Who says you can't hunt with an AR

[Blu]

David, got to ask mate, doesn't the sound of your Gator get them running, that's got to be louder than chambering a round surely.

Blu

[kennyc]

Back on topic........

I have a .223 with a side charger. I wouldn't dream of using it for foxing. The first time the bolt was let go with a CLAAAANG (because it has to be), any self respecting fox would be in the next field, laughing.

Sure, you could use forward assist, if you had it, but why would you want to? Foxing is all about making it as easy as possible, and whilst I can close the bolt of my dedicated .222 fox rifle silently, that's what I will continue to do smile2 .

David, I see what you are saying here but then again it I guess it depends how one hunts. When I go after coyotes for instance I call them in, rifle is already charged and movement kept to a minimum. If I have no luck in one location calling them in then I unload and move to another location and set up again. It's worked for me on many occasions.

Blu

Blu

That's fair comment, it would probably work for called in critters; my foxing is generally done on the move from a Gator, so I wouldn't want to be driving with a chambered round in a rotating bolt rifle. I drive with my .222 on my lap, a round chambered but the bolt handle fully lifted.

Personally, I don't believe a safety catch should be relied on and never use one on any of my rifles. It's either loaded and live, or it isn't loaded at all.

David,I hunt with the round chambered and the safety on, I don't rely on the safety, I rely on muzzle awareness to keep the rifle pointed in a safe direction, this is the method I was taught when I first started hunting, and it has stood scrutiny over the years ,your method seems to ignore the possibility of the rifle bolt being knocked to closed or dropped and the bolt falling forward with an exposed firing pin? this is not meant as a knock, I'm just raising the possibility.As you are using a motorised vehicle, wouldn't it be better to leave the bolt closed over a full mag and empty chamber? noise is surely not an issue?

[David TS]

David, got to ask mate, doesn't the sound of your Gator get them running, that's got to be louder than chambering a round surely.

Blu

Blu

No, the Gator itself doesn't get them running, and when I spot one I stop, get in position, and switch it off anyway. I spot with a lamp then shoot with a dedicated NV scope (about to swop to spotting with a thermal imager), and spotting with the lamp doesn't particularly spook them either, but in my experience with our local foxes the one thing that really spooks them is squeaking them.

[David TS]

David,I hunt with the round chambered and the safety on, I don't rely on the safety, I rely on muzzle awareness to keep the rifle pointed in a safe direction, this is the method I was taught when I first started hunting, and it has stood scrutiny over the years ,your method seems to ignore the possibility of the rifle bolt being knocked to closed or dropped and the bolt falling forward with an exposed firing pin? this is not meant as a knock, I'm just raising the possibility.As you are using a motorised vehicle, wouldn't it be better to leave the bolt closed over a full mag and empty chamber? noise is surely not an issue?

Kenny

It's obviously whatever works for the individual in their circumstances, and is safe. As mentioned above when I spot a fox I generally get in position and switch off, so there is no ambient noise. Working the bolt and chambering a round when it is closed bolt over a full mag is really noisy.

My Gator has no doors so the rifle is horizontal on my lap. I agree that if it was only a partial bolt lift this would potentially be an issue, but I work with a full bolt lift. It would be impossible to accidentally close the bolt in these circumstances (or drop fire it in any way) since you would have to perform two operations i.e. push the bolt home, plus push it down. With a full bolt lift there is no firing pin exposure anyway.

Being paranoid about gun safety, I also check the bolt is fully raised on a regular basis as I am driving round.

Needless to say when going back on road between permissions the chamber is emptied and the magazine removed, and the rifle put back in its slip .