Thread: How do you carry your rifle?

Just wondering how everyone carries their rifle?

Bullet up the chamber bolt half cocked?
Bullet up the chamber, bolt down. safety on?
Empty chamber with the bolt closed?
Dead bolt on live round (cringe)

Personally i use the half cock method, but maybe it isn't suitable. If everyone walks around with half cock it seems that the mindset is to be prepared for a quick reflex shot, maybe without identifying your target fully. Maybe it should be mandatory to carry all firearms on an empty chamber when hunting which could result in a few extra seconds to identify the target better. Just an idea and not implying that half cock is the reason why people are getting shot.

An empty chamber means that the hunter takes his eye from the game to make sure that a round is going in the chamber...time and eye better spent on identification. When I hunt with lever gun I have one up the spout and hammer forward. With my bolt action I have one up the spout and bolt closed, safety on. I never trigger test safety when loaded. I never put finger inside guard or release safety until I have identified target animal.

Loaded, safety on

Bush= generally chamber empty until i find fresh sign or know im coming up on a nice spot then il chamber a round close the bolt and open it fully(not half closed) then go into creeping Jesus mode, carrying like this with your hand around the bolt(to stop it sliding back and dropping the round) Is for me comfortable and natural, quick and silent to close.
If I have to go threw a thick bit or round a bluff ect that round goes back in the mag check empty on closing and close with finger on trigger(so the bolt is harder to lift if caught on shit)
I'm not saying dont use your pre tested safety its just how I was taught and is natural for me.
Open country =empty camber until ready to fire.

I carry a blaser so I have one chambered all the time while carrying it at the ready, it is totally safe until it is cocked manually. If it is sleeved on my back it is unloaded.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Bush= generally chamber empty until i find fresh sign or know im coming up on a nice spot then il chamber a round close the bolt and open it fully(not half closed) then go into creeping Jesus mode, carrying like this with your hand around the bolt(to stop it sliding back and dropping the round) Is for me comfortable and natural, quick and silent to close.If I have to go threw a thick bit or round a bluff ect that round goes back in the mag check empty on closing and close with finger on trigger(so the bolt is harder to lift if caught on shit)I'm not saying dont use your pre tested safety its just how I was taught and is natural for me.Open country =empty camber until ready to fire.

+1 I'm exactly the same . Not saying our method is the best or safest but i am surprised how many people rely on safety .

short answer .....with my hands. but seriously, dead bolt with unloaded

Normally its hanging on my left shoulder ,muzzle pointing down unloaded.
Just a matter of rotating it across my body inside my out line & up to opposite shoulder.
If you start moving it round out side your body line the movement is more easily seen .

When semi-ready either half bolt or half cocked depending on weather lever or bolt action ,
dog generally lets me know when some thing handy .

My quad carries mine,when walking with it unloaded.

If I'm by myself and actively hunting, rifle will be chambered, safety on.
If I'm with another chamber will be empty.
I don't do 1/2 bolt, alone or with anybody else.

Just a question for all you shooting gurus and gun experts out there. As I am definetly not one! But isnt the safety just a mechinism (spring) ,please correct me if I am wrong. So with anything mechanical if you check it before you go hunting theres is a good chance it will work when you need it too but not a 100 % gurantee. I dont think I would be happy putting the safety of myself or others in a spring.

Walking around with a chambered round closed bolt and safety on.....

I walk with my rifle with a empty chamber, once in the hunting area I will chamber a round on a half cocked bolt.

I am of the undersatnding that is the safest way ? Apart from the obvious of a unchambered round?

Originally Posted by Mohawk660

Just a question for all you shooting gurus and gun experts out there. As I am definetly not one! But isnt the safety just a mechinism (spring) ,please correct me if I am wrong. So with anything mechanical if you check it before you go hunting theres is a good chance it will work when you need it too but not a 100 % gurantee. I dont think I would be happy putting the safety of myself or others in a spring.

Walking around with a chambered round closed bolt and safety on.....

I walk with my rifle with a empty chamber, once in the hunting area I will chamber a round on a half cocked bolt.

I am of the undersatnding that is the safest way ? Apart from the obvious of a unchambered round?

Half cock is not really a thing any more as most rifles these days cock on opening. therefore your half open bolt is fully cocked and could fire just by pulling the trigger on some rifles.
open bolt or closed on tested safety if you must carry a round in the chamber

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Half cock is not really a thing any more as most rifles these days cock on opening. therefore your half open bolt is fully cocked and could fire just by pulling the trigger on some rifles.
open bolt or closed on tested safety if you must carry a round in the chamber

Thanks VC for the info, I have an older style rifle. But will test it tonight to make sure. Cheers.

I normally bush stalk alone, so i chamber a round and leave the bolt open fully, the good thing with my rifle is you can hold it sky ward and it stays in place, bolt wont slide down, so its quite good, if you pull the trigger nothing will happen and in more rugged country i quite often flick the safety on as well incase of a fall etc. On half cocked if you pull the trigger on my rifle and many others its just the same as walking around with a loaded one, it slams shuts and goes off. Not sure with other rifles but i find this really good the way i do it as quite often the deer is only 50 yards away and about to bolt, just a matter of closing the bolt (no nosie) and flick the safety(if its on) and boom. Thats only bush stalking thou by myself, i wouldnt chamber a round in open country or hunting with someone else unless game was sighted and was about to take a shot and everyone knew exeacty what was going on

I keep an empty breech until in the firing zone, then one up the tube and (tested) safety on. I empty breech if moving from zone.

I also carry rifle with muzzle pointing behind me if I'm #2 in the hunting party and one up the spout . . . . . (if there's a reasonable chance there'll be more than the 1 shot)

the country/cover dictates a lot. It's too easy to knock a safety, or lose a round from bolt on 1/2 cock.