Toting Iron
Submitted by Bruce Buck on Mon, 03/15/2010 - 9:32am.
How do you carry your gun in the field? Safely, of course, but how?
I was hunting pheasants in South Dakota last winter. There was a group of us outdoor writers marching through the cornrows flushing the occasional rooster. Yes, I know, journalists are far from real hunters, but still . . . . I noticed that most of the others were carrying their guns in a two-handed hold at port arms with muzzles slightly forward and well up. A shooting pal of mine recently back from his tour in the Gulf said that he felt more comfortable carrying his shotgun muzzle down in a two-handed modern military-style hold with the butt under the right armpit and the gun angled down and across the body.
Fans of the high-port-arms carry feel it is faster to bring the gun into action. Fans of the low military carry think it is far less tiresome over time, which in turn keeps them fresher and faster when a bird rises.
Of course that is over randomly flushing birds, not over pointed ones. Over points there seem to be three starting positions as you walk in past the dog ready for immediate action. The positions are somewhat similar but actually quite different.
The first starts with the gun butt roughly at the belt line with the muzzle about 45°. While this requires a lot of movement to mount the gun, it is a comfortable position to hold, and the mounting movement does allow the body to get into the shot a bit.
The second method is to hold the butt on the front of the chest in the pectoral area below the cheek, with the barrel just above parallel. Many feel that this allows the quickest mount, but it doesn’t bring the mass of the body into the swing.
The third method is to start with the gun butt an inch or so into the armpit and the muzzles just above parallel. Mounting requires that the gun be pushed forward very slightly. Perhaps a touch slower than the “on the chest” start, it does work nicely with stepping into the shot.
There certainly are a lot of choices. Maybe if I figure out the right approach, the birds won’t laugh at me as much.
That’s it for now. Boots off. Beer open.
- Bruce Buck's blog
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Field Carry of Gun
Perhaps as a result of gunning for spaniel field trials which place a premium above all else on safety, I am a firm believer in using only carry methods where the barrels are carried straight up in the air.
The most common method in trials is with the but resting at the hip line, the right hand for right handers on the grip, and the gun angled slightly forward. The barrels are never dropped until any pivot required to face the birds flight line has been completed. This insures that during a turn for a shot the barrels will not swing through a handler, a judge, another gunner, or anyone in the gallery. If the gunner trips while walking, the safety knocked off and somthing hits the trigger, the gun will be facing straight forward, away from all participants.
Variations of the port arms carry often result in the barrels swinging through companions when someone pivots to take a shot or if someone stumbles. This is not safe.
While three guns, two handlers, two judges, a bird planter up front and a gallery behind may decrease safe zones of fire far below those in even a typical pheasant drive, it only takes barrels in an unsafe direction once plus a stumble or moment of excess focus on a bird to cause an event that will ruin two lives, that of the victim and the gunner. I have a friend who was shot in the stomach by a 12 ga. Neither he nor the person who shot him has ever been the same.
More energy to carry this way? Yes.
Slower to get into action? Yes Still, the hit ratio of field trial gunners is so much higher than that of most hunters that it is clear this method does not present an unsurmountable handicap. It works even for gunning days longer and bird numbers far higher than those dealt with by the average hunter.
Hunting alone? I carry in whatever way is most comfortable so long as my gun isn't pointing toward my dogs!
Carry your gun in the field
Hi Bruce
Years ago I believed there was only one way to carry, port arms, you know, the way all the pictures depicted. As years passed and after increasing the duration of the hunts, I realized I was killing myself for nothing. Now I PRACTICE and hunt from one position only, let’s call it the belt line hold, barrel toward the ground. One day after several hours of hunting and the shoulders being so tired that a bird would have good chance at escape. I had a thought, how the heck does a 100 Lb. woman lug a baby in her arms all day? And I a 200 lb. weight lifter can't hold an 8 lb shotgun. They cheat, they use that hip. Not only does the hip carry a little weight of the gun now, the barrel moves UP to catch and pass the bird, like in the direction birds go, not down then up as in port arms. Only took me 40 years to figure it all out. MK
field carry of gun
I agree that transfering part of weight to hip is proper. After over fifty years hunting ruffed grouse and wild turkey I should know. The Old Mountain Goat