Worst Deering Hunting Advice

[KP-Skagit]

I’m a hunter education instructor now but when I was a brand new hunter(not required to take hunter Ed because of my age) I was told to always hunt with a full magazine, one in the chamber and the safety off because I was going to have to shoot quick and shoot a lot.

I share this story with every class I teach and advise them to have the magazine full, chamber empty and safety on. If there isn’t time to load chamber and flip the safety off it probably isn’t the best shot.

I'll compromise with you - I always, always hunt with the chamber loaded, safety on.  Racking a round is relatively loud, and when hunting close quarters in dark timber I want the advantage.  I can snap off the safety in the amount of time it takes me to get the gun shouldered if I need to (grouse and waterfowl jump shooting skill there), so that's not an issue.  But leaving the chamber empty seems like a mistake.

 

Empty chamber will bite you in the end.

I guess I am a bird hunter at heart so I have never understood the empty chamber policy. I know more than a couple of people who have lost perfectly good opportunities because of it. Point it in a safe direction, finger off the trigger and safety on.

[Rainier10]

I’m a hunter education instructor now but when I was a brand new hunter(not required to take hunter Ed because of my age) I was told to always hunt with a full magazine, one in the chamber and the safety off because I was going to have to shoot quick and shoot a lot.

I share this story with every class I teach and advise them to have the magazine full, chamber empty and safety on. If there isn’t time to load chamber and flip the safety off it probably isn’t the best shot.

I'll compromise with you - I always, always hunt with the chamber loaded, safety on.  Racking a round is relatively loud, and when hunting close quarters in dark timber I want the advantage.  I can snap off the safety in the amount of time it takes me to get the gun shouldered if I need to (grouse and waterfowl jump shooting skill there), so that's not an issue.  But leaving the chamber empty seems like a mistake.

 

Empty chamber will bite you in the end.

I guess I am a bird hunter at heart so I have never understood the empty chamber policy. I know more than a couple of people who have lost perfectly good opportunities because of it. Point it in a safe direction, finger off the trigger and safety on.

My personal experience was in Alaskan brush bear hunting with a buddy. We were working our way through thick brush with a chambered round in my rifle, safety on. Somewhere along the way brush clicked safety off and the hit the trigger. At the time I was ducking down and in front so round fired over my head and forward. Had my buddy been leading I hate to imagine how that would have ended.

Every hunter can make their own decision on what’s best for them. I doubt any hunter will argue that an empty chamber is safer than a chambered round and at hunter education we are trying to promote safety more than speed of getting a shot off.

[pashok23]

Hang the deer in your garage for a week to let the meat age....  Might be the thing to do when temps are in the 30s and 40s, but definitely not during most of our seasons here in WA (definitely the #1 way to make your venison taste bad)

[JustinC]

I’m a hunter education instructor now but when I was a brand new hunter(not required to take hunter Ed because of my age) I was told to always hunt with a full magazine, one in the chamber and the safety off because I was going to have to shoot quick and shoot a lot.

I share this story with every class I teach and advise them to have the magazine full, chamber empty and safety on. If there isn’t time to load chamber and flip the safety off it probably isn’t the best shot.

I'll compromise with you - I always, always hunt with the chamber loaded, safety on.  Racking a round is relatively loud, and when hunting close quarters in dark timber I want the advantage.  I can snap off the safety in the amount of time it takes me to get the gun shouldered if I need to (grouse and waterfowl jump shooting skill there), so that's not an issue.  But leaving the chamber empty seems like a mistake.

 

Empty chamber will bite you in the end.

I guess I am a bird hunter at heart so I have never understood the empty chamber policy. I know more than a couple of people who have lost perfectly good opportunities because of it. Point it in a safe direction, finger off the trigger and safety on.

My personal experience was in Alaskan brush bear hunting with a buddy. We were working our way through thick brush with a chambered round in my rifle, safety on. Somewhere along the way brush clicked safety off and the hit the trigger. At the time I was ducking down and in front so round fired over my head and forward. Had my buddy been leading I hate to imagine how that would have ended.

