011, 12:12:13 PM
At the truck, where I can see what I'm doing and not making all that noise in the trees
Same here
Quote from: stinkpickle on May 13, 2011, 11:32:21 AM
I occasionally get loaded up on Saturday nights...and can't control my muzzle. ;D
:TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny:
Sounds like me in my younger days!
gun safety is about muzzle safety and trigger finger consciousness.
i carry a gun with a chambered round every day of my life. they don't just go bang on their own. in my opinion, if you're not competent enough to carry a loaded firearm through the woods, you probably aren't competent enough to be carrying a gun.
the last thing i want to be worrying about when im sneaking in tight on a gobbler is whether my gun is loaded. there is no way a gun can be loaded silently. there are always multiple, audible, metallic "clicks" and "clunks" when an action is being moved rearward and then forward; even when the operator is trying their best to minimize noise. why someone would ever do that to themselves is beyond my comprehension.
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on June 02, 2011, 11:08:23 AM
gun safety is about muzzle safety and trigger finger consciousness.
i carry a gun with a chambered round every day of my life. they don't just go bang on their own. in my opinion, if you're not competent enough to carry a loaded firearm through the woods, you probably aren't competent enough to be carrying a gun.
the last thing i want to be worrying about when im sneaking in tight on a gobbler is whether my gun is loaded. there is no way a gun can be loaded silently. there are always multiple, audible, metallic "clicks" and "clunks" when an action is being moved rearward and then forward; even when the operator is trying their best to minimize noise. why someone would ever do that to themselves is beyond my comprehension.
Ditto!!! :smiley-char092:
I am acquainted with (at least) two individuals that have been involved in fatal hunting accidents involving the discharge of a loaded firearm that one of the hunters in their group was carrying. In neither case, to my knowledge, was there an immediate and urgent need for the guns to be loaded, in neither case did the shooter intentionally handle the loaded gun carelessly, and in neither case would someone be dead if the guns had not been loaded at the time.
Yes, safe gun handling is always the essence of the matter, but common sense comes into play, as well. To needlessly carry a loaded weapon around, especially in the presence of others, is an unnecessary and mindless tragedy waiting to happen. Why do it?
I fully agree with the comment that a hunter cannot wait until the last second, when game is near, to chamber a round. In most cases, though, there are ample opportunities in any hunting situation to put a load in the chamber somewhere between taking the gun out of the truck and when a gobbler is in range.
I have never really believed in carrying a gun that wasnt loaded :z-guntootsmiley:
Quote from: 2ounce6s on June 02, 2011, 03:26:44 PM
...I've experienced a loaded gun discharging when the safety was pushed to off...
Let me guess...a Remmy 700?
Quote from: mike103 on April 21, 2011, 12:27:19 PM
This issue has caused several dust-up's on 24hourcampfire.com.
Always seems to come down to a East vs West thing.
East carries guns loaded.
West waits until they see game or arrive at stand.
I carry my guns loaded.
I carry a loaded gun every day of my life.
I always get a kick out of guys who say they will never hunt with a guy with a hot chamber because of poor gun handling they have witnessed.
If a guy handled a gun poorly hot or not I'm not hanging out with the guy.
Thats too funny cause Im from the west and always keep my gun loaded to many mountain lions around to be empty in the chamber.
I do not hunt with people I don't know WELL, so gun safety is not a huge concern for me as far as whether or not he/she loads up at the truck, in the woods, at the house, or whatever. The fellows I hunt with tend to do like me and load up as we step out of the truck or camp, while the women tend to wait until we are getting set-up. I have no problem with either, but point a gun at me loaded or not and I am going to have very strong words with you at the very least! I do not abide anyone being careless with a weapon child or grown, PERIOD!
That being said, I am not stubborn enough to make someone I am hunting with uncomfortable. If you have an issue with me toting a loaded gun, I will unload it until we set-up (except for my pistol). I carry a loaded pistol everywhere I go except into my job or a school, and will not unload it for anyone.
I load at the truck.
At the truck. Never know when your going one is going to show up and then its on quick like.
