Carrying Rifle Ammo in the Woods?

Firstly I am kind of wondering what you are hunting that requires a bolt action rifle and 50 CFR rounds.
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^^^THIS^^^^^

Only a mall ninja needs to carry that much ammo while walking around in the woods. I've hunted my entire life and the most times I've ever shot at one time was 4 (4 shots to kill 2 pigs).
 
I don't guess it matters why he wants to, my dad had a spare saddle tank in his truck because he was tired of stopping for gas in the middle of a long drive. He didn't mind taking a break to pee, but the thought of missing the last gas for fifty miles was such a concern that he had a 50 gallon capacity. I guess he managed to get an entire day's drive out of that tank going on the highway, nearly a thousand miles. It's not the same now, when there are stops every fifty miles or so, even out in the middle of idaho, but it wasn't unusual for us to go fifty miles off of main roads for a fishing spot. Part of that was convenience, of course, but part of it was also a matter of wanting more than he could possibly need.

I only carried spare rifle cartridges because I always got lost and was always having to fire three shots so someone would helicopter me out of whatever mess I'd gotten myself into. Now, I carry a pistol with a whole lot of spares, aerial flares, and a GPS.

I kind of wish I had that truck. Ford camper special with a 400+- CI engine from the sixties. Not because of the tank capacity, that thing was an awesome truck for heavy travelling. Now it would cost over $25k at least. Even having the whole thing rebuilt and painted, I'd have a great truck for throwing a bunch of gear and a couple of dead animals into.
 
Midway and others also have some nice canvas/denim type cartridge carrier's that you can put on your belt or in your pocket. They can hold up to about 15rds or so. I also put a rifle butt stock shell carrier on my left forearm when using my Contender.
 
I stuff a 20 round box of centerfire ammo in my day pack, and 1 round in each in my two front trouser pockets and maybe one in my back pocket.

You should carry enough live rounds...for the possibility of the need for an SOS signal distress. "Three shots, spaced five seconds apart, will signal distress."
 
For my 30/30 and 30-06 I use a 4 shot leather loop on my belt. I figure 4-5 in the gun, and 4 spares is plenty.

See, deer don't shoot back to often.

Deaf
 
I never said it was for hunting, its for walking in a national forest where as long as you have a safe backstop, you can shoot anywhere. But anyway the why of it should be more irrelevant than the how. Also, not as concerned with stealth as I am with being annoyed by the ammo clanking together lol. There are some good suggestions here. I'm going to look into the springfield stripper clips and the federal ten round ammo carriers, they sound promising. Thanks guys
 
One shot, one kill, no exceptions. :rolleyes:

Okay, I don't carry much extra ammo while hunting. Maybe 10 total. Keep in in a little thing that looks somewhat like a wallet, with elastic loops inside. No noise, and handy.
 
Here is an example of the Federal Ammunition plastic belt carriers:
Belt%20Holder.png

Cartridge%20Holder%202.png

Here is an example of those same type plastic holders in a Champion's Choice leather pouch. Pouches like this are frequently used in matches the example is used in offhand but can serve as a basic leather pouch. Really a matter of what you want to spend to hold ammunition. Nice feature is tucking an end tab from the cartridge box identifying what the ammo is or make your own for handloads and shove it in there.

Ron
 
The WHY is very important. All these guys think you're hunting and you're target shooting which is perfectly fine but situations are different.

In this case I would probably resort back to an MTM 50 round case for your size of ammo. Then I would probably get some basic foam and glue it to the lid to keep the rattling down.

A totally lazy solution would be get a ziplock bag and suck all the air out of it after adding the ammo and then wrap with a rubber band.

There's tons of options when you add a small back pack.

MTM-RLLD-50-10-400.jpg
 
Normally when hunting locally I only carry what I usually need in a day. That would be a full magazine in the rifle/shotgun and about 5 extra rounds that I rarely need. When hunting in the big woods where I may become "temporarily disoriented," I carry about 10 extra rounds plus about ten extra for my fully loaded revolver.
 
To post 32...

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mnf/home/?cid=stelprdb5287443

"We encourage you to use designated shooting areas or ranges. However, if you choose to shoot in an undesignated area, please ensure that your shooting does not damage any facilities or natural resources, disrupt other uses, or endanger public safety, and ensure you remove any targets, wads, shells, brass and other refuse with you when you leave."

When driving on a forest road, I parked my car, walked 50 feet from the road and set up some targets along a hill and started shooting in Allegheny national forest (another forest near me). A conservation officer pulled up behind me, approached me and started a casual conversation. He informed me I was doing nothing wrong, he just wanted to make sure I'd pick up my targets afterward. He left and I kept shooting into an undesignated hill.

In the future maybe don't click the first link you see on google and immediately think it is fact... :rolleyes:

To post 28
Thanks. I think that will work perfectly!!! +1
 
The link you posted was specific to that particular NF. The original link I posted was for the NFS in general. Leave it to the federal gooberment to not get their stories straight.
 
I carry something like what eastbank described. It's a leather snap close ammo cuff. It hold 4 or 5 rounds I think. But usually the 3 or 4 in my rifle are fine for the one shot I really need.
 
I normally carry on stripper clips, or whatever ca fit on the bullet loops of my slings. I figure if I'm a bad enough shot to completely deplete my magazine and the ammo on my sling I probably deserve to walk my happy rear back to camp and get more ammo.
 
To go along with post #35:

Very good info on your particular experience while shooting on the Allegheny Nat'l Forest. I think a whole thread could be started on the NF/shooting subject, state by state, and regulations for each on the Forest. I use the Big Horn Nat'l Forest here in Wyoming almost exclusively for my elk hunting, and deer, too, if the opportunity presents itself. As far as shooting in the Big Horn Nat'l Forest, the regs. go through the various restrictions in some detail, and then adds, and ends, with this:

"In simple terms, this means don't shoot within an area 150 yards of campgrounds or campsites, across a lake, or creek, across, or while on a road."

Hunting, fishing, shooting, camping, hiking and whatever else one enjoys while in the Big Horns are accommodated quite well by our local Forest Service folks (WY, G&F, too). Still, It's always wise to check with any FS office, anywhere, to particular usage questions one may have (IMO). Generally, Forest Service informational bulletin boards are fairly easy to find, too, at least on the Big Horn Nat'l Forest.
 
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