Firearm in a vehicle, muzzle on the floor or pointed at the roof?

[Coiloil37]

My rifles ride muzzle down, simply because that's how my old man showed me how to do it. The only argument I've seen against muzzle down is crown damage. I still shoot my dads old Remington, he bought it in the early 70's and it's been used hard every year since, always ridden around muzzle down, never recrowned, still holds .5" groups at a hundred. So I'm not saying a crown couldn't be wrecked from sitting on the floor but it's not that likely and if it did, so what, have it recut.

On a side note, we used to own the boundary motel and campground west of Caroline. When I was a kid we had three guys show up who needed an ambulance. This was in the days when you could ride with a full magazine, somehow they'd had a round go off. It went through one of the guys foot then out the bottom of the truck. His foot looked ok on the top, like hamburger on the bottom but it didn't kill him. A much better outcome then the story on the first page.

[Metalmike123]

muzzle up, action open, clear of ammuniton. Looking down the bore of an empty firearm has never hurt or killed anybody, failing to clear a rifle has. I cringe at the thought of muzzle damage.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by bdarling

You lost me ??? It sounded like you are trying to make fun of what I had to say but I'm not sure you nailed the punchline or something. Anyways if you don't want to embarrass yourself further you can PM me.Also I thought we were talking muzzle direction not man parts I think you may be on the wrong forum.

I think you may be taking Gitrdun's post the wrong way. He agrees with you and is adding that people are not taking common sense into account....and that they should get out and enjoy the outdoors more....safely of course.

LC

[Speckle55]

Originally Posted by hal53

4+ pages..and I am still wondering why, if you're driving , you need the rifle beside you, ready to go?????...mine is in the back in a soft case, safer and just as easy to access.....

Hal picture this your driving a lease road and the biggest Whitetail that dreams(High B&C) are made of is standing out in the middle of the field that is 200 yards each way from him,,and is at 102 yards from you..

(First)you could stop and reach into the back to get your case and get your gun out and then step out to load your gun and hope that the deer will still be there or

with a little of Sherlock Holmes deduction

(Second)Have your gun on lap/ hit e-brake as you put into park and open door as truck is sliding to stop you excit vehicle/ gun is being loaded as you left vehicle
Whitetail was running in both instances but stopped at tree line 300yrds away ..

as a rule the Whitetail will stop for 5 seconds at tree line with calling and at a safe distance

Elapse time 33 seconds on (first) to be ready
Elapse time 15 seconds on (second) ready

Whitetail was in your field of view for 25 seconds and stopped running at 20 seconds 300 yds away(safe distance)

you have a 17 percent chance of this happening in your life time

i want that 17 percent chance

its Elemental My Dear Friend

and this my friend is why my gun is allways ready to be use when hunting mill roads as i hunt for food can,t eat horns

both ways are safe/legal

Food for Thought
David

[winger7mm]

Originally Posted by Speckle55

Hal picture this your driving a lease road and the biggest Whitetail that dreams(High B&C) are made of is standing out in the middle of the field that is 200 yards each way from him,,and is at 102 yards from you..

(First)you could stop and reach into the back to get your case and get your gun out and then step out to load your gun and hope that the deer will still be there or

with a little of Sherlock Holmes deduction

(Second)Have your gun on lap/ hit e-brake as you put into park and open door as truck is sliding to stop you excit vehicle/ gun is being loaded as you left vehicle
Whitetail was running in both instances but stopped at tree line 300yrds away ..

as a rule the Whitetail will stop for 5 seconds at tree line with calling and at a safe distance

Elapse time 33 seconds on (first) to be ready
Elapse time 15 seconds on (second) ready

Whitetail was in your field of view for 25 seconds and stopped running at 20 seconds 300 yds away(safe distance)

you have a 17 percent chance of this happening in your life time

i want that 17 percent chance

its Elemental My Dear Friend

and this my friend is why my gun is allways ready to be use when hunting mill roads as i hunt for food can,t eat horns

both ways are safe/legal

Food for Thought
David

This of course whilst driving from point A to point B

[winger7mm]

Originally Posted by gitrdun

Muzzle down is simply an added safety factor for those that haven't realized that carrying a firearm in a vehicle with rounds in the magazine IS ILLEGAL. Or perhaps they have passed their PAL exam but forgot the basic safety rules. Muzzel on the floor will destroy the crown which is the last thing a bullet passes thru. If one needs the added safety factor of carrying muzzle down, it only means that they haven't ensured that their firearms were absolutly armless prior to entering the vehicle. I would call them "amateurs". Muzzle down to me is simply stating that "I don't trust myself that what I did 5 seconds ago or I simply don't remember it. I carry MUZZLE UP, because I don't want my crown destroyed and because I'm smart enough to know when my gun is unloaded. If you're a unsure of yourself, suffer dimentia, or epilictic seizures and can't remember your birthdate, then you should go muzzle down.