Every hunter can make their own decision on what’s best for them. I doubt any hunter will argue that an empty chamber is safer than a chambered round and at hunter education we are trying to promote safety more than speed of getting a shot off.

I do it both ways, depending on the situation. Most of the time, my chamber (and everyone I hunt with) is kept empty. The only time I load my rifle is on the final stalk when I know I'll be in front of anyone hunting with me.

I'll also load the chamber if I'm hunting timber or walking through brush ALONE, and I may jump a deer or elk. That is with the rifle in my hand, just like if I was bird hunting with my shotgun.

I used to always carry with a loaded chamber, and thankfully I've always kept my rifle pointed safely. A few years back, I had an accidental discharge while the rifle was laying between my son and me while we were sitting and glassing. It was laying on my backpack and I reached over to grab something without looking and accidentally hit the trigger. The rifle fired and I was sick to my stomach most of the day. Thank God I had that rifle pointed in a safe direction.

After that, I made it a rule that everyone I hunt with carries an empty chamber unless they are getting ready to take a shot.

[Skillet]

My personal experience was in Alaskan brush bear hunting with a buddy. We were working our way through thick brush with a chambered round in my rifle, safety on. Somewhere along the way brush clicked safety off and the hit the trigger. At the time I was ducking down and in front so round fired over my head and forward. Had my buddy been leading I hate to imagine how that would have ended.

Fair enough.  Experiences like that definitely fire-form a guy's perspective, and no judgement here for err'ing on the safe side.

Every hunter can make their own decision on what’s best for them. I doubt any hunter will argue that an empty chamber is safer than a chambered round and at hunter education we are trying to promote safety more than speed of getting a shot off.

I believe you meant that you doubt any hunter will argue that a loaded chamber is safer than an empty chamber, correct?

If so - this is true, I will agree.  In the context of teaching a group of newbies with wildly different backgrounds, I see why you'd say that.  For perspective, I would also offer that not hunting at all is much safer than hunting with an empty chamber.  Getting out of bed in the morning is rife with peril as well. One just has to make the decision to take some risk in life - the question is, just how much risk are we willing to take to achieve an end? 

If you were sitting with a group of seasoned hunters around a campfire up on the mountain, however, would you offer the same advice re: hunting with an empty chamber?

[MADMAX]

Worst advice
13 years old me and the cousins

“You kids
Stay right here and we’ll do a deer drive through this timber and pick you kids up”

2 hrs after dark the 2 drunks came back from the vfw
Seen anything?
Ah no

[CarbonHunter]

As a young kid I was told Washington was one of the best states for hunting deer. I actually believed this for years and passed on opportunities to hunt out of state when I was young.

[Bushcraft]

My personal experience was in Alaskan brush bear hunting with a buddy. We were working our way through thick brush with a chambered round in my rifle, safety on. Somewhere along the way brush clicked safety off and the hit the trigger. At the time I was ducking down and in front so round fired over my head and forward. Had my buddy been leading I hate to imagine how that would have ended.

Fair enough.  Experiences like that definitely fire-form a guy's perspective, and no judgement here for err'ing on the safe side.

Every hunter can make their own decision on what’s best for them. I doubt any hunter will argue that an empty chamber is safer than a chambered round and at hunter education we are trying to promote safety more than speed of getting a shot off.

I believe you meant that you doubt any hunter will argue that a loaded chamber is safer than an empty chamber, correct?

If so - this is true, I will agree.  In the context of teaching a group of newbies with wildly different backgrounds, I see why you'd say that.  For perspective, I would also offer that not hunting at all is much safer than hunting with an empty chamber.  Getting out of bed in the morning is rife with peril as well. One just has to make the decision to take some risk in life - the question is, just how much risk are we willing to take to achieve an end? 

If you were sitting with a group of seasoned hunters around a campfire up on the mountain, however, would you offer the same advice re: hunting with an empty chamber?

