Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: BR549 on November 26, 2022, 03:03:40 PM

Title: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: BR549 on November 26, 2022, 03:03:40 PM: OK, I know it sound stupid, but I've not found anything that says you can't have your muzzle loader capped and ready to go while your riding a horse, only a motorized vehicle. And for clarity, I'm not talking about shooting off a horse, just wondering if every time I get off and back on, I need to remove my cap. Anyone else come across any information?
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: bearpaw on November 26, 2022, 03:16:31 PM: A horse is not motorized so you should be able to load up!
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: huntandjeep on November 26, 2022, 03:20:34 PM: When we ride into the high county we have had rifles loaded while in the scabbard . Never was a problem
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: KFhunter on November 26, 2022, 03:34:31 PM: Good way to go for a helluva ride too :chuckle:
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: LDennis24 on November 26, 2022, 04:31:08 PM: Lol! Elk don't know how many feet a horse has!
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: KFhunter on November 26, 2022, 04:42:58 PM: Lol if you ain't been on a panicked horse ride down a mountain you ain't been riding!
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: LDennis24 on November 26, 2022, 04:50:32 PM: I know an old fella who used to pack into the blues when they first started planting elk and one time he brought a new mule and he said they were at the top of a bluff and it panicked on them and was trying to pull the string backwards off the ledge so he had to shoot it. He said he unloaded everything off of it afterwards and pushed it over the side of the ledge for the bears. :dunno: He said it was that or the rest of the string would have been pulled with it and maybe even him. He had other mules so it was not worth it to him.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: KFhunter on November 26, 2022, 04:53:57 PM: I've never really been around mules that much even though my grandad was a mule skinner (cotton fields) and my dad drove the teams, was all before my time

I did grow up on ranch horses doing cow work, so that's my background but been a long time..switched to quads like most every other rancher lol
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: Twispriver on November 26, 2022, 05:51:31 PM: We had lots of horses when I was growing up and did a couple of pack trips into the back country every year. Dad always had the model 99 in the scabbard and his pistol on his hip both loaded. When folks would ask him if he could shoot off the back of his horse he always had the same answer - "once".
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: NRA4LIFE on November 26, 2022, 05:57:36 PM: Quote from: Twispriver on November 26, 2022, 05:51:31 PM
We had lots of horses when I was growing up and did a couple of pack trips into the back country every year. Dad always had the model 99 in the scabbard and his pistol on his hip both loaded. When folks would ask him if he could shoot off the back of his horse he always had the same answer - "once".

Funny, a friend out in MT told me the same thing. "Once"
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: bornhunter on November 26, 2022, 06:54:47 PM: Just remember you can shoot off any horse, once.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: scotsman on November 26, 2022, 06:59:33 PM: Back when we had horses I’d shoot my recurve off the back of Holly, our calm Appaloosa. Gave me a new appreciation for Indians shooting running Buffalo from a galloping bareback mustang!
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: jackelope on November 26, 2022, 07:12:53 PM: A better question may be related to how the horse is going to react if/when you do shoot off of his back.
If you need help posting the video, shoot me a pm.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: hunter399 on November 26, 2022, 08:33:24 PM: Only if your loaded.
And you John Wayne it.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: 300rum on November 27, 2022, 07:15:59 AM: I don't think he is talking about shooting off the back of one. There are plenty of horses that will tolerate it but you never know, even if they are trained to it. It's one thing to do it in an arena, another to make the long walk back to the truck. Load up your rifle or ML, if you want too. Personally, I would keep an empty chamber on a rifle but if you want to load it up or cap it, let'r rip.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: boneaddict on November 27, 2022, 07:18:38 AM: Rode all the time with a loaded gun. Muzz though, no. Thats kinda hard core cool!
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: LDennis24 on November 27, 2022, 11:34:00 AM: Remember, Captain Ingalls, whom the creek is named after, died by friendly fire from a guy behind him who's gun got caught on a tree while riding through the forest! Now nobody can seem to figure out where all the gold he discovered in the Enchantments is at! That's another story...
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: KFhunter on November 27, 2022, 05:23:44 PM: No you're good to go, load up and ride :tup:

