Rifle on a tractor again

So what and how do you carry? have you used it while on a tractor?

I have a leather saddle scabbard that straps over the hood on any of the antiques, with the butt right in front of my right hand. It almost always carries My Remington Model 7 in 7MM-08 with a vintage 3-9
Redfield Widefield. It has taken many a woodchuck, and a few hogs (We have a canned hunt place a few miles, a boar or two escaped and raided a local hog farm, the herd has been around for years and is fairly
destructive). Before getting the Model 7 in the mid '80s, it was a Savage 340 in .22 Hornet (still around). Over the years the choices have grown substantially, but the Model 7 is my favorite.

Dad has (had, as he is gone now) a gun rack mounted to the ROPS on his Kubota and almost always carried a Rossi R92 Carbine in .44 LC; He said it was short, light, cheap, and reliable. If he was using one
of the antiques he usually had one of his TC Contenders hanging close. A scoped .300 Blackout was his favorite in recent years.

last week I was out 'hoggin' his property with no gun, it was about an hour-hour and a half before dusk, and I saw what I first thought was a young deer come out of the hedge. As I got closer I saw it was a
mangy Coyote, eras down, mouth wide open panting, and frothing. I beat feet down off the hill, found Dad's safe keys, grabbed his little 92 and a handful of rounds and headed back up. He was still hanging
around so I put him out of his misery, used the loader to dig a hole, and no more rabid Coyote.

As usual, ya never have one when ya need one!

On some tractors, I use a leather scabbard (as Dad did), some have a gun rack mounted to the ROPS and sometimes I simply holstered pistol on me. In my younger days when my eye site was better than 20/20, I carried a 44 magnum S&W model 29 (Dirty Harry gun). It worked well back then. But with diminishing depth of field, I find a 12 ga shotgun loaded with 3 00 buck seems to do the trick most of the time. My latest varmint rifle is a S&W M&P15-22 with thermal scope. It is fairly compact & light weight, magazine feed (10 or 25 rounds), with a removable flash hider which makes it suppressor ready. And with the Picatinny rail you can add the optics of your choice. So far my long varmint shot with that rifle is 150 yards at night.
BTW I am always prepared when I am in the field for a rabid critter. Sometimes better equipped but always prepared.

im cheep.but i carry a heritige arms 12 barrel .22 magnum pistol
easy to manuver and accurate for cheep firepower. i took my .22 rifle out of my pickup due to the pistol so much easier to maneuver

I carry a 9mm pistol in a zip up case beside my seat.dont have wild hogs hear but do have coyotes.i live in a remote area no neighbors for a couple miles I mainly carry it for self protection.

No rifle but I keep a .22 revolver in the tool box. Usually has rat shot for snakes but there are a few regular rounds in a film canister container.

Th e guys on the dairy farm near where I grew up carry a shotgun with bear slugs in the chopper cab.

I keep a cheap little single shot cricket in the cab of my chore tractor.

Rugger 223/556 with a small scope keep it in RTVs or tractor when I am anywhere out here. Coyotes, mostly but ever now and then something else.

Ruger 10/22, with scope and laser

I have gun grabbers in all my cab equipment. Dual suction cups on the glass holds any rifle.
Depending on the field I'm in, over 100 acres Ill carry my 300 PRC. Smaller acreage I will typically carry my AR.
That is for hogs. I always have the odd lone coyote watching looking for an easy meal. If I see a group of coyotes, game on.

I have a Ruger .22 mag revolver that I carry in the tool box next to the seat mostly for woodchucks.

In my state it's illegal to shoot from off a vehicle while hunting. Maybe handicaps are allowed to, but that would be the only exception if there even is one.
Shooting from a vehicle is likely illegal in all states. And the word vehicle is not just limited to automobiles. ATV's, tractors, and pretty much anything motorized is considered a vehicle when it comes to a game wardens point of view.

I know your allowed to carry, and it's perfectly legal to step off the vehicle and then shoot. So your not really doing anything wrong unless you do fire from the driver's seat while in motion. That's when things get not right. And that's what you don't want a game warden to see you do.

I'd think you'd draw attention to yourself (if seen by game warden) if you was driving a tractor with rifle in plain veiw. Not many hunters use tractors for transportation. They pretty much all use automobiles and ATV's. So if a game warden sees you on a tractor with a gun, that's going to catch thier attention. An old school warden would probably just give you a talking to. But we don't really have any of those anymore. A new school warden won't give you that talking to. Just make a note of it, and then be putting you on the watch list. Move in for the kill when they see you crack off a shot from the driver's seat. Bust ya when they can wright tickets and confiscate guns. And yes, that's what the newbie wardens would do. Wait for the big day and the big bust.

Just thinking out loud.

I ussually don't carry when on tractors. But am ussually less than a mile away from my guns when I am on my tractors. If I seen something that needed put out of its misery, it wouldn't take me long to leave for arms and come back.

Also necessary in some areas of the US where highwaymen have now moved from the main roads to country lanes and hay & grain fields. Times are tough for them too remember ..... lyrics below from the song.

I was a highwayman
Along the coach roads I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
The b------s hung me in the spring of '25
But I am still alive

.357 revolver in the tool box next to the seat. Coyotes and woodchucks. So far.

What do you do for ear protection? Even firing 38 special in my 357 is too much for my ears.

Someone mentioned not legal to hunt off vehicles. I see hog hunting out of copters on YouTube all the time. Must be legal.

reminds me of one of my Dad's friends, back in the 1980s. He was taking a load of manure out his driveway, when he saw a nice buck up on the sidehill across the road. Stopped the 756, opened the cab door, and shot. From the cab. Across the state road. Just as a game warden came by. It wasn't a happy time.

Any time I'm driving a tractor, I've got hearing protection on. I developed tinnitus from tractors and chain saws a long time ago. So I got in the habit of wearing ear muff type protection. Once I found out about the ones with a built-in radio I was hooked. I probably should mention that all my tractors are open station, no sound proof cabs.

Your allowed to carry on your property whether your walking, driving or riding. That is if firearms are legal in your area.
I dont think any of the posters are hunting, just keeping an eye out for pests. Coyote, pig and some others are not protected and are open all year in most states. I know a guy in Florida that keeps a gun on his tractor for pythons and gets a bounty for each one.

I see what your saying.

My point wasn't really about whether or not one was hunting. But rather, if seen on a tractor with a gun, it would likely be presumed by the veiwer that the driver had hunting intentions if the opportunity arose to shoot something in season.

Although some stuff like coyotes may have year round open season on them, the method of harvest is still controlled. I don't know of anyplace where its actually legal to shoot from a moving vehicle. Maybe not enforced on a land owner on private property, but you sure wouldn't want to get caught doing that anywhere else. Definately not on government ground. That'd be a big no no.

And it's definately illegal to shoot from or across a public roadway.

Anyways, carrying is one thing. Putting firearms to use is another. And one should be carefull when combining firearms with motor vehicles. Because use becomes way more restricted when from a vehicle. Your rights there, are pretty much reduced to carry only and nothing more.