Well, I wasn't addressing the issue of two-legged predators so if you have to worry about them, the rules change.

Nevertheless, even if human predators are a concern, I would look at the following:

1. A human predator, unlike a bear, is going to appreciate the significance of a firearm. A bear is probably far more frightened of the sound of my voice than of any firearm I might be carrying. A human is not going to be frightened by the sound of me reciting bawdy limericks, but is likely to think twice about attacking me if I'm carrying a rifle.

2. A human predator is either going to be deterred by the fact that you're carrying a firearm, or is going to try to take you by surprise. Either way, whether the gun has a live round in the chamber is likely to be irrelevant, unless you're aware of the predator's presence and have taken precautions. (Cops don't usually patrol with a loaded gun in their hands; they only draw their weapons when responding to a call, and not always even then.)

3. I'm personally far more worried about some colour-blind yahoo who thinks I'm a bright pink moose wearing eyeglasses than I am about someone who wants to steal my wallet and backpack. (I realise that in the US and parts of British Columbia, there is a higher probability of blundering into some back-country marijuana-growing operation owned by some trigger-happy paranoiac. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> ) I've known many responsible hunters, and at least one incredibly irresponsible one (a guy I knew in the army, who bragged about shooting rabbits from a moving car on a public highway). I have no control over whether someone else is an idiot or not; the best I can hope to do is avoid being in the woods with them. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

As far as shooting the squirrel goes, I would question whether the .5 or so seconds saved by having a live round in the chamber would counterbalance the inconvenience of picking #9 shot out of my kneecap should something go wrong ..... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Polar bears, of course, would be a different matter again, as they apparently do consider humans to be a legitimate food source <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Perhaps the greatest irony is that the most dangerous bears of all, the ones who have been hand-fed by European and Japanese tourists (apologies to any European or Japanese tourists reading this), are most likely to be encountered in National Parks, where of course carrying a loaded firearm is not a legitimate option. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />