There is absolutely no friggin’ way I would be in an area where grizzly bears roam without some serious stopping power loaded and with extra ammo. Why carry a gun and have to dig in pockets for some shells with a pissed off bear that doesn’t like you very much?
Carrying anywhere with an empty chamber is just stupid. It defeats the entire purpose of having a firearm to protect against an unexpected attack.
L
I lived in AK, always had a .44 mag revolver fully loaded on a chest rig and if hunting a rifle fully loaded, if going fishing in backcoutry a buddy with a 12g with slug, 000 buck staggered loads was nice.
People I was around weren’t carrying guns with empty chambers, that’s just city folk stupid.
Bears are just as unpredictable as people, and especially if it’s mating season............
I agree. Carrying a long gun without a cartridge in the chamber made sense when long guns could accidently go off if dropped, even with the safety on. However, modern long guns have improved their safeties. As far as I know, all modern designs are perfectly safe, when the safety is engaged. The only exceptions are when you are carrying a modern make of an old design, e.g. a model 94 lever action.
Hard on firing pin springs to carry chambered. Heat and cool temp changes under continuous load can weaken the spring. It only takes one second extra to chamber.
I like how one man was waving his hands around. If a bear is within a single digit number of yards, the only thing your arms should be doing is helping to support what firearm is about to dispatch lead down range, and bracing for recoil. The 21-foot danger zone popularized by Tueller applies to assailants with knives. Bears have 5 knives on each paw, really big teeth and are way faster than any human.
Will my bear spray not work against a charging bear? /s
Shouldn’t they be using bear spray? Lol.
If you’re that paranoid about bears then stay in the city.
All firearms should be in “Condition 1”, using an external safety, if available.
Carrying a long gun without a round in the chamber is pointless. You might as well carry a baseball bat. If you’re that scared of the gun the bat may be a better choice.
CC
Long guns have safeties that won’t go off when dropped.
Handguns do not.
First encounters with the enemy made us ignore that order. Time to react is not something to fiddle with in Indian Country and the early M16s had sticking safeties (hard detent).
I followed the same rule when I was fishing or just hiking in bear country and just made sure that my weapon was always pointed in a safe direction at all times and never rested the thing on anything that it could fall and set itself off.
BTW, while I was a young PFC, I perfected the trick of going from sling arms (M14) to pointed and fired in one second. Never had to use that for real, since my weapon was always in my hands in the field - but it was a potentially useful trick for when I was hiking at sling arms in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Just don't practice it with live ammo if there's anyone else at all within range! (I used blanks when I practiced)
Totally agree with the premise of the article. However, I believe three stories were recounted and it wasn’t clear in any of them that the empty chamber made the difference.
One time it was the gun being slung over the back, I don’t think in any of the cases the victim was trying to chamber a round when the bear reached them.
In at least one of the cases a nearby companion with a chambered round didn’t get off a shot until the victim was being mauled.
One of them was trying to deter the bear with yelling and waving first.
I think the reason the stories don’t exactly illustrate the point is because the situation in which the bear reaches you AND you lost because of the split second involved with chambering a round, is super rare.
To be clear again, carrying a long gun for hunting, I will always have a round chambered, safety on.
So how many times have you been glad you had an empty chamber?
Excluding those Russian Roulette sessions.
Like when you pointed your gun at some non-target and jerked the trigger over and over?
Or when you dropped it on the hammer?
Is the empty chamber just an excuse to be lazy and sloppy in gun handling?
Well, if you let some perp grab your gun, you might be glad the chamber was empty. To be even safer, keep the magazine empty too, and then don’t even carry any ammo.
I carried with one in chamber for many years. Dropped an old 45 when getting it and some other stuff out of my pickup. In the garage. I know was careless and it was my own fault. Bottom line… it was on safety and in a holster and fired. It hit the ground between my feet and blew my left shin (tibia) in two. Exploded it with a cheap target round in it. I’m 14 months past that day. About 90% recovered. And I have a titanium rod and screws inside the tibia bone…… from now on. Yeah…. I don’t carry with one in the chamber anymore. Everyone has to make their own decisions.
Another example of the irrelevant ans incongruous (and usually ill-informed) click-bait that is ammo.com’s stock-in-trade.
If you have a gun with you, what is it for that you WOULDN’T have one chambered?
A walking stick? A decoration? Something to make you look manly (an “accessory”)?
There’s a deer. Wait I have to chamber.. lots of movement, noise, CLICK, CLACK, CLICK, now where did he go?
A bear is CHARGING, let me just....UGH! HELP, HELP, HELP, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle. Silence.