Muzzle up or down

[Tim.243]

Much safer downwards and it has the benefit of reducing possible sky lining. That is even worse if you put it in something like a Vorn. If the going is slippy underfoot then carry the rifle or tape the mod. I started carrying upwards but at 6’4” having 15-18” of dark barrel and mod accentuating my profile is not a good stalking thing. Then, you just have to look at some barrel angles when people stop to glass or thermal when carrying upwards……need I say more?

I think too many have watched Dads Army Peter lol

 

[JosephKelly]

Muzzle down myself. Have had muzzles waved in my face too many times from people who carry muzzle up (rifle slips due to the weight) and it’s not a nice experience.

 

[wytonpjs]

I think too many have watched Dads Army Peter lol

Either these guys or the US memorial honour guard do it for me

 

[Jon P]

Muzzle down for me most of the time, less chance of barrel getting snagged in trees. And weight of sound mod helps keep rifle in place.

 

[Tim.243]

Up for me , find it really annoying pointing down.

How do you walk in company with a shotgun?

 

[Pedro]

Muzzle down here. The lesser of two evils (in my view). It's also a muscle memory thing too. I find it easier when muzzle down to bring it up into a shoot-able position.

 

[slider]

Up as I'm a short @rse and my 22" barreled rifle and mod are Te'o close to the ground otherwise

 

[Steve Q]

Muzzle down with a quality condom on the end.
It has worked well enough for armies the world over and keeps debris out of the barrel nicely.

 

[Dalua]

I tend to carry muzzle-down, as with my heavy mod that's where gravity wants it to be.

Muzzle-up on your back does make it hard to see where it's pointing - but muzzle-up the other way round does allow you to keep an eye on it.

 

[Donkey Basher]

Muzzle down, right shoulder. Rifle balances better and stays in a more vertical position. Easy to control the muzzle with a hand on the fore end, easy to lift the muzzle up towards horizontal if negotiating uneven ground, etc. Easy to take the rifle off the shoulder one handed and under control without spinning it in a 270 degree arc behind me as I've seen some folk do when carrying muzzle up. For a long walk or very rough ground, dragging out, etc. I can lift the sling over my head so the rifle sits tight across my back and points at the ground a couple of feet to my right. It might not work as well if your rifle has a long barrel or very long moderator, but for me at 5ft 10 I find there's plenty of room to walk normally without fear of poking it into the mud.

This ^

 

[Donkey Basher]

He also said that if I was concerned about the risk of shooting my big toe off, then I might pay more attention to ensuring that the safety was on at all times. (And as it happens, I do tend to regularly check that the safety is still on!)

​

Agree with the majority of the post but not this bit...

I got a first hand introduction to being dumb struck some years ago when a guest stalker had an ND in front of me. He was carrying muzzle up & unnoticed by me had a habit of checking his safety was on by flicking it off then back in again... you can guess the rest, his gloved hand had a finger on the trigger, he flicked he safety off and bang! A 7x64 muzzle blast at head height about 2 feet in front of you is not an experience to be repeated. His only concern was where I thought the bullet would have come down! - he never came out again.

 

[Danny Fireblade]

Muzzle down for me. I can reach down and swing up on sticks with it only pointing forwards, as in the safe area.

 

[Nickb]

How do you walk in company with a shotgun?

Shotgun is broken and pointing down but the question was about rifles.
I cant stand the mod bouncing off my leg when facing down.
It's down to personal choice at the end of the day.

 

[Nickb]

with muzzle down it cant slide backwards to point at any one behind.

Irrelevant when stalking alone

 

[VSS]

Irrelevant when stalking alone

Not really it's not. Accidental discharge of a rifle that's pointing upwards at an angle (rather than perpendicular) is going to send a bullet a very long way, and it'll still be lethal when it gets there.
Easy enough to catch safety and trigger on clothing or backpack while trying to hitch up a rifle that's slipped back to an uncomfortable angle.

 

[TheCornishman]

For me it depends entirely on the outfit, said outfits balance & the terrain to be covered. The .308 is up as is the Stutzen but the fox rifle is down. It just carries nicer that way.

Either are safe when muzzle aware at all times

 

[VSS]

Either are safe when muzzle aware at all times

Exactly this

 

[Rural Management Services]

Down controlled with my right hand that also holds my sticks. Always know where the muzzle is pointing because I can see it at all times. Left hand is then free to use thermal. I don’t worry to much about plugging the barrel as the mod being a wider diameter is allot harder to plug and allot easier to clean out. All that said if it looks a bit slippy underfoot muzzle down can become muzzle 45 degs forwards in a second.

 

[Nickb]

Not really it's not. Accidental discharge of a rifle that's pointing upwards at an angle (rather than perpendicular) is going to send a bullet a very long way, and it'll still be lethal when it gets there.
Easy enough to catch safety and trigger on clothing or backpack while trying to hitch up a rifle that's slipped back to an uncomfortable angle.

Well I've been using rifles for 37 years and never been a problem and never had a ND.
I am very safety conscious which is what's important.
It amazes me how relative newbies give out such advice to a lot more experienced folk

 

[John Gryphon]

Only last week I got into my neighbours ute, his 22 mag was standing on its butt in the passenger footwell facing up `tween the front seats.
I simply remarked "i have always carried barrel down"
'there's nothing in it'
"empty guns have killed a lot of people"
and " if it is pointy end down and goes off it cant head shoot the poor **** in the back seat"

walking about, muzzle down on most occasions for my choice