Loaded for Bear?

[Hickory]

I emptied my pockets after deer hunting and ended up with the picture below. And I got to thinking of all the deer I have killed over the years and how many shots needed on average to take a deer. On average the number is just over one shot with the most being three to harvest a deer.
So, why do I ( and you'll have to admit this includes yourself) put so many bullets in my pockets when I go deer hunting?

[legend]

i carry two.

for years i carried just one,it worked great untill the day i missed.......

now its two.

[home in oz]

I carry a box of shells....

[jmsj]

Hickory,
Count me as guilty also. Out here we usually hunt on ranches that are pretty large. Most of the time it's spot and stalk and you can be gone all day.
Most years it takes 1 or 2 shots to harvest an animal w/ a rifle but I still take about 10 shells w/ me when I leave out.
jmsj

[Johnch]

LOL

It seems I keep ammo in every pocket

That way if I would ever have to reload
I would just grab ammo out of the first pocket I got my hand into



Just came in a little ago
I bet I took 20 slugs with me this AM

Only needed 1

John

[dk17hmr]

Depends where I am and how far out from camp or the truck I am. Sometimes its just whats in the rifle (in the desert) sometimes its a box of shells stuffed into my pack (in the moutains).

When I am out coyote hunting I am ussally hunting with an AR15 with a 5 round mag so I put 10-15 extra rounds in my coat pocket.

Most of my big game seasons are over in one shot, but I like to keep shooting until the animal is down.

[Doc Highwall]

I have been taking 6-7 rounds max. I have the elastic shell holders that attach to the butt stock that is filled only, and at the end of the day or when getting into the vehicle I can tell if the gun is empty and safe just by looking to see if the shell holder is full.

[BruceB]

"There are two kinds of ammunition: ENOUGH, and NOT ENOUGH. There is no such thing as TOO MUCH ammunition." -Col. Jeff Cooper

When hunting on foot, I usually carry ten or fifteen rounds. Once, when hunting moose in the NWT's rugged Mackenzie Mountains with a .50 Shiloh, the sheer weight of fiteen .50 rounds plus an eleven-pound rifle caused me to cut back tosix rounds "on board" after a couple of days.

One simply never knows what eventualities may arise, and 'more' is better than 'less'. Hunting with only one or two rounds is unwise, in my book. There are no "style points" awarded for hunting with minimal ammunition.

[zooly]

I hunted with a guy, long ago (he was a great
houndsman, but a piss poor shot), that emptied a nice little full stock carbine at a deer, wounding it. Since he was out of ammo, he grabbed his rifle by it's barrel, & beat the poor creature to death with the butt. He brought what was left of rifle, after he used what was left of the stock as a crutch, to me to be repaired. I told him I'd do what I could, but made him promise to carry 5 rounds of cast bullet "finishing shots" I made up, with him at all times while hunting

Moral: learn to shoot & carry extra ammo.

zooly

[Von Gruff]

Depends on where and what I am hunting. In the case of deer I may load the magazine and call it good, as seeing an animal is uncertain to say the least and five rounds is more than enough.
In the case of chasing goats where a mob may be seen the magazine holds 5 and I will carry 10 spares in a belt slide and - or in a leather wallet.

Von Gruff.

[Gee_Wizz01]

About 10 years ago a 18 year old young man shot an wounded a very large mountain lion. The cat was not mortally wounded and the young man only had two rounds. He missed the cat with second shot which really teed off the cat. Luckily the kid was hunting in an elevated blind on a steel tower. The cat hung around all night growling trying to get at the guy. His dad finally realized something was wrong about 9:00 pm and came looking for his son. The dad killed the cat and his son had spent 6 hours in the blind wishing he had more ammo. The cat weighed over 130lbs. My dad saw the cat the night before and was amazed how big it was. It was killed about a mile up the road from our ranch.

I always carry a magazine full plus at least 5 rounds in a pocket. I had a close call in 2006. I was looking out into our field and saw a large hog going into our stock tank. I grabbed my 30-06 and stalked down the fence line trying to get a good shoot. As I got about 80 yds from the tank I saw the pig staring in my direction. I shot him in the head and he dropped. Then all hell broke loose there were at least 30 hogs down in the low area of the tank and they all came running in my direction! I dropped 3 more and realized I was empty and had only one more round in my pocket. I reached down and realized I had also left the house without my pistol. I shoved the one round I had left in the chamber and shot one more pig. The herd then made a quick turn and ran the other way. I now carry at least 10 extra rounds. There is no such thing as too much ammo.

G

[Hickory]

Maybe that's my problem.
Deep in the center of my being
I feel that I might be attacked.
What do you think Wayne?

[Jack Stanley]

I can blame my pockets full of ammo on my Mother ....... Yep , she said "it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it" .

So , don't mind me while I'm slipping another speedloader or magazine into my pocket

Jack

[Blammer]

At the end of the day I'll probably dump 20 or so rounds out of my pockets, sometimes more.

I was squirrel hunting a long time ago. Only had 6 rounds in the gun. I wounded a squirrel and he was WAY up in the tree. After I ran out of ammo, I felt sick. I felt that if I left to go to the truck to get more ammo, the squirrel would slip away and die and I'd not find him. I promised I'd never run out of ammo again. I did run to the truck 1/4 mile away grab a box and a half of 22's and hurried back. I did find him and finish the job. At the end of the ordeal I had shot 18 rounds at that squirrel. Found out later my scope had become loose and that's why I missed so much. Things happen.

If I ever wound a deer and don't have enough ammo I know for sure I'll lose the deer. I don't want that happening.

I also learned at an early age, when duck hunting, if you have ammo in the car while you're in the blind, you have no ammo for the day. Especially true when you shoot a 20ga and everyone else shoots 12ga.

[btroj]

I tend to carry a full magazine and enough for a full reload. With my Marlin 1895 it comes out to 10 rounds. I will admit that when I was in Canada for bear I carried 5 more than usual but they were in my backpack.
I only ran out of ammo once in the field and it will not happen again.

[redneckdan]

Usually at minimum I carry what is in the gun plus enough to fill it up again. More often than not I carry a full box. Usually 50rds for pistols and small rifles for 20 iin the case of .45-70 or .375 H&H

[reloader28]

The crazy old man that introduced me to casting used to hunt with an M1 Garand.
He used to pack a couple hundred rounds with him every day in bandoleers.
One day somebody asked him why in the world did he carry so many rounds with him, and he said...

"The universal distress signal is 3 shots every hour right? How long are you going to last?"

His motto was "shoot till they're out of sight, or your out of ammo". He still talks of the good old days before he moved here and we taught him to shoot with 1 round.



I carry 4 in the gun and 9 on the stock just in case. Usually only need 1, but not always. I used to carry over a box plus a pistol with extras when I was a kid, then realized after about 4 or 5 years that I didnt need that many and was tired of carrying them.

[NSP64]

I carry at least 18 extra for the 44. Never know who you will run into.

[.357]

i carry at least one speed loader plus a full cylinder of God's Caliber (.357) plus at least a full mag + 10 of 300 savage (15 rounds)

So 27 rounds total.

[DragoonDrake]

When I go for deer with a shotgun, I take 3. With a pistol, 8. I have only ever needed 1. Now when I go varmint hunting, well I seem to always fill my truck and never empty it.
Adam