NZGAC Hunter Education. Enabling better education and safer hunting practices.
NZ Hunter Education Course: Module 5:
Rule 3: Load a firearm only when ready to fire.
This is a rule that is designed to put boundaries around where you can load and carry a loaded firearm. It’s a good rule, but needs to be applied wisely in widely differing hunting circumstances.
Because hunting situations vary so much, it is up to the hunter to ensure there is a balance between perceived safety and practicality.
For example, if you are hunting tahr, chamois or even deer on the tops and in open country, it is preferable to carry rounds only in the magazine and then load a round into the chamber only when you are ready to fire. In that case you may carry your firearm with a magazine full and the bolt closed on an empty chamber (double check).
However, hunting situations may vary from open country, as above, to very thick bush where you may encounter animals very soon after you enter the bush and from a few metres away.
In situations like this you would need to be ready to shoot, with a round chambered, with the bolt handle up and the safety on. If you waited to load your firearm when you saw the animal, any noise incurred by loading a cartridge into the chamber would mean that the animal would be instantly alerted and would probably flee. Metallic noises and game are not really compatible! You’d soon get very frustrated.
Loading a cartridge into your chamber only when you spot game in situations like this is simply impractical and may defeat the purpose of your being there.
The state of semi-readiness:
The state of ‘semi-readiness’ position, where you are taught to only load a firearm when you sight game, or expect to flush it at any moment, and then hold the firearm in both hands, with a cartridge pushed partly forward into the chamber, is seen as a compromise safeguard.
The advice is to load a round into the chamber, but not close the action completely, unless you know you have correctly identified your target and you have time to make a safe shot. You are instructed to ' ..have at least 2cm of brass showing and to hold the bolt with the thumb so it does not slide back and eject the round.' If you do close the action, but then do not take a shot, you are told to go back to the ‘semi-ready’ state with a half - open action or remove the cartridge from the chamber.
However, the so called state of semi-readiness as outlined above is not practical in bush situations or even in semi-bush situations and in fact may prove to be unsafe and dangerous. Loading your firearm only when you see game in bush is unworkable and will instantly alert game, so defeating your purpose in being there. The practice becomes even worse for semi- automatic rifles and single shots - working or closing the action will create a large amount of unwanted noise! You'll soon say, 'Stuff it!'.
As well, trying to move through the bush in semi rough terrain while holding the firearm in both hands, including trying to hold one hand hooked over the bolt to stop the bolt from sliding back, and the cartridge from coming out, will prove to be an exercise in frustration and may well cause an accident if you become unbalanced or trip. Even worse, teaching something that is unworkable or impracticable as one part of the course denigrates other parts that are important.
Other situations also do not lend themselves to the so called state of semi-readiness. Imagine being out duck shooting and waiting until ducks arrive at your pond and then loading or hunting with a semi-automatic shotgun with a goal of flushing birds and trying to load and then shoot them as they take flight, or doing the same when rabbit shooting either with a shotgun or a rim fire. In these situations the state of semi-readiness is impractical and unworkable. Good safety rules need to consistent, practical and workable - the state of semi-readiness fits none of these. It is like telling drivers not to drive at more than 30km per hour in order to reduce the road toll. It may sound like a good idea, but it is impracticable and won't work.
Because we are committed to improving hunter safety and to good practices, we do not recommend the state of semi-readiness unless you are stalking on flat even ground with no obstructions. There are better and safer options.
(NB: Because the ‘state of semi- readiness,’ where you only load your firearm when you sight game, is taught in the Firearms Code booklet, when you sit the official multi choice firearms test you will need to answer the questions from that perspective.)
We recommend that:
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You test the safety on your firearm, with an empty chamber and empty magazine, prior to taking it hunting. Make sure it is pointed in a safe direction, then cock the action, apply the safety catch and check the firearm cannot be fired. If there are any issues or you are not happy with it, we recommend getting it checked out by a gunsmith. Do NOT rely soley on your safety catch if at all possible.
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You only load your firearm when you intend to use it, and only in an area where it can be safely and legally discharged. Your muzzle must always be pointed in a safe direction.
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If hunting game in open country there is no need to carry a round chambered. Load your magazine, push down your rounds with your finger as you close the action, so it closes on an empty chamber. Load a round into the chamber only when you are ready to fire.
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If hunting in terrain where you may be in a position to take a shot at any time and at close range (after correctly identifying your target), and where game will be alerted by any metallic sounds, you may carry your firearm with a round in the chamber, but you must take practical steps to ensure that your firearm is safe: ie. at a minimum have the safety on (with a semi-automatic and pump action) and with a bolt action the bolt handle up in the half cock position plus the safety on. (NB. Many new bolt action centre fire rifles have the half cock position removed – we advise getting a competent gunsmith to restore it. It’s not a big job. You need to have your firearm as safe as possible.)
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If you sight game at close quarters and it runs away, immediately check to see the safety is back on and the bolt is back in the half cock position (bolt action) or in the case of a single shot firearm, the firearm is on half cock, before you continue your stalk. If you have fired a shot with a semi-automatic weapon, check to see the safety is back on. If you have fired and reloaded a bolt action rifle check to see that the safety is on and the bolt is on half cock ie. the bolt handle is up.
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Unload your firearm completely when you leave your hunting or shooting area and especially before entering a hut or camp.
A party of three hunters were travelling into the Tararua Ranges in the Manawatu with a loaded .270 firearm strapped to a quad bike. When the rifle was caught in some tree branches it discharged and the bullet hit one of the men, aged 27, in the leg as he walked alongside, resulting in a serious wound. (26th Feb 2015)
Opening day of duck shooting 2015. A loaded shotgun was being carried on the quad bike when the bike hit a bump and the gun fell off, discharging and hitting the shooter in the arm, causing a serious wound.
Read the following story:
"I'd been on an evening duck shoot and was cold and a bit wet when I reached the truck. I chucked in the two ducks I'd shot, along with my gun and my gear, and headed quickly for home, grateful to be out of the rain and have a bit of warmth.
Still thawing out when I reached home, I decided to leave my gun outside on the porch, muzzle down, so it could drain the water from it, before I put it away. My son, aged 7, was waiting excitedly for me and asked me all about the hunt, no doubt wishing he could have gone.
Later, after tea, I decided it was time to put the gun away and tidy up my gear, but when I checked my gun and opened it up to clean it, I was mortified to see it was still loaded. Looking back it was the cold and tiredness that allowed me to make such a basic stupid mistake."