Thread: How do you carry your rifle?

Pretty much if its not a old 303(cock on closing) half cock as its called(but isnt) is not a safe option.

hunting in pairs not on point rifle accross my back no round in the chamber,in front or by myself round in chamber safty on.every 20m or so i check safty is on with the digit.A mate had his rifle (sako) on half cock going thru some leather wood got to a slip no bolt.He could have done it wrong but hes got a rifle sitting in his safe for a long time.

empty on closed bolt, safety on

If hunting short distance to a animal, chambered with safety on

Empty - closed bolt, safety on.

Find some sign chamber a round, safety back on

Need to get some work done on the rifle though, Tikka T3 have a crap half cock (well pretty much none at all) as i dont like to have a round up the spout with the safety on.

I always try and have a quick safety run through with people I hunt with - new or experienced. Not all rifles are the same (like i dont have a reasnoble half cock) and I feel happier knowing they understand what I am handing them is in a 'safe' state

Originally Posted by faregame

empty on closed bolt, safety on

If hunting short distance to a animal, chambered with safety on

+1

With safety on the bolt handle can't be lifted. Very low change of bolt going west.

If on my own or in front, 1 up the spout and safety on.
If behind mate, empty.
Sling in the day bag until needed

Half cock when on my own, sub conciously always checking bolt.

Loaded, Safety on, But only while hunting. Never on tracks ETC or within 200m of huts. Have lost some deer that way but beta safe than sorry.

OH And I check my safety at least every 1/2 hour by pointing in safe direction and giving trigger a squeeze, Even if it scars all the deer away I would rather know I have an unsafe gun than have a twig let it off.

Originally Posted by irgnz

OH And I check my safety at least every 1/2 hour by pointing in safe direction and giving trigger a squeeze, Even if it scars all the deer away I would rather know I have an unsafe gun than have a twig let it off.

May I suggest if you want to check your safety by pulling the trigger you do it on an empty chamber!

On a modern well maintained gun pulling the trigger every half hour to see if it will go off is unnecessary, foolish & a poor habit. If you are that concerned about the safety then carry it empty!

Originally Posted by Tussock

The savage F-Class James has says "close bolt gently to avoid slam fire" on it.

If you closed the bolt quickly it would go off.

I wonder how many rifles, if the bolt got dropped or fallen on in half bolt, and closed violently, would go off?

I think this is why they won't sell target accutrigger parts. Be interesting to test out.

Interesting that they give that warning, from every account I've read what actually happens with the target accutrigger is not firing on fast bolt closing, it disengages the trigger so you have to raise and lower bolt again before it will fire.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Half cock is not really a thing any more as most rifles these days cock on opening. therefore your half open bolt is fully cocked and could fire just by pulling the trigger on some rifles.

Tested all of mine at various times (Ruger and Savages) and none ever fired from pulled trigger on half cock - they all dropped the bolt closed and I had to raise and lower bolt before it would fire. Any idea which guns actually do fire from half cock?

Personally my status varies with increasing closeness to animal as follows:

Bolt closed and locked+safe on empty chamber.
Round chambered, bolt locked+safe in open or halfcock position.
Safety off, half cock.
Bolt goes down just before taking the shot.

I make the halfcock the last stage rather than the safety as closing the bolt is quieter than the safety.

Originally Posted by Tussock

It's not that bad. It does sound a bit extreme but if your selecting a safe firing zone, it's a safe discharge in an area where it's fine to fire a rifle.

No harm done. If your routine was to do it regularly, when hunting, I think your more likely to do it that way, than all the racket and rigmarole of unloading to check. Unloading to check your safety is something you would put off in the rain, when an action full of water might be what causes the trouble.

I approve. After all, the safety will work, