Recently bought a speargun - thought this may be worth posting

[Hank49]

In which occasions is it acceptable to carry a firearm loaded and cocked? Except at the range in front of the targets, or at the stand?

Hunting. When hunting bobwhite quail, pheasant etc, your shotgun is on safety with a shell in the chamber and two in the magazine. The extra second it would take get a shell in the chamber of even a pump shotgun would get most birds out of range before you could fire. From the sound of the wings, to out of range is usually less than three seconds.