Hunting Carry?

[Scythe13]

This is just a general enquiry really.

If you plan on hunting post SHTF, whether it's crossbow, shotgun, air rifle, or whatever, have you set a plan for how to carry your hunting tool of choice?

For rifles and shotguns, there are various configurations available, whether it's a shoulder strap, 2 point sling/harness, gun carry bags, take-down guns.

For bows, there are also a lot of options. Things like take down bows are obvious routes to go down.

I'm just wondering whether you've thought about carrying such items on a regular basis and how practical it would be?

Another point on this, a lot of scopes will lose zero pretty easily. A sizeable knock will ruin almost any zero. So just wondering how you've accounted for this too?

[bigpaul]

rifles: I carry mine in a rifle slip. crossbow:i have fitted my Barnett Wildcat with 2 "screw eyes" so a sling or rope can be fitted. Bows: not an issue with my longbows as they are light enough to hardly notice any weight. air rifle and zeroing: not really a problem, bit of card on a wooden post with a cross on it, take a few minutes to readjust.

[Mortblanc]

Most of my firearms and crossbows are set up with quick detachable swivel studs and I have a variety of slings depending on the situation and firearm.

For range trips and transport in my vehicle I have hard shell cases padded with foam. Old guns get tossed in with the lose gear and I have never noticed any of my old surplus guns going off zero due to speed bumps.

Modern scopes are not nearly as fragile as one would think. Scopes have now seen 500 years of development and 250 years use on military weapons. Red dot reflex sights have had 100 years use on the battle field. Most of the devices are more rugged than the people carrying them.

The addition of optics to almost every military inventory attests to this. I believe your present Enfield was designed with a built in scope. The use of optics by the US military is so widespread that seeing a rifle without optics is unusual. They seem to have held up well under the rigors of combat so I doubt that anything I can do walking from the house to the field will affect them much.

I sent a "red dot" optical device to my Son in a "care package" while he was in Iraq back in '05. Even that cheap $50 sight held up under use on a SAW, and he took it back when deployed for a second tour.

Were I to bounce one off the concrete to the point that I was suspect of damage I do have both laser and optical bore sighters to get back on zero. I set up new guns and change my setups so often I depend on the devices to get me on zero quickly with minimal ammo expended.

If your scopes will not hold zero you need to be looking for better glass, better mounts or better adhesives.

I have found over the years that most scope problems are not "scope related", they are due to mount screws shooting lose or mounts shifting under recoil. Proper mounting with the use of proper adhesives on the screws is mandatory.

While I am not a scope snob that insists on paying twice as much for a scope as I do for a rifle I do suggest that one get off the bottom of the scope market if one is shooting a good quality rifle or putting their life and table fare on the line. Many of the cheap scopes (less than 20 pounds) will fall apart in your hands after a few rounds.

Even with that warning there are some real low cost jewels out there made by Barska, NcStar, Beman and a few other firms. Just do not buy their bottom line efforts.

[CharlesHarris]

I agree that modern optics and mounts are sufficiently rugged for military and harsh outdoor use. If you are Old School, as I am, you may opt for having iron sights also on the rifle for backup, and all of my hunting rifles are so-equipped.

When I lived in New Hampshire and did much of my hunting in snow country, travelling either via snow machine, cross-coun try skis or snowshoes, my rifle was protected in a USGI canvas case, slug across the back.

http://www.e-sarcoinc.com/m1grdcarryingcase.aspx

[Mortblanc]

While not all of my firearms carry both iron sights and opticals, the ones I consider "survival guns" usually have both.

The irons are 2 ounces of good insurance.

At one time I had a Winchester 94 set up with scope, flip up center sight and a peep-sight, all zeroed to a different load. The scope was set for jacketed factory loads, the peep sight for full power cast lead bullets and the center sight set for light squib loads for small game.

I was good for anything from rabbits to moose with that gun but changed it out because it would not balance for carry with the scope mounted over the receiver. It lost all its handling ease.

[Talon]

My dedicated shtf shotgun is a 12 gauge shortened Cooey with uncle mikes quick detach swivels and a leather sling.It also breaks down and carries in my ruck sack.

My only air rifle at present is fitted with diopter sights and too be honest is a little heavy to be classed as a survival rifle.
   


I'm hoping to be able to afford a dedicated hunting air rifle with a simmons whitetail classic 1.5 x 20 scope for it when funds allow,and also fit qd swivels and a very comfortable neoprene sling that I have.I'll also keep the iron sights in place.


I sold both my crossbows to concentrate on primitive bow building .

[Steve]

I have QD swivels on three rifles and two shotguns, but only three slings. There's only so much I can carry at one time :-) .

When choosing guns I did make an effort to get something light and powerful, this often equates to "painful to shoot" but not always. For example, I have a Beretta semi-auto 12g that has a recoil reduction system built in, so even though it will work fine with anything up to 3.5" cartridges it is still easy to shoot. My .308 does kick a bit, but it's an effective deer calibre so a rapid second shot is less likely to be needed than with some smaller weapons. Lastly, I have an 17HMR with plastic stock and slim barrel, it's positively featherweight and the ammo is too.

I have suffered a few scope knocks over the years, but none have caused me a problem. Bushnell make some good value kit, the "Legend" series are great value. I also looked at a lot of "Red Dot" type scopes, trying to find one that didn't have awful parallax problems, eventually found one by NCStar ( as mentioned by Mort ) that works really well.

I confess to having a bit of a scope addiction, I love buying top quality scopes second hand, the clarity and low-light performance make using them a pleasure. If I was buying a "survival" scope I would go for something simple, a fixed power 6x40 or 6x50 by a top manufacturer.

[Mortblanc]

In the past year I have started switching most of my heavy use guns over to illuminated reticle scopes. I find they combine the best of all possible options. Magnification in good light using precision reticles and an illuminated sight point in dim light conditions.

Even if the battery goes dead the crosshairs are still present.

[Keith]

I carry my flintlock fusil on a self made carry strap, unless I am actively hunting game, in which case I am holding the fusil in my hands.
Keith.

[Billy02]

I think it depends with what they like to hunt, like ill go for a bow and not a gun, just my choice, and also depends where and what you are hunting, i reading this article on hinting tips, you guys should have a look, maybe helpful https://swordsswords.com/blog/hunt-for-l...ting-tips/