Yep. I'd absolutely and unabashedly share that same advice, especially if you're hunting with others.  I'm sure I'm going to get some hate mail for this, but most "seasoned" hunters are fudds that scare that crap out of me.  Doubt me?  Go to any public rifle range several days before the season opener.  Observe how the so-called seasoned, curmudgeonly, flannel-daddy, know-it-all, annual rifle-toters handle their ol' 270's and '06s.  Heck, go most any day of the week year round.

Bottom line...The ONLY way a negligent discharge can occur, and possibly seriously maim or kill someone (or livestock), is if there is a round chambered.  Why not take a moment to do a safety check and verify the chamber status of everyone's rifle?  Costs nothing.

Are you trudging through rice paddies or the jungle in a war zone or actively clearing streets, buildings and rooms?

No.

You're hunting. A sacred privilege to be sure, but ultimately a recreational activity  for 99.9999% of the population.  Arguing that you want to be able to be ready to flick off the safety and jump shoot a deer/elk/bear/cougar is bordering on the absurd.  Doubt me?  Go attempt to shoot some rapidly moving and bouncing around vital zone-sized targets.     

That's rifles.

Shotguns for upland birds is a different thing.  The distance from one's hunting partners is largely irrelevant with rifles.  The effect of a modern rifle bullet is largely going to be the same for a few hundred yards or more, but the lethality of birdshot rapidly declines with distance.

[Bushcraft]

Worst Advice? .... You need to get up at o'dark thirty if you want to stand a chance of finding and tagging a buck.

I've killed a pile of deer, and none of them departed this mortal plane before 9 or 10 in the morning, most of them late morning or just before dusk.

[Rainier10]

My personal experience was in Alaskan brush bear hunting with a buddy. We were working our way through thick brush with a chambered round in my rifle, safety on. Somewhere along the way brush clicked safety off and the hit the trigger. At the time I was ducking down and in front so round fired over my head and forward. Had my buddy been leading I hate to imagine how that would have ended.

Fair enough.  Experiences like that definitely fire-form a guy's perspective, and no judgement here for err'ing on the safe side.

Every hunter can make their own decision on what’s best for them. I doubt any hunter will argue that an empty chamber is safer than a chambered round and at hunter education we are trying to promote safety more than speed of getting a shot off.

I believe you meant that you doubt any hunter will argue that a loaded chamber is safer than an empty chamber, correct?

If so - this is true, I will agree.  In the context of teaching a group of newbies with wildly different backgrounds, I see why you'd say that.  For perspective, I would also offer that not hunting at all is much safer than hunting with an empty chamber.  Getting out of bed in the morning is rife with peril as well. One just has to make the decision to take some risk in life - the question is, just how much risk are we willing to take to achieve an end? 

If you were sitting with a group of seasoned hunters around a campfire up on the mountain, however, would you offer the same advice re: hunting with an empty chamber?

Seasoned hunters I wouldn’t be giving advice on a loaded chamber or not. I would still share my story and have many times.

In class after I give my speed I add that how they hunt and make ethical decisions on hunt one May and probably will be different 5,10&15 years from now as they learn from their experiences.

I had interpreted the OP’s question as what advice did you get as a new hunter.

Now if you want to hear the worst advice I got about hunting it was from another hunter sharing camp with me on a guided trip. Not a friend just another hunter that booked a trip with the guide. I always start discussions with people I have just met by explaining I’m an avid hunter, a hunter education instructor, a master hunter and that I work with the game department on various projects. It’s a heads up to keep the conversation legal. After explaining all of this later in the evening the conversation turned to quail hunting. I mentioned I had a lot of property and was looking to increase quail and chukar populations. He was an avid bird hunter and had worked to improve the population on his property. He improved the habitat by increasing food and water sources. He said real key was “quail condos”, pallets framed into a box that quail could get escapement from predators.

And the most important thing he did and was the biggest contributor to his success was to shoot every raptor you see, owls, hawks, every raptor. Kill them all and your quail population will skyrocket.

Definitely the worst advice ever!

[idahohuntr]

I’m a hunter education instructor now but when I was a brand new hunter(not required to take hunter Ed because of my age) I was told to always hunt with a full magazine, one in the chamber and the safety off because I was going to have to shoot quick and shoot a lot.

