Gun protection while on horse

[Blackstorm]

Doing my first drop camp hunt in 2023, the outfitter says we will be on the horse for two hours going in and coming out.my question is how you are protecting your gun as I am hearing horror stories of horses bumping things when they walk. We cannot take the hard case that I normally use, and the gun will probably be in a scabbard on the side of the horse. I will be using my scope cover to protect the glass, but it won't do much. any thoughts?

 

[snowymtnwolf]

That’s about it. You nailed it.

Alternative is to wear on your shoulder BUT could get hung up along the route in low hanging tree branches (risky and can pull you from horse).

Buy a better rifle scope protector such as the one marsupial gear sells that is beefy.

If bumped, shoot in again once you are off the horses @ camp.

Good luck.


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[hiker270]

Last horseback hunt I did my rifle stayed in its soft case and was tied to the saddle horn. I kept my knee against it and kept it tight to the horse when in narrow spots of brush. Have done this several times and none of my group has had issues. Have used a scabbard on horseback also and I have not had issues with that either. I'm sure there could be a problem if your horse fell but the rifle would be the last thing I worried about. My safety would be first. I have had horse's stumble but never had one fall. Bet some guys have horror stories though.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I have had two gun altering experiences in 59 seasons. Both on ice. The most recent (2017) my horse fell on a trail as we were working our way past a downed log. That one cracked the butt stock. I never even noticed until the next day.

The previous one was on bare but frozen ground. The hillside was sloped at about 35 degrees. My horse fell and then rolled over me and slid down the hill about 70 yards into a log jam. That one shattered all the wood and bent the barrel about 15 degrees. My ribs healed in about 6 months -- kinda.

In both cases the scope was unaffected. If you figure those were the only incidents in 59 seasons and I usually ride 300-400 miles a year- the odds of you having gun damage on a trip in or out is pretty low.

A good leather scabbard should protect your gun from most everything except an occasional scratch on the stock and that will come from you and your carry items.

Don't worry too much. If you have a problem - gun damage will be the least of your concerns.

 

[5MilesBack]

I always just put it in the scabbard. I had one rifle that I pretty much only used for horseback hunts and it survived several of them just fine.

 

[Marble]

Juat put it on the horse. If we have a long ride ahead of us I put a gun sock over the entire gun to keep all the sweat from the horse off my gun. Works well.

I would never carry my gun on my shoulder riding a horse. Too many tress to go under and if I fall or get bucked off, my gun does too. It's much more likely to have spill off your horse than to have the horse do something to the gun.

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[Hondo0925]

I have had two gun altering experiences in 59 seasons. Both on ice. The most recent (2017) my horse fell on a trail as we were working our way past a downed log. That one cracked the butt stock. I never even noticed until the next day.

The previous one was on bare but frozen ground. The hillside was sloped at about 35 degrees. My horse fell and then rolled over me and slid down the hill about 70 yards into a log jam. That one shattered all the wood and bent the barrel about 15 degrees. My ribs healed in about 6 months -- kinda.

In both cases the scope was unaffected. If you figure those were the only incidents in 59 seasons and I usually ride 300-400 miles a year- the odds of you having gun damage on a trip in or out is pretty low.

A good leather scabbard should protect your gun from most everything except an occasional scratch on the stock and that will come from you and your carry items.

Don't worry too much. If you have a problem - gun damage will be the least of your concerns.

Listen to pony soldier!
Same experience here.

 

[khart_6882]

Had my saddle horse run free with my rifle in a leather scabbard tied to the saddle for about 2 miles through the middle of the Frank church. Rifle shot exactly the same as it did before the hunt. Unless there’s a serious crash or rodeo you’ll be fine.


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[jayhawk]

It’ll be fine in the scabbard.

Worst experience I’ve ever had is when the strap broke and the scabbard swung down and dumped the gun out. Didn’t notice until I got back to the corral and thought I had a looong walk back to find my rifle. Walked 20ft outside the gate and there it lay. Whew!

That was my fault though. Your gun will be fine in the scabbard.

 

[Travis Hobbs]

What kind of scope are you using? If it’s if any quality I don’t think you’ll have an issue.

I pack a rifle on a mule and ride through hell 5-6 months of the year… I’ve never had a rifle knocked “off” in a scabbard on an equine.

