Best ways to Hold Your Gun/Bow When Riding a Bike
As a hunting enthusiast, you probably need to find a way to carry your gun/bow when you’re riding a bike, or when it’s not in use.
Not only that, but you should also be able to draw your weapon quickly when you have to, in case you saw prey and you need to act quickly.
We’ll give you some great ideas that you can try on your next hunting journey!
Three Ways to Carry Your Gun/Bow When Riding a Bike
Here are a few ways to carry your gun/bow when going on a hunting trip.
Carrying the Gun/Bow Directly on Your Back
The most basic way to carry your gun/bow is to strap it to your back. The first thing to do is to make sure that the weapon fits your height for the gun/bow to rest comfortably on your back.
You also have to be aware of the fact that the wilderness is filled with bushes and you’ll be walking into them. This is exactly why it’s so important for you to be stealthy and quick.
You can opt for a back sling that can be adjusted to the length of your weapon; if you want to comfortably carry it on your back with little to no interference.
- The most important thing to do is to measure the length of your weapon in inches. Take a measurement from your chest to your fingertips, with your arm fully extended outwards.
Record the measurement and add an inch to it. These two measurements are how long your weapon and sling are supposed to be.
- This is a step that’s often overlooked by many people but it’s crucial. The weapon and sling must fit properly to your height. This will make carrying the weapon much more comfortable, instead of it bouncing all the time.
- Put the sling over your back and under your shoulder. This way, the weapon will rest on your back at an angle to prevent it from colliding with tree branches.
- If your weapon is a bow, make sure the bowstring won’t slip and hurt your neck or throat. Snug it well and it should comfortably rest on your back.
Make sure the sling isn’t affecting your mobility. You need to have the ability to move freely in all directions. This is your cue that you’ve done everything right.
- Before you head to the forest for a hunting trip, you have to practice first to make sure you’re well prepared. Try walking back and forth, and see if your weapon stays in place and isn’t bouncing or slipping off your shoulder.
After making sure your weapon stays in place, you’re now ready to hunt.
Attaching the Gun/Bow to Your Backpack
If you take a backpack with you when you go hunting (and you probably should), you can attach the gun/bow to the backpack.
The main problem with attaching a weapon to your backpack is the length of the weapon.
Most shotguns and rifles will be quite long. Bows aren’t usually short either. This makes strapping the weapon to your backpack the same way you would with shoes much harder.
Usually, if you want to strap a heavy object to the side of your backpack, you would have to place the end of the object in the side pocket and hold it in place by using the straps on the sides.
As you probably guessed, doing this with a bow or a rifle would be quite impractical. The weapon would go several feet above your head. This would make it hard for you to move into the forest.
An easy solution is to attach the lower end of the rifle or bow below the backpack. That would make up for the length of the weapon as it would be centered and balanced in a better way on the side of the pack. You can achieve this just by using an over the shoulder sling.
Using an ATV Gun Rack
Another way to carry around your bow/gun when hunting is to use a gun rack that’s made for ATVs. Even though these gun racks aren’t really made for bikes, you can mount them on your two-wheeler too.
ATV FlexGrip Pro is a good option to consider. It consists of two pairs of rubber-coated pincers, where a hinged jaw of each pair is joined to the other pair’s hinged jaw by means of a black rubber bungee strap.
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A fabric strap on the other side of the ATV FlexGrip Pro rack is used to open the pincers, and then you insert your rifle, shotgun, box, or crossbow. After that, release the strap, and the pincers will close on the object and hold it tightly.
To lift your gun off the rack, pull the strap again. That’ll open the pincers and release your weapon off. What’s really cool about using the ATV TEK FlexGrip Pro rack is that there are no velcro straps to deal with.
Wrap Up
We’ve given you some pretty good ideas that you can use to carry your gun/bow with you when you go hunting on a bike.
A gun rack is probably the most convenient way to carry around your weapon on a bike. The Gator Gripp gun rack seems to be a good candidate for this job.
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If you can’t afford a gun rack, or if you find it unnecessary, then just sling your weapon on your back.
Attaching it to your backpack is another great solution if you carry your backpack with you most of the time. You can make use of all these techniques combined depending on your trip’s time and conditions.
Try out these methods and choose the one that you feel most comfortable with!