Who else drops their bolt?

[Reloader708]

Always surprised to find lots of people store their rifles with the bolt in a cooked position.
So empty rifle, closed bolt cocked or open bolt in/out of the rifle but still with the firing spring under compression.
When I first started out I was shown how to drop the bolt (always onto an empty chamber) to release some of the compression in the spring or if storing the bolt out of the gun, how to decock it.
Just wondering if anyone else bothers or is it just a weird thing I do?

 

[User00040]

Corrosion is a much greater worry than creep from being left compressed over a period of time.

Do you release the shock absorbers on your vehicles when not in use?

 

[Woodsmoke]

Always ease the springs on mine. It's probably unnecessary, but I think it's a bit of a hangover from my armourer days

 

[Automan]

Never bothered I just take the bolt out and store it separately

 

[alberta boy]

I always decock CF bolt guns and lower the hammer on lever actions and pistols , springs will take a set eventually .

AB

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

Bolt left open in receiver
Fit more rifles in that way
Bit of air flow
Spiders can escape
Dont leave bolt behind

sorted

 

[Heym SR20]

I store bolts separately. On the Heym and Brno 22 I decock as easy enough to cock again. On Rigby and Remington leave them cocked as a pain to cock by hand.

Shotguns - I use snap caps to decock and store muzzle down.

 

[Muir]

Bolt stays with the gun. Always. ~Muir

 

[NP435]

I always decock CF bolt guns and lower the hammer on lever actions and pistols , springs will take a set eventually .

AB

Indeed sir I am with you. For those who wonder if I could rest my shocks on my small fleet of motor vehicles how does one do that other than removal?

 

[Reloader708]

Corrosion is a much greater worry than creep from being left compressed over a period of time.

Do you release the shock absorbers on your vehicles when not in use?

No, but I wouldn't leave my truck with a ton of logs in the back overnight. Plus it only takes a second to drop the bolt on a rifle, significantly harder to jack the weight off a vehicle every evening.

 

[Rhodesianjess]

Four rifles,bolt stored separately. All decocked,easy to do. If on estate,bolt in and dropped on empty chamber.
That's the way Dad taught us, I've noticed all my brothers still do the same routine.

 

[Border]

Shotgun and rifles stored with eased springs. Bolt in rifles.

 

[TH4]

Corrosion is a much greater worry than creep from being left compressed over a period of time.

Do you release the shock absorbers on your vehicles when not in use?

As soon as it stops moving there is no pressure in a shock absorber they are inert until they start to expand or compress.

 

[Kiwiguy]

Here in NZ we are required to lock our bolts away separately from the rifles. I always de-cock my CF and RF bolts before I lock them away. It is interesting that both my Sauer 202 and Weihrauch rifles were shipped with the bolts de-cocked. I have made wooden tools to de-cock and cock my bolts but can't work out how to insert a photo.

 

[bogtrotter]

Never have decocked , bolt is stored away from the rifle though it's easy enough to cock and decock I have never
bothered.
I own a forty year old rifle the bolt of which has always been stored cocked has never suffered any ill effects in that
time

 

[nun_hunter]

Magazine springs may be different but tests done by Glock and H&K show that repeated compression and expansion cause more damage and a reduction in effectiveness than being stored compressed. Most likely due to metal fatigue.

 

[Dave Lakes]

Magazine springs may be different but tests done by Glock and H&K show that repeated compression and expansion cause more damage and a reduction in effectiveness than being stored compressed. Most likely due to metal fatigue.

They will likely be a much lower quality spring in a magazine though, and for something like a 30 round magazine you’ll have a good 6 inches of travel

 

[gonzo]

HO guidance is to store bolts separatly, where practical. (That's a whole discussion thread in itself.)

But even then, some bolts will still be cocked when out of the gun, depending on the design. And decocking them by hand, out of the gun, may be a struggle, risk pinching yourself and possability of bits dropping out. (I have a couple where there are retaining pins that need the tension to stay in place when out of the gun.)

And rimfires differ from CF. If you can't decock gently, then firing a RF on an empty chamber is usually not advised. risking damage to the firing pin.

 

[John Gryphon]

My bolts stay with the rifles,i have previously used an empty case to fire the rifle off with but generally using the trigger methed I decock now.
Storing bolts away from the rifle is fraught with the danger of taking the rifle but not the bolt or at worst the wrong bolt.
There are many tales that I have heard/read of reporting this.

 

[hedge hunter]

I'm the same always de cock with the trigger