Thread: Half cock or safety

Originally Posted by Stump

why has no one mentioned the push feed actions not latching onto cartridge rim until bolt is full closed, many have been caught out when clearing a push feed style action and round is still up the spout.
M77 3 position safeties imo is about as good as them come.

I know of a gun shop manager getting caught out in a somewhat similar
manner.
Customer brought in rifle saying his bolt had a problem, had bolt in one hand and rifle in the other.
Manager got hold of both items, checked mag was empty, put bolt back in rifle and worked the bolt several times then closed it and pulled the trigger-BANG!

Bullet through roof.
Customer said “I forgot to say it doesn’t extract, that’s the problem”

Manager now does pinkie up the chamber first thing when firearm is brought into gun shop.

Originally Posted by Stump

why has no one mentioned the push feed actions not latching onto cartridge rim until bolt is full closed, many have been caught out when clearing a push feed style action and round is still up the spout.
M77 3 position safeties imo is about as good as them come.

Very good point. This caught me out when I changed from using a Mauser 98 to a Tikka T3x, it only happened once and now I Close the bolt completely before going back to a 1/2 open position. Familiarity with the particular rifle you are using is very important.

Originally Posted by Stump

why has no one mentioned the push feed actions not latching onto cartridge rim until bolt is full closed, many have been caught out when clearing a push feed style action and round is still up the spout.
M77 3 position safeties imo is about as good as them come.

Got to page 3 of this thread wondering why no one else had mentioned this then saw this post. All 4 tikka's I own do this. Walking around with the bolt half closed is an accident waiting to happen. ( I dont mean on half cock, I mean with the bolt half closed....there is a difference!......)
My standard is , if more than one, lead has one in the chamber with safety on, all other hunters have an empty chamber. If hunting by myself, depending on the terrain its either bolt closed on an empty chamber or loaded with the safety on....

I have found however that the most foolproof method is to have the bolt in my pack, empty mag in one pocket, live rounds in another pocket and the rifle slung over my shoulder......the benefits are that the rifle is completely safe, both hands are free, and I get to see more deer in a shootable position at close range.......the deer I see under these circumstances are always grateful as they run away.

Half cock with safety on. You can physically feel that’s it’s still safe without having to check checking that that you’ve knocked the safety on or not. If you can accidentally knock your bolt back without knowing you’ll accidentally knock your safety off without knowing also to easy for a stick or bush to get caught on trigger.
I’ve done a lot of bush hunting and can’t recall ever thinking ‘ if only my bolt was down I would have got that deer’ if deer has gone before you’ve got the bolt down there’s no way you were going to get a good clear shot any way.

Might not be the best but my method (when bush hunting) is:

Nothing in the spout while just moving through areas.
If I come across great sign or an area that I think potentially may hold animals I will put one in the spout and have the safety on.
I slow right down and hunt that area - if no luck - remove the round and back into the mag.
If the footing is poor or I think there's a chance I may slip while moving I remove the round.
I end up cycling the round in an out of the rifle a bunch during the day.

My chamber is always empty until i'm ready to shoot, the bolt in the gun with the firing pin "out" - so it can visibly be seen that the gun is not in a ready to fire state (Rem700)

Goodness me, this one again...

I'll say what I said last time. After many years of what I called "half cock" which I accept could very well be "half open", I now operate with bolt fully closed and safety on. I had to change a lifetime's habit after I had one howa that would pop open constantly going click- clack, followed by another that would bump closed.

Regardless of method, I only have one up the spout when hunting alone AND expect to see a deer. Rifle will be unloaded at all other times.

Saw a guy turn a whiter shade of pale once, his service Beretta 92 was taken from him in a scuffle. He carried 15+1 with the safety engaged.

Originally Posted by outlander

Saw a guy turn a whiter shade of pale once, his service Beretta 92 was taken from him in a scuffle. He carried 15+1 with the safety engaged.

Reckon we're talking about deer hunting tho innit?

Originally Posted by HarryMax

Reckon we're talking about deer hunting tho innit?

Funny that, read on here that someone saw a gun shop manager shoot the roof of his shop. Still reckon safety catches and deer are synonymous?

Some of you are still confusing half open bolt with half cock: they are 2 completely different scenarios.

A half open bolt is when the cartridge is half way into the chamber, so the bolt needs to be fully closed before the shot can be taken. If your trigger hand holds the pistol grip immediately behind the rear of the bolt, the bolt can't slide back and cause the round to drop out.

Re manufacturers not producing safety catches if they were faulty, I'm sure they all leave the factory in good working condition. But a safety catch is a mechanical device, and ANY mechanical device can fail or malfunction, through age, misuse, or wear.

Originally Posted by Ranger 888

....................................Re manufacturers not producing safety catches if they were faulty, I'm sure they all leave the factory in good working condition. But a safety catch is a mechanical device, and ANY mechanical device can fail or malfunction, through age, misuse, or wear.

Wow! Never thought of that............Just put 2 bricks in my new Jeep Cherokee so that when I park it on a hill and engage the hand brake, I can put them in front/behind the wheels.......

Originally Posted by Allgood

Wow! Never thought of that............Just put 2 bricks in my new Jeep Cherokee so that when I park it on a hill and engage the hand brake, I can put them in front/behind the wheels.......

Allgood, a mate recently bought a brand new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from a major Mitsi dealer.. Two weeks later the gearbox shat itself. Hang on to your 2 bricks....

Originally Posted by Ranger 888

Allgood, a mate recently bought a brand new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from a major Mitsi dealer.. Two weeks later the gearbox shat itself. Hang on to your 2 bricks....

Thats the HEV end again haha. Bloody EV's - won't even let a good petrol ICE do it's thing!

Even if safety systems failed over time they would get sued.