How safe is a "safety"

[VSS]

So okay now that the old safety catch puzzle enigma mystery question has been well put to bed(ish) what about when you are crossing ditches/fences/walls etc?

Or climbing highseats?
I always climb highseats with an open bolt, whether the rifle has rounds in the mag or not. That way, there can be absolutely no doubt.
Other obstacles, it depends whether it's just a casual step over, or a full-on scramble. I don't climb fences or walls. As a landowner myself, I get really hacked off with people climbing my fences and walls, and am generally not polite to them.

 

[enfieldspares]

I grew up as a kid in the 1960s always carrying what you were using a BSA Meteor, BSA Airsporter or bolt action Webley Garden gun in .22RF or 9mmRF loaded. So muzzle awareness was the foremost "safety device" I've grown up with

 

[Pkiernan]

Owners of Blaser rifles actually believe or are brain washed into believing the hype that they have a safe rifle. What happens to often is after shooting an animal the rifle of course get's a second round chambered... just in case. In this moment the rifle is cocked, there is no safety and the hunter is occupied following his running animal ... handling the rifle in the fire condition. This seems to be a big issue with Blaser shooters according my my friend in Germany who runs a hunting school.
One gripe I have is the ultra lightly adjusted triggers on hunting rifles, some seem to really need a 2oz benchrest trigger on Betsy.

edi

Luckily Blaser owners tend to be that bit smarter than common rifler shooters!

Out of interest what deer rifles auto engage safetys after a shot is fired?

 

[Alantoo]

So okay now that the old safety catch puzzle enigma mystery question has been well put to bed(ish) what about when you are crossing ditches/fences/walls etc?

Rifle on my shoulder always has an empty chamber. When out with another, always check and show empty.

 

[Foxyboy43]

Rifle on my shoulder always has an empty chamber. When out with another, always check and show empty.

Indeed - what I used to know as “proving” the rifle was safe. The mark of a safe shot and dare I say it a gentleman.

 

[norcan]

Load magazine.
Close bolt on empty chamber.
Engage safety.

 

[HonestJohn]

Load magazine.
Close bolt on empty chamber.
Engage safety.

and a summer roe buck steps out 20 yds from you on a quiet evening, good luck

last chap I brought stalking, I got him into 40yds of a buck, thinking he was getting ready onto sticks I next heard the click/clack of a round being chambered. at that moment I remembered he had insisted on stalking with an empty chamber of course, despite me saying I recommended one loaded. of course, buck lifts head and runs off.

good luck to the muzzle loaders too FWIW, let's hope the deer are fast asleep and not moving for several minutes!

Oh, and the double rifles, break-barrels, etc. do you stalk with an empty set of barrels? don't know anyone that does!

just saying.

 

[baguio]

I can only think that those of you who carry unloaded either shoot very few deer or only shoot long range deer. You can’t rely on a safety catch but you certainly can rely on muzzle awareness. An ND doesn’t have to be dangerous if you know where the bullet is going to end up at any time, should the rifle go off. Another reason to carry muzzle down. I’m deer stalking to shoot deer, not to teach deer as to what a rifle being loaded sounds like.

 

[norcan]

and a summer roe buck steps out 20 yds from you on a quiet evening, good luck

Well, I guess he lives another day.
I dont need the meat, and I dont need to endanger myself or hunting partners because of it.

There is a difference walking around getting to position... and on the other hand knowing where an animal is.
In one you are focused on getting somewhere.... empty chamber.
In the other, you are focused on an animal you know are there... round in chamber.

Sitting in a hide: round in chamber
Standing on post waiting for game: round in chamber
Focused on an animal: round in chamber

Walking to the hide: empty chamber
Crawling through fields to get a better position: empty chamber


Stalking with break barrels.. never done it.
But its quite easy walking with them open, and closing them before shot.
Very quiet as well.

 

[njc110381]

I'll happily carry a loaded rifle when I feel that I'll likely miss a chance of a shot if I don't, and when it's relatively safe to do so. Generally, in the woods my rifle is loaded, on the hill it isn't. My muzzle awareness is my safety. The chances of my rifle going off whilst carried muzzle up are slim, and the chances of that bullet hitting something as it comes back down if that happens are also slim. I'm more likely to run someone over on the drive home.