Plus ive had to shot a yote at 5 yds before in the dark. :o
i load up at the truck most of the timei just feel safer in the dark with a loaded gun too many wild dogs and yotes
i usually dont need to cross fences and the only other person i hunt with is my brother who taught me gun safety
safe handling is the key to not getting into a bad set of circumstances
As soon as I'm ready to move away from my vehicle I load up. I don't like that metallic sound of loading my shotgun echoing thru the woods. Besides most places I go you can start hunting right away.
I load up when I start hunting.
Quote from: jshively on April 11, 2011, 08:19:39 AM
Quote from: WyoHunter on April 09, 2011, 11:28:57 PM
I get out of the truck, put on my vest and then load the Beretta!
Its a Remington - but same process.
Same here.
At the truck
At the truck
I start ;oadong as i walk away from the truck.One time i got a gobbler going right at daylight as I left the truck and I forgot to load my gun so know I always try and load it as I walking in.
When I leave the truck.
when i step out of truck
I will switch it up a little bit here... when I leave the CAR!! At least I do now anyways. A couple years ago I pulled the trigger and heard nothing but a click with four strutting jakes 12 yards in front of me. I moved REALLY slow and brought one of them home with me.
I load up at the truck before I head into the woods.
I have had them sound off just as soon as I stepped away from truck.
You don't know how much time you have to get ready when that happens, so you better be already prepared :OGturkeyhead:
At truck
I load my gun at truck
At the truck or the front porch, which ever one I am getting out of that morning
I load up when I get under the roost tree. They wont fly away from the sounds when its dark or even when the Q-Beam hits them.
Just pickin guys. Dont start no hater threads. I load up at the truck too. Where I hunt, if I come up to a fence, I'm not supposed to cross it.
I load up at the truck.
at the truck...you never know whats gonna happen :fud:
When leaving the truck.
I shoot an Encore so I pop one in the bbl. as i walk away from the truck.
When I leave the truck also
I'm always loaded...gun that is...I live alone and walk out the door into the woods to hunt. Should have said..I prime my flintlock before I walk out the door and dump the prime before I walk in. Leave the charge in it as long as the weather is good. If I hunt in the rain I use a cow's knee to cover the lock and then shoot it after the end of hunt and clean and reload when I get home, just in case the charge might be damp.
I don't leave my flintlocks primed and loaded when in the house. Got a loaded handgun for those purposes.
i load my gun as im walking from the truck.....i hunt the N/F so no fences !! :icon_thumright:
brian
Quote from: NYbassman on May 08, 2011, 09:25:46 PM
Guess I am in the minority. I feel there is NO reason to have a loaded gun while walking through the woods 1.5 hours before the birds will fly down. I would like to hear a good justification for that. Now late morning hunts, yes, it is loaded at the truck and stays loaded until I return to the truck, but there is no reason to load the gun at 4 am in the pitch black before a long walk through the woods. JMO.
So watcha gonna do when big foot appears in the pitch black and your not loaded. :laugh: ;) I know what im gonna do :fud:
On a serious note i respect your opinion, everybody has one.
There's cougars that travel right by my house. One crossed the hwy and came along the creek that is about 20yds from my bathroom window. I hunt behind my house and always carry a loaded gun when in the woods. To old to manhandle mountain lions anymore.
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 09, 2011, 10:02:30 AM
I'm loaded by the time I start walking away from the truck. Fences are no problem. If I'm hunting with somebody, we hand each other the guns. If I'm by myself, I just lay it on the ground pointed away from me.
Same here.
I load when the truck door closes. Do it the same every time so its a habit that way I never pull the trigger with an empty chamber.
Just before I leave the truck or the 4-wheeler.
As soon as my feet hit the bank
At the truck or I will forget. :z-guntootsmiley:
at the truck
Load at Truck & cross no fences.
The truck for me as well
As I walk away from the truck. Been doing it that way since I pulled the trigger and heard a loud click.
I load up when leaving the truck also. One less thing to try to rememeber once in the woods.
Chad
I load my gun before daylight on opening morning and it stays loaded until the end of season, or until I tag out. If a shell is fired it gets replaced immediately. That might not be safe for some of you, but I was raised with the idea of what good is a unloaded gun. Some of my guns stay loaded in the house. I was raised with firearms and have one in my truck 90% of the time and it's aways loaded.