Sooooo, I must suffer dimentia and seizures because im not "smart" enough to have my rifle muzzle up.
I do in fact have seizures and suffer from brain damage (minimal) But I ride muzzle down, why because my rifle sits very nicely in the back seat muzzle down. Whether its loaded or not, thats a poor excuse for what way it points. Rather have my gun sit nice and solid in the back, then flopping around cause its pointed into the air. If you wanna use a "cant remember excuse" ask the wife about our first 2 years together, im sure she will agree with you

[roger]

short trips in warm weather, muzzle strait up, a 26" bbl is more managable than my 300wsm with the 16" bbl that barely comes to the window sill.

longer cold trips, sometimes i leave it in the truck box inside the soft scabbard in colder weather so it doesnt do the freeze/thaw thing when travelling to different setups especially in coyote season. condensation doesnt buildup inside the length of the bbl and refreezes causing pressure issues
im sure the distracted driving law could be invoked if needed.

[Canuck Bob]

Wow, this is a good thread. There is one gun handling rule that should never be broken. Treat all firearms as loaded. My old veteran uncles considered that the number one rule. Second rule never point a gun at anything that is not a target.

Once the gun is unloaded it is still treated as loaded, always.

To answer this question, when hunting chickens gun unloaded in an unzipped case muzzle down. When transporting a rifle, unloaded and fully cased. I usually keep the clip or ammo in a jacket pocket. I don't use a shotgun much, can't stand the pellets.

I use a tube mag lever mostly so this can be a pain. One of the accidental discharges I witnessed was a guy who dropped the hammer on a Win 94 while unloading. I had insisted he unload with the muzzle pointed at a big spruce. He had used the "Rifleman" method earlier, jacking as fast as he could!

Far too many fellow hunters and shooters or their loved ones have died because of empty guns.

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by winger7mm

Sooooo, I must suffer dimentia and seizures because im not "smart" enough to have my rifle muzzle up.
I do in fact have seizures and suffer from brain damage (minimal) But I ride muzzle down, why because my rifle sits very nicely in the back seat muzzle down. Whether its loaded or not, thats a poor excuse for what way it points. Rather have my gun sit nice and solid in the back, then flopping around cause its pointed into the air. If you wanna use a "cant remember excuse" ask the wife about our first 2 years together, im sure she will agree with you

It's just my form of sarcasm buddy. What I'm trying go say is in regards to those that use the muzzle down on the floor as an extra safety precaution. It really shouldn't even be a safety consideration as it is not only illegal to have rounds not just in the chamber, but also in the magazine, unless of course it is detachable. And if one follows all aspect of firearm safety which were test questions on the PAL test, and if one obeys the law, then up or down isn't even a safety aspect, it is merely personal preference. As for examples of shot up transmissions, roof liners and injuries, why even discuss this. These are the consequences of very unsafe, stupid people caught in the act of commiting an offense.

[TheClash]

Originally Posted by gitrdun

It's just my form of sarcasm buddy. What I'm trying go say is in regards to those that use the muzzle down on the floor as an extra safety precaution. It really shouldn't even be a safety consideration as it is not only illegal to have rounds not just in the chamber, but also in the magazine, unless of course it is detachable. And if one follows all aspect of firearm safety which were test questions on the PAL test, and if one obeys the law, then up or down isn't even a safety aspect, it is merely personal preference. As for examples of shot up transmissions, roof liners and injuries, why even discuss this. These are the consequences of very unsafe, stupid people caught in the act of commiting an offense.

just to play a little devils advocate here for a bit...first let me say that I transport my shotgun with the action open muzzle down in a soft case when I am moving from area to area....only because it seems easier for me and on my scatter gun I am not too worried about my crown...with my rifles..even though neither of them are expensive they are transported with open actions in soft or hard cases in the back seat or bed of the truck depending on the situation.

so...now for the devils advocate part...and this will assume a few things...not looking to fight or anything just to have a conversation....so Hal or gitrdun (both of you can answer questions without getting offended that is why i picked you) you and I are hunting together...riding in myr truck.....we both have cleared our actions and are transporting unloaded firearms muzzle up in a safe manner when we hit a bump and your rifle somehow slips out of your hand and is now pointed directly at the side of my head.....or for another example...we are done hunting, hanging out in your garage cleaning our rifles, you watch me clear my gun and open the action but I then shoulder my rifle and point it directly at you....now I do not know about you....but for me in both of these cases I would still feel uneasy...only for the fact that i was raised that you never never NEVER point any fire arm at a person let alone point it at anything you are not willing to shoot. how would you feel? again...not looking to fight I am just curious what your reaction would be.

to be honest if I had a very expensive rifle with a good crown I mot likely would transport it in a much more caring way if i was transporting it uncased.