The conversation had just moved on from there :chuckle:
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: boneaddict on November 27, 2022, 06:49:00 PM: Idabooner and I were bear hunting once. We were riding down the trail and he was telling a story. Apparently when I calmly said bear, it blended right in with his story. He just kept talking, the bear stood there in amazement and I slipped off, pulled my rifle and bang. Its a good thing he's a good cowboy. :chuckle: His horse started bucking, and mine flew by him. Some how he managed to stay on top of his and nab mine. I notched on a nice blondie
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: hunter399 on November 27, 2022, 06:57:53 PM: Quote from: LDennis24 on November 27, 2022, 11:34:00 AM
Remember, Captain Ingalls, whom the creek is named after, died by friendly fire from a guy behind him who's gun got caught on a tree while riding through the forest! Now nobody can seem to figure out where all the gold he discovered in the Enchantments is at! That's another story...
Ya them earthquakes,or a fire ,or a lost map.
It's always something,these old timers made up these story's to throw people off the gold trail.
It's up there!
Just not where anybody would think to look.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: kramman on December 01, 2022, 10:22:19 AM: Ldennis24 I caught your meaning. Your right an elk doesn't know how many legs a horse has. Good movie. Haven't watched it in awhile guess I'll need to go back and watch it again.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: sjhgraysage on December 05, 2022, 11:22:09 AM: I have riden horses hunting in WA, ID and WY with my rifle in my scabbard. There are always shells in the magazine, maybe not in the chamber.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: HUNTIN4SIX on December 05, 2022, 12:11:10 PM: Quote from: sjhgraysage on December 05, 2022, 11:22:09 AM
I have riden horses hunting in WA, ID and WY with my rifle in my scabbard. There are always shells in the magazine, maybe not in the chamber.

:yeah: Rode all over the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat with a loaded gun. Not sure why you’d ever have it unloaded. Maybe a person would just have to do it to understand. It was alway a topic at camp with the guests. The second question is can you shoot off a horse? As someone else on here said my response was “only once”! :chuckle:
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: bigmacc on December 05, 2022, 07:07:09 PM: Did a few trips with an old cowboy I know( some on here know him), he would raise a colt or two to be able to shoot off the back. We went into a drainage one year, I bailed off my horse to take a shot at a pretty good buck. I was scrambling around for a rest, he said “use the d,;m horse!” Well , I did, I fired a round right by his left ear, buck down, horse gone!😆 I killed that buck, but it took the two of us 4 days to find the horse!😆. I told him, why the hell would you tell me to shoot off of a “flighty horse”, he said, “ you shot off the wrong end”😆😆😆

RIP…….my friend. Some on here know him.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: snit on December 07, 2022, 05:46:47 PM: When I rode during hunting season, my gun was always loaded..in the scabbard. Honestly, I never thought to even check.

I had one horse I could shoot off of. He would stand rock solid for 2 shots, but if there was 3rd he was getting happy feet....
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: hal on December 08, 2022, 09:57:31 AM: YES
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: 2MANY on December 08, 2022, 10:11:04 AM: There is a reason they plug the horses ears for cowboy mounted shooting.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: lokidog on December 09, 2022, 02:54:33 PM: Quote from: Twispriver on November 26, 2022, 05:51:31 PM
We had lots of horses when I was growing up and did a couple of pack trips into the back country every year. Dad always had the model 99 in the scabbard and his pistol on his hip both loaded. When folks would ask him if he could shoot off the back of his horse he always had the same answer - "once".
I used to hunt rabbits from horse, bareback and usually with just a lead rope and halter.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: Pathfinder101 on December 09, 2022, 03:25:54 PM: This is funny. One of my Hunter Ed students asked me this exact question on Tuesday. I told her that I wasn't positive, but I thought it was ok and promised to do some research. I'm going to call this "my research". Thanks guys :tup:
BTW, we were discussing when a boat is and is not a "vehicle" concerning a loaded weapon. That's when the "horse question" came up...
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: boneaddict on March 26, 2023, 09:27:22 AM: Quote from: bigmacc on December 05, 2022, 07:07:09 PM
Did a few trips with an old cowboy I know( some on here know him), he would raise a colt or two to be able to shoot off the back. We went into a drainage one year, I bailed off my horse to take a shot at a pretty good buck. I was scrambling around for a rest, he said “use the d,;m horse!” Well , I did, I fired a round right by his left ear, buck down, horse gone!😆 I killed that buck, but it took the two of us 4 days to find the horse!😆. I told him, why the hell would you tell me to shoot off of a “flighty horse”, he said, “ you shot off the wrong end”😆😆😆

RIP…….my friend. Some on here know him.