I share this story with every class I teach and advise them to have the magazine full, chamber empty and safety on. If there isn’t time to load chamber and flip the safety off it probably isn’t the best shot.

I'll compromise with you - I always, always hunt with the chamber loaded, safety on.  Racking a round is relatively loud, and when hunting close quarters in dark timber I want the advantage.  I can snap off the safety in the amount of time it takes me to get the gun shouldered if I need to (grouse and waterfowl jump shooting skill there), so that's not an issue.  But leaving the chamber empty seems like a mistake.

 

Empty chamber will bite you in the end.

I guess I am a bird hunter at heart so I have never understood the empty chamber policy. I know more than a couple of people who have lost perfectly good opportunities because of it. Point it in a safe direction, finger off the trigger and safety on.

My personal experience was in Alaskan brush bear hunting with a buddy. We were working our way through thick brush with a chambered round in my rifle, safety on. Somewhere along the way brush clicked safety off and the hit the trigger. At the time I was ducking down and in front so round fired over my head and forward. Had my buddy been leading I hate to imagine how that would have ended.

Every hunter can make their own decision on what’s best for them. I doubt any hunter will argue that an empty chamber is safer than a chambered round and at hunter education we are trying to promote safety more than speed of getting a shot off.

I do it both ways, depending on the situation. Most of the time, my chamber (and everyone I hunt with) is kept empty. The only time I load my rifle is on the final stalk when I know I'll be in front of anyone hunting with me.

I'll also load the chamber if I'm hunting timber or walking through brush ALONE, and I may jump a deer or elk. That is with the rifle in my hand, just like if I was bird hunting with my shotgun.

I used to always carry with a loaded chamber, and thankfully I've always kept my rifle pointed safely. A few years back, I had an accidental discharge while the rifle was laying between my son and me while we were sitting and glassing. It was laying on my backpack and I reached over to grab something without looking and accidentally hit the trigger. The rifle fired and I was sick to my stomach most of the day. Thank God I had that rifle pointed in a safe direction.

After that, I made it a rule that everyone I hunt with carries an empty chamber unless they are getting ready to take a shot.

Interesting discussion. Up until a few years ago I was adamant that it was foolish to not have a round chambered while hunting...many years of hunting whitetails in thick north idaho timber did not leave a lot of time for chambering a round.  I have not had any AD's or any scares that changed my mind, but as of a few years ago, I just decided no animal is worth the risk and I do not carry a round chambered and prefer anyone I'm hiking with not to have a round chambered.  Part of the equation is no doubt that I hunt more open country these days and that is much more conducive to not having a loaded gun.  I'm sure if I were still hunting thick timber or if there was high probability of jumping an animal for a close shot I'd chamber a round...but my thinking/attitude has definitely changed on this question.   

[hunter399]

I've never hunted without a round in the chamber.
I may unload for obstacles.
From the second I leave the truck that gun is loaded.
There are woods I hunt that if you don't you won't tag animal

[highcountry_hunter]

I grew up hunting with one in the chamber, and still do for the most part. But in recent years I’ve started waiting until the sun comes up before chambering a round, after the hike in in the dark. I’ve never had a wet fire, but more than once I’ve put my thumb on the safety to find that my pack, arm or brush has bumped it into the Fire position.
Once the sun is up my rifle isn’t slinged over my shoulder anyways unless there’s a dead animal, in which case the rifle is emptied.

[h2ofowlr]

Worst advice was slit the throat to bleed them. 
Hang them in the garage for a week to make them tender.  It just turns the carcase grey with mold.
Texas heart shot will put them down quick.
You have to drink some of the blood of your first kill.
If the meat sours, the whole deer is bad.
Leave the bone in, temp won't effect it.
Steak out a rutted buck.  "Gamie"
Pack the entire deer out on your back in one load.  I blew out my knee.
Always head shoot them, so you don't waste any meat.   
If your not 100% of your shot come back tomorrow and find it.  -Warm temps the deer will be bloated and souring or half eaten by something.
Hang to age the meat with the cape on.

[MADMAX]

good list