If I'm following a guide on the hill and I trip, he's just there in front of me. That changes everything, the rifle is never loaded.

The safety catch means nothing. I put it on, but I would never rely on it.

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

So okay now that the old safety catch puzzle enigma mystery question has been well put to bed(ish) what about when you are crossing ditches/fences/walls etc?

If you again have a ruger, you lift the bolt, put the safety back on and away you go!

Once crossed, said obstacle, push safety off, drop bolt, put safety back on and off your pop!

And yes, for those who like chucking rifles about, I have dropped it, and knocked it, dropped in a ditch full of water etc, and it’s not gone off yet!

One of the cheapest, most unfashionable bombproof built actions known to man, buy a Ruger they will bury you with the bloody thing!

 

[User00040]

No matter how 'safe' a rifle is designed to be, there will always be a better idiot around.

Darwin can deal with them

 

[Dunwaters]

If you're in the habit of walking with one up the spout try doing an unloaded drop test on your rifle and see how you get on.

If you can’t be trusted to carry a firearm without dropping it, you shouldn’t carry one.

 

[HonestJohn]

If you can’t be trusted to carry a firearm without dropping it, you shouldn’t carry one.

To above: it can happen, usually because of sling studs pulling out of wooden stocks.

Spix said:
If you're in the habit of walking with one up the spout try doing an unloaded drop test on your rifle and see how you get on.

To above: doing a slam and drop test should be standard for anyone with a rifle as a matter of course a few times a year when doing servicing/cleaning/tightening of screws, cleaning gunk, blowing out the trigger/safety/etc. - never had a rifle that fired upon these tests being conducted correctly.

 

[Spix]

Disappointing you view is blinkerd to only one discipline....Do you sit waiting for teal/pigeons with empty chambers or should I ask you that in the Other Shooting and Keepering section.

Laughable, honestly.

My point was only on value of the drop test specific to rifle safety , nothing to do with crunchers with spaniels

 

[Foxyboy43]

If you can’t be trusted to carry a firearm without dropping it, you shouldn’t carry one.

Wellllll. Not deerstalking or even rifle related but you might be surprised to see just how many very experienced chaps either drop their pistol or end up like a circus juggler (of death) when timed competitions are held. Precisely why I am always far too busy when Range Officers are sought….

 

[wabbit warren]

I'm ashamed to say that when mooching around for foxes, I always keep one up the spout. Its staggering how they can hear a bolt loading at 2oo yards on a still night. When going out with a mate, never walk hot.

i stopped a fox dead in its tracks a couple of years ago just by taking my safety off
i was in a high seat with a stiff wind blowing from me to the fox but it was at 130yds their hearing is so good
i always have one in the spout also but im always by myself when out foxing

 

[Dunwaters]

Assuming the thing is mechanically sound the following applies.
All firearms are dangerous, they’re designed that way.
Their most important safety component is the user.
The trigger is safety critical.
A firearm always discharges in the direction in which it is pointed. This is never mentioned as a safety consideration but it prevents a hell of a lot of accidental discharges from becoming accidents.
The purpose of the “safety” on a firearm is to insert an extra deliberate action into the firing sequence to reduce the incidence of accidental discharges which would otherwise occur if the safety were not fitted.

 

[VSS]

i stopped a fox dead in its tracks a couple of years ago just by taking my safety off
i was in a high seat with a stiff wind blowing from me to the fox but it was at 130yds their hearing is so good
i always have one in the spout also but im always by myself when out foxing

I may be misunderstanding your post, but are you saying that your gun fired on release of the safety catch (in which case I hope you got it checked out by a gunsmith), or simply that the sound of the catch caused the fox to pause (so not actually "dead" in its tracks) for long enough for you to get a shot off?

 

[Brno2e]

I may be misunderstanding your post, but are you saying that your gun fired on release of the safety catch (in which case I hope you got it checked out by a gunsmith), or simply that the sound of the catch caused the fox to pause (so not actually "dead" in its tracks) for long enough for you to get a shot off?

I would hope the Fox stopped when it heard the catch being released but not the shot that followed shortly after that dropped it.