Last name start with a C @bigmacc
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: MooseStock on March 26, 2023, 10:47:25 AM: This has probably been covered before but can you have a loaded rifle on an ebike while hunting in washington...I could never tell while reading the regs if they were considered motorized while hunting...Thanks for any info....Les
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: KFhunter on March 26, 2023, 11:01:50 AM: Quote from: MooseStock on March 26, 2023, 10:47:25 AM
This has probably been covered before but can you have a loaded rifle on an ebike while hunting in washington...I could never tell while reading the regs if they were considered motorized while hunting...Thanks for any info....Les

Now there’s a sketchy idea

Depends if it’s a motorized vehicle, and that depends on the area and engine size, the officer enforcing

I would say a guy is asking for a lot of headaches
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: Platensek-po on March 26, 2023, 11:08:35 AM: Quote from: MooseStock on March 26, 2023, 10:47:25 AM
This has probably been covered before but can you have a loaded rifle on an ebike while hunting in washington...I could never tell while reading the regs if they were considered motorized while hunting...Thanks for any info....Les

I would err on the side of caution and say that if it has a motor it could probably be considered motorized.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: bigmacc on March 26, 2023, 11:54:08 AM: Quote from: boneaddict on March 26, 2023, 09:27:22 AM
Quote from: bigmacc on December 05, 2022, 07:07:09 PM
Did a few trips with an old cowboy I know( some on here know him), he would raise a colt or two to be able to shoot off the back. We went into a drainage one year, I bailed off my horse to take a shot at a pretty good buck. I was scrambling around for a rest, he said “use the d,;m horse!” Well , I did, I fired a round right by his left ear, buck down, horse gone!😆 I killed that buck, but it took the two of us 4 days to find the horse!😆. I told him, why the hell would you tell me to shoot off of a “flighty horse”, he said, “ you shot off the wrong end”😆😆😆

RIP…….my friend. Some on here know him.

Last name start with a C @bigmacc
last name began with an F, you knew of him bone👍 I’ve told you a few stories involving him.
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: boneaddict on March 26, 2023, 09:01:17 PM: Oh yes! ❄️
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: rainshadow1 on March 26, 2023, 09:40:40 PM: I was 18, I asked the outfitter I was working for if I could shoot off one of his horses. He said, “Yeah. Once!”
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: Pathfinder101 on March 28, 2023, 12:08:48 PM: Quote from: rainshadow1 on March 26, 2023, 09:40:40 PM
I was 18, I asked the outfitter I was working for if I could shoot off one of his horses. He said, “Yeah. Once!”

:chuckle: :chuckle:
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: birddogdad on March 28, 2023, 12:16:43 PM: Quote from: Platensek-po on March 26, 2023, 11:08:35 AM
Quote from: MooseStock on March 26, 2023, 10:47:25 AM
This has probably been covered before but can you have a loaded rifle on an ebike while hunting in washington...I could never tell while reading the regs if they were considered motorized while hunting...Thanks for any info....Les

I would err on the side of caution and say that if it has a motor it could probably be considered motorized.

transiting / personal protection ? idk
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: Lapua07 on March 31, 2023, 12:46:18 PM: You can shoot off every horse... at least once
Title: Re: Can you hunt with a loaded gun while riding a horse?
Post by: KFhunter on March 31, 2023, 04:14:10 PM: Quote from: Lapua07 on March 31, 2023, 12:46:18 PM
You can shoot off every horse... at least once

Not if that horse has been shot off of once before :chuckle: