Thread: A word to the wise re safety!

Couple of things here.
First one was Finnwolf admitting to a whoops and learning from it.
Second is a combination of things
I was taught never to trust a safety as it is a mechanical device and can fail but therein lies the rub.
Always treat the firearm as loaded (especially if it is).
A safety is that last line of defence after you have loaded the firearm and in the case of stalking after an animal and think you are going to fire very soon
I do realise half bolts have had that distinction for years but it does come back to the 303 reference earlier
No one else in the world does this like us.
A half cock is obviously fine if designed properly but as we've seen it doesnt always work in the case of a whoops.
A safety also doesnt count in the case either as it could also be bumped just as easily.
Dont worry, had a couple of woops In close succession with a half notch on a lever action that had me that angry with myself it nearly got thrown out to sea (at stewart island). This was something I had done countless times with no incident and did it twice in two days. The second time was worse as I mistakenly thought I was being even more careful.

Thanks Finnwolf.

You need to know your own rifle.
Half open bolt is for SMLE.
For Sako I use the safety:
Close bolt in safe direction.
Apply safety (pull back)
Check bolt is locked closed.
Point rifle in safe direction and pull the trigger real hard.
This is a “previously tested safety catch”
Carry with safety on till I get back onto a track or fire it.
Recheck after crawling through thick scrub as Ive had it flick off twice and the gun was live.

For those with the three point Mauser style safeties on the bolt (e.g. Kimber), what do you guys use? I tend to hunt with an empty chamber these days or half cock if approaching a known animal then clear chamber if no shot taken.

Originally Posted by Bagheera

Thanks Finnwolf.

You need to know your own rifle.
Half open bolt is for SMLE.
For Sako I use the safety:
Close bolt in safe direction.
Apply safety (pull back)
Check bolt is locked closed.
Point rifle in safe direction and pull the trigger real hard.
This is a “previously tested safety catch”
Carry with safety on till I get back onto a track or fire it.
Recheck after crawling through thick scrub as Ive had it flick off twice and the gun was live.

Pretty much my approach when hunting by myself. Unload if I have an obstacle to negotiate (steep bank etc). I generally run an empty chamber when hunting with others unless there is a reason to be "on point".

mate bought a 6.5x55mm off this forum and that to runs with a cock on opening bolt like the SMLE so open bolt just as relavent... the old SMLE safety wasnt safe..it could be knocked and fire,WHY the WHOLE OPEN BOLT THING WAS STARTED AND ENDORSED..... I still use open bolt with modern bolt actions,Im a dinosaur but thats OK.
I put shotgun down 40 years ago,climbed through fence,picked up rabbit and looked back at shotgun,laying on ground pointed at me...lesson learnt-muzzle control.
the wee 7.62x39mm would close bolt if trigger pulled,but didnt fire,did cock ourselves up with it one day ,bolt closed and it didnt fire,but only happened the once,must have pulled trigger and it stayed off striker when bolt shut...that is the one and only issue Ive had in 40 years of using the system.
one day the method of altered safety/bolt that the Duleys do/did will be come standard...the safety altered so it will lock bolt open and unable to fire or move bolt.

I have had my tikka modded with the half cock safety lock which I think is the best of the options. the bolt is locked in half cock when safety is on and the chances of the safety letting go and simultaneously closing the bolt and pulling the trigger all by itself must be tiny .
And our levers are the marlins with half cock hammer and cross bar safety , which we use both at the same time - cant get much safer than that short of nothing in chamber .

Originally Posted by Kimber 7mm-08

For those with the three point Mauser style safeties on the bolt (e.g. Kimber), what do you guys use? I tend to hunt with an empty chamber these days or half cock if approaching a known animal then clear chamber if no shot taken.

Half cock with the web of my thumb on the bolt for my kimbers

Usually only when things start getting serious but my typical shot is 21m so things can hear you racking your noise maker

It’s not like I get out of my truck load a round half cock and throw it over my back and spend the day walking just when you expect to take a shot

The safety seems backwards on the Kimber for my preference and harder to notice (being non intuitive) than the big knob of a bolt that in up position is safe and down is fire


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Greetings all.
First thankyou to @Finnwolf for mentioning your experience. That and the discussion it has generated is helpful to everyone. I note that there are a number who still use the part open bolt with an extra of having the thumb over the bolt to stop it popping open and to check that it is still part open. No problem here. For the balance of us, especially newbys, to my mind the regularly tested safety catch is the safest option. While I was writing this I realised that I couldn't remember what the part open position on my two tikka rfles was like so out to the shed to check, not with a live round though. Turns out they were reasonably stable with one a bit better than the other. My future hunting is likely to be limited so I think I will still use the safety when close to game, only when of the track and with the sling stowed in my day pack. I also noticed that the Tikka safety locks the bolt like my old M700 .308, a plus to my mind.
To @Micky Duck I think that the improvement of the part open bolt for the NZ market was suggested to one of the big US makers, possibly Remington, but they were not interested. I don't expect any of them will be today either.
Regards Grandpamac.

Greetings again all,
After my last post I thought I should be really sure of what was currently in the Arms code about bolt actions. The code still talks of half open action where the cartridge is partly in the chamber and is basically what was in the code 50 plus years ago when many still had a .303 as their main hunting rifle. It is a reasonably convenient way to carry a cock on closing action with the firing spring stopping the bolt from going fully froward and your thumb stopping it from falling back. This position is nowhere near as convenient with a cock on opening action as most are these days. The position I call part open and others call half cock (it makes my skin crawl to actually type that) has the cartridge almost fully in the chamber with just a downward pressure on the bolt to have the rifle rady to fire as Finnwolf discovered. For firearms that can not use the half open bolt the arms code recomends the use of a previously tested safety catch and to my mind this applies to cock on opening bolt actions.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings again all,
After my last post I thought I should be really sure of what was currently in the Arms code about bolt actions. The code still talks of half open action where the cartridge is partly in the chamber and is basically what was in the code 50 plus years ago when many still had a .303 as their main hunting rifle. It is a reasonably convenient way to carry a cock on closing action with the firing spring stopping the bolt from going fully froward and your thumb stopping it from falling back. This position is nowhere near as convenient with a cock on opening action as most are these days. The position I call part open and others call half cock (it makes my skin crawl to actually type that) has the cartridge almost fully in the chamber with just a downward pressure on the bolt to have the rifle rady to fire as Finnwolf discovered. For firearms that can not use the half open bolt the arms code recomends the use of a previously tested safety catch and to my mind this applies to cock on opening bolt actions.
Regards Grandpamac.

Agreed, outdated, generational and an inherently ‘kiwi’ approach that in my opinion is now not best practice.
A good discussion piece.
In my 20s I took a fall and thanked my lucky stars the bolt was closed on an empty chamber as I cartwheeled with the muzzle lodged in my groin. It hurt like hell but was quite aware of the consequences for my pelvis and major blood vessels.