[Okotokian]

Unload it, put it in a case, point it up, down, sideways. Simple.

[H380]

Always pointed down , whether in a vehicle or being carried . Used to scare hell out of me having a client follow behind me and not knowing how careful they were or where the gun would be pointing , don't miss that any more .

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by TheClash

just to play a little devils advocate here for a bit...first let me say that I transport my shotgun with the action open muzzle down in a soft case when I am moving from area to area....only because it seems easier for me and on my scatter gun I am not too worried about my crown...with my rifles..even though neither of them are expensive they are transported with open actions in soft or hard cases in the back seat or bed of the truck depending on the situation.

so...now for the devils advocate part...and this will assume a few things...not looking to fight or anything just to have a conversation....so Hal or gitrdun (both of you can answer questions without getting offended that is why i picked you) you and I are hunting together...riding in myr truck.....we both have cleared our actions and are transporting unloaded firearms muzzle up in a safe manner when we hit a bump and your rifle somehow slips out of your hand and is now pointed directly at the side of my head.....or for another example...we are done hunting, hanging out in your garage cleaning our rifles, you watch me clear my gun and open the action but I then shoulder my rifle and point it directly at you....now I do not know about you....but for me in both of these cases I would still feel uneasy...only for the fact that i was raised that you never never NEVER point any fire arm at a person let alone point it at anything you are not willing to shoot. how would you feel? again...not looking to fight I am just curious what your reaction would be.

to be honest if I had a very expensive rifle with a good crown I mot likely would transport it in a much more caring way if i was transporting it uncased.

I don't take offence, but I don't want to play either. I used extreme caution and safety with any firearm in my hands, I expect that anyone should reciprocate that towards me as well. Once, I have confirmed that firearms are made and proven safe, I'm not afraid of them whether right side up, upside down, in a case or not. This conversation could go around and around and never please every one. Have a great hunting season and stay safe...

[cody c]

muzzle up and action open. Im not so complacent as to let a firearm roll around till its pointed at someone's head, it usually has the stock wedged between the seat and center console.

If I were to go hunting with someone who had an explicit rule about rifles pointed at the floor I would appreciate a heads up so I could take a rifle sleeve or something to tuck it to prevent damage to the crown or debris from being lodged in the barrel

If I had an explicit rule about it being pointed towards the floor I would probably build a rifle rest or something to keep the crown out of harms way, as well as one for my passenger.

Sorry to hear about those who know someone who got shot. Though there is alot going wrong in those situations for that to happen.

[TheClash]

Originally Posted by gitrdun

I don't take offence, but I don't want to play either. I used extreme caution and safety with any firearm in my hands, I expect that anyone should reciprocate that towards me as well. Once, I have confirmed that firearms are made and proven safe, I'm not afraid of them whether right side up, upside down, in a case or not. This conversation could go around and around and never please every one. Have a great hunting season and stay safe...

that is a great answer and I can understand that for sure......that was what i was looking for.

[pikeslayer22]

Muzzle up after made safe wouldn't even consider muzzle down!

[jackrabbit000]

Originally Posted by hillbillyreefer

Muzzle down, no muzzle crown is worth being killed

x2.

[deanmc]

I agree with your old man. An unloaded gun is not making a hole in anything but a mark on the muzzle will seriously affect your gun.

[Andrzej]

I don't care how is your muzzle up, down, left or right cased or not as long as gun is VISIBLY UNLOADED.

Visibly Unloaded means to me bolt action open, clip removed, 22 Ruger bolt open no clip attached, shotgun hinge action broken semi as 22, pump open action as well.

Now we can hunt.

[trooper]

Rifle is cased in a vehicle, no exceptions. I hunt from a ground blind. The rifle is unloaded until I get settled in the blind. When first light hits, the rifle feels the cartridge.
At no time do I move with a loaded rifle.

[tchardy1972]

Originally Posted by Dakota369

My lakefield .22 semi doesn't................. I legally use it to hunt chickens all the time!!

The safety locks the bolt in the half open or full open position. I have the same rifle.

[SkytopBrewster]

Pointed at the roof is a "no brainer"