I’d be more worried about myself tripping or dropping rifle

 

[Coues123]

In 50 years of hunting on a horse only had 1 incident with a rifle on a horse/mule. I tied a young mule up and proceeded to tie up the two mules for packing out the elk. In less than 5 seconds the young mule dropped and started to roll. Broke the stock on my Rem 600. The words of my dad went through my head immediately. If you get off, get your rifle off first.
My horse/mule has slipped on rocks and fallen down lots of times but never any damage or knocking the scope off.
I had a horse fall on me and broke my ankle. I was trying to get my leg out from under her but caught my ankle between the rifle and a rock. You want a real challenge. Try to get on a horse with a broken ankle.

 

[6.5Express]

My rifles ride in a scabbard on the side of a mule a lot. Never had an issue.

But, i would recommend a good fully enclosed trailmax scabbard or similar. I also keep a neoprene cover on my scope in the scabbard.

 

[Coues123]

6.5Expess, how do you quickly get the rifle out of the Trailmax scabbard. I have a friend I hunt with that has one and it seems like it's way to slow to get his rifle out.
My rifle comes out of the scabbard on the way to the ground, neoprene scope cover comes off, goes on the ground right by the horse so I can find it later. I can be shooting and he is still working on the zipper.

 

[rayporter]

i use a leather scabbard and have never had a problem but i have seen some rodeos and am sure the rifle did not fare well.

i have not used a trailmax but have seen them and they appear to be good.


if you want to buy a trailmax scabbard before you go you would know what kind of protection your rifle had. you could just hand it to them with your rifle in it ready to mount.
you would also know you rifle fit before you go. if you have a large scope with a 50 mm objective and side focus the scabbard may be too small.

Amazon.com

 

[6.5Express]

6.5Expess, how do you quickly get the rifle out of the Trailmax scabbard. I have a friend I hunt with that has one and it seems like it's way to slow to get his rifle out.
My rifle comes out of the scabbard on the way to the ground, neoprene scope cover comes off, goes on the ground right by the horse so I can find it later. I can be shooting and he is still working on the zipper.

We've jumped off and killed bucks, bulls, and coyotes without missing an opportunity for sure. I just use the zipper and not the buckle and my scabbard rides on the passenger side.

 

[BradySC05]

Can it get uncomfortable with a huge padded scabbard riding under your leg? Or would it be a better option to tie it down to one of the string horses?

 

[EastHumboldt]

I would never put my rifle on a string horse. You ever watch what they do to the packs? Bang, smack, wham. If it’s on the horse with you, at least you have a chance to keep it from getting bumped around too much.

 

[MtnW]

I enjoy horseback hunts in the mountains. Early in my career I bit the bullet and had a custom leather Keith style scabbard built that protects the entire rifle. It’s paid for itself in the protection it has provided for my scoped rifles. It’s been on over 20 hunts and it’s still in decent shape.

 

[Wildhorse]

I have a rifle/carbine scabbard I made the carbine scabbard can be used inside the rifle scabbard or as a stand alone the rifle scabbard I carry southwest (butt to the butt of the horse) but angled up with the barrel portion of the scabbard through the sturrup leathers my scabbard has a pouch I put on it to carry an extra box of ammo and I have a double buckle system I can use to secure the butt of the rifle in the scabbard or an actual cover I can buckle in. I use talley qd mounts and I take the scope off the rifle before it goes into the scabbard the scope gets backed into a saddle bag when I'm alone or into the back pocket of one of my pack panniers if I have the means to. Never had an issue losing a rifle or having a scope damaged doing it this way and they have always returned to zero just fine.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

if you have a large scope with a 50 mm objective and side focus the scabbard may be too small.

We packed 18 miles into the Bob and rode horses out of camp every morning and back to camp every evening over an 8 day hunt. The only issue we had was my brother's 50mm objective prevented his rifle from going all the way down the scabbard, so it hung out about 4" more than it should've. Made some tight spots a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't big deal. We banged off trees and jostled up some very nasty trails during this hunt and neither rifle had any issues with zero.

Make sure to put tape over the end of your barrel to prevent any debris from the bottom of the scabbard getting in the muzzle.