When do you prime?

[Crow#21957]

When hunting whether it be deer or squirrel do you keep your gun primed? Dumb question ok I know. If you keep a flintlock primed the hammer has to stay in half cock correct?

 

[tunadawg]

Yes, gun is primed when I'm hunting. Yes, it stays in the half-cock position until I'm ready to shoot, then goes to full cock and boom.

 

[EC121]

Since I still hunt from a ground blind in my field, I keep a round toothpick in the hole with the hammer down and prime when I see game. If I don't shoot, I put the rifle back in my shed.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I load my gun at the truck. I prime either as soon as I get to my stand, or if hunting small game, the instant I'm ready to start hunting.

 

[Thingamajiggy]

If i'm still hunitng, will prime before heading out. If stand hunting, pan charger hangs on shooting bag strap and will prime when I see something.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

When hunting I prime at loading. If I don't take a shot I just open the pan and blow out the prime at the end of the day,

 

[user 49399]

When small game hunting, which is the only hunting I do nowadays, I prime when entering the woods or field. Little critters don’t always give you a chance to prime. Primed, frizzen closed, half cock.

 

[Daveboone]

Mainly a deer hunter, from an elevated stand. I am in the woods well before shooting light, thus loaded but not primed until in my stand.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

I stalk, so its loaded, primed and at half cock.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Primed at half cock when I leave the house.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Same as others, at truck just before I start stalking or heading to stand. For those who claim this is unsafe, I argue, the best safety is the guy holding a gun of any kind.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Get out of truck, load and prime before stepping off to hunt. The area I hunt the moment you're out of the truck the game is on.

 

[brushblind]

The first thing I do in the AM, prime with 2 cups of coffee and I'm good to go!

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Same as others, at truck just before I start stalking or heading to stand. For those who claim this is unsafe, I argue, the best safety is the guy holding a gun of any kind.

Agreed. To venture forth with an empty pan is a bit like going to town like Barney Fife with no bullets in your pistol.

 

[HSmithTX]

Primed the whole time hunting, half cock is good, also using a leather cover on the frizzen like the thumb cut off a glove is like a belt and suspenders. Every few hours I will dump the prime and re-prime. More often if it's really humid. Rifle is loaded at the house, toothpick in the touchhole and frizzen closed on it, electrical tape over the muzzle, in the case and off we go. At the end of the hunt I replace the toothpick after cleaning the pan and picking the touchhole, and repeat. Rifle might stay loaded for a few weeks, never an issue not even in 90%+ humidity for weeks.

 

[ord sgt]

Flintlock has the pan primed, frizzen closed, hammer to half cock and a leather hammer stall in place over the frizzen.

 

[Crow#21957]

Ordsgt the stall on the frizzen good idea. Thanks everyone

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Flintlock has the pan primed, frizzen closed, hammer to half cock and a leather hammer stall in place over the frizzen.

Yeah military reenacting means I have to have the leather stall anyway, so I actually use it.

LD

 

[Jason holgate]

I prime when ready to fire

 

[Tenring]

I have no choice but to prime at the truck because walking in to my stand down the cornfield cuts there are woods bordering the fields and they pop out some time here and there because it’s a bedding and a feeding area.