Loading with the safety on;

moses

Well-Known Member
I was talking to a chap last week and we were discussing various makes of rifle;

Sako, Sauer, Tikka etc....

He was saying that he would never consider buying one of these or any brand of rifle that you could not load with the safety catch engaged.

In all honesty it has never occurred to me to try and load my rifle with the safety on, whenever I load the rifle before stalking the muzzle is always pointed into the ground and as the round is chambered and the bolt goes down I apply the safety.
If I'm reloading after a shot then obviously the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction (as I would not have shot otherwise) and the safety is also applied if a quick follow up is not needed and I'm just covering the beast.

I was just curious as to who else loads with the safety on or if it is posssible in the rifle they use.

I should mention that my rifle is a Sako 75 action and when I unload I do it the saftey on.

All the best
Moses
 
I use a 75 myself and need to un-safe it to work the bolt.

I couldn't give a monkeys though, if I had the option of loading with safety engaged,,who cares. load it, lock it - job done, it's second nature. Only a beginner might make the mistake of loading a round and not putting the safety on IMHO.

what is supposed to happen, you close the bolt on a round with the safety off, and accidentally squeese the trigger before you would otherwise have put the safety on...don't get the problem
 
I too own Sako 75's and can they all can be both loaded and unloaded with the safety catch applied as can every other Sako 75 and 85 I have ever handled.

so am a bit confused by the comments that they cannot be loaded and unloaded without taking the safety off
 
Odd! when my safety is on I can't move the bolt handle..hmm..

I have the type where you can lock the bolt with a key...
 
I too own Sako 75's and can they all can be both loaded and unloaded with the safety catch applied as can every other Sako 75 and 85 I have ever handled.

so am a bit confused by the comments that they cannot be loaded and unloaded without taking the safety off

J. Spot on. I just push the small square lever in front of the safety catch and raise the bolt handle. I did have to demo this to someone at a Best Practice day. Regards JCS
 
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I have a Sauer 202 which locks the bolt when the safety is on and therefore needs to be off to load or reload.

I also have a Mannlicher Pro Hunter which can be loaded and unloaded with the safety on.

With both rifles I always point the rifle in a safe direction when loading or unloading.

Mulac
 
Loading with the safety catch on is a bit "belt and braces".

Does he wear 2 condoms when getting his leg over?
 
The safety is in principle the usual on/off type. When engaged (rear position),
the safety also locks the bolt handle in the closed position. In the forward position
the safety is “Off”, which is indicated by the red warning dot (E). If the rifle
is also cocked, the red cocking indicator (F) is visible behind the bolt shroud. The
red dot on the key knob (H) is also visible if the rifle is provided with the KEY
CONCEPT® safety locking system. The rifle is then READY TO FIRE.
For safety reasons, the safety is provided with a button (G) that you can push to
open the bolt, for example, to load or unload the rifle while the safety is engaged.
 
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I have always loaded with the safety on, as I lift the bolt and draw it back I take the safety back to on. Just been taught that way and will always. I think its good and it suits me. So long as you have a habit formed it doesn't matter to much. Saying that I have had a client load the rifle with his little finger on the trigger and it gave us both a scare. A safety should never prevail over safe gun handling so it makes no odds apart from silly errors such as I said.

I do think though, that the sprung safety on a sako is the wrong way, it seems to spring forward but needs significant pressure to put on? Why so and is it changeable?
 
The stalkers that really scare me are the Blaser owners who are adamant that it is perfectly safe to have a chambered round in any situation such as in the car footwell as a Blaser safety system means the rfile can never go off.
 
I have always loaded with the safety on, as I lift the bolt and draw it back I take the safety back to on. Just been taught that way and will always. I think its good and it suits me. So long as you have a habit formed it doesn't matter to much. Saying that I have had a client load the rifle with his little finger on the trigger and it gave us both a scare. A safety should never prevail over safe gun handling so it makes no odds apart from silly errors such as I said.

I do think though, that the sprung safety on a sako is the wrong way, it seems to spring forward but needs significant pressure to put on? Why so and is it changeable?

Depends on the Sako, safety on my A11 easy peasy, though you can't load it in the safe position, but it does not bother me.
 
I too own Sako 75's and can they all can be both loaded and unloaded with the safety catch applied as can every other Sako 75 and 85 I have ever handled.

so am a bit confused by the comments that they cannot be loaded and unloaded without taking the safety off

It's funny, i have never even thought about trying to load my 75 with the safety on.

I do use the lever by the saftey to unload with the saftey on but never to load it, didn't even think about trying to; isn't it a bit fiddly?

Does anyone else with a Sako ever use this function?

Atb
Moses
 
It's funny, i have never even thought about trying to load my 75 with the safety on.

I do use the lever by the saftey to unload with the saftey on but never to load it, didn't even think about trying to; isn't it a bit fiddly?

Does anyone else with a Sako ever use this function?

Atb
Moses

I use it all the time it's easier and safer than using the safety catch. You can push the little square button as you lift the bolt with one hand and then when you close the bolt when loading the safety is still/already on.
It means the safety catch only comes off when you want to take as shot.
I think it is a good idea as i believe there is a statistic somewhere that most accidental/negligent (don't start up about that!) discharges happen whilst loading and unloading.

I constantly check the safety whilst stalking anyway.
 
I was always taught with any weapon that a safety catch should be used but never relied on which means that when i am loading or unloading my rifle is always pointing in a safe direction anyway so irrelevent whether the rifle has a safe unload function anyway but i have rifles with both and do use it on the ones that have it
 
+ 1 with liongeorge on this one.
Always use the button. It just becomes 2nd nature, then just flick safety off when ready.

Nick.
 
I too have a sako 75 syn SS and always load with safety on. On my model there is a small plate in front of the safety which you depress to cycle the bolt. I also have a mannlicher pro hunter which I believe has the best safety system which allows loading again with safety on and almost impossible to inadvertently knock the safety off.
 
Yes Fraser i use a Mk11 in 223 for foxing etc, i have chopped the barrel and restocked it but the main thing i like for the jeep at night is the safety, secondly the scope mounting system is rock solid.
 
Had no idea about this sako 75 feature:eek: will check it out next time I get it out of the cabinet:) ..learn something new every day I guess.
 
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