There are many types of hunting, but I’ll distill them into three general categories: Walking, Stalking, and Waiting. Since I grew up in Arizona, most big game hunting was Walking. Of course, you would stop and glass. I’ll put that in the Waiting category. If you spotted something, you then might plan a Stalk. For birds, dove hunting is in the Waiting category, while quail hunting is in the Walking category. I’m sure other parts of the country have hunts, which may differ from Arizona, but they can be placed in these three general categories.
When I was old enough to go hunting, it was just past the era of hunting on horseback and well before the age of UTVs, SxSs, and four-wheelers. It was also well before long-range rifle hunting became the norm. I remember how common lever-action and pump-action rifles were. One of the main reasons was that no one carried a round in the chamber. These two styles of rifles allowed a shooter to chamber a round for a shot quickly. It was considered extremely dangerous to carry a round in the chamber of a rifle or shotgun. My dad or grandfather would probably knock the heck out of anyone in their hunting party that carried a round in the chamber.
I was in a dilemma. I was a left-handed shooter. But, at that time, left-handed bolt actions were costly. So, I ended up going with semi-automatic rifles and shotguns growing up. One thing I hated about them was how uncomfortable I was putting a round in the chamber. Usually, you pulled back the bolt and let it fly somehow, where the rifle did the work of chambering the round. I never felt comfy with this process. I still don’t. It goes without saying I didn’t walk around with a round in the chamber.
Dove hunting and coyote calling were exceptions. Usually, we were sitting, waiting for the dove to fly in. Because we weren’t walking around, having a round in the chamber was natural. Same with coyote calling. Unless you wanted to practice your running shots, jacking a round in the chamber would send coyotes hauling butt out of there. There were also cases where you might do so during deer hunting. If the younger guys in the hunting party were flushing some fingers or canyons and you were the lucky older guy at the end, you might sit tight and put one in the chamber while you waited to see what was flushed out.
Except for long-range rifle shooting, times have changed. Glocks and AR-15s have changed the way many people carry semi-automatic firearms while Walking. They carry with a round in the chamber. However, I would be willing to bet money that more negligent discharges have occurred since 1980 than from 1865 to 1980.