Guess you've never bumped the gun on the way up and lost all the shells, or worse, had an accidental discharge.
I had an accidental discharge once...yeah, once!
I hunt with blind magazine style rifles and climb with the chamber empty and the action closed so there is no way for an accidental fire or for the shells to fall out. Again I regularly climb structural iron carrying welding lead, and other ridiculous amounts of things so Im kinda used to it.
don't like lowering a gun with the muzzle facing down I've gotten bbls full of dirt before, same with bow only like to lower enough to keep just off the ground
I wasn't thinking that you'd leave the gun or muzzle in contact with the ground. Same with the bow. If I'm using a climber, I make sure that I bring along an extra jacket or piece of burlap camo to lay on the ground under the gun/bow. If it's wet, then I tend to cheat a little and screw in a couple of small diameter rubber coated hooks into the tree to rest the gun or bow on. It's a little more tricky to get the gun or bow lowered down just right, but it can be done. Harbor Freight sells a set for like $5 that has several different sizes. I like the hooks that are more in an " |_______|---- " shape, as they leave more room to rest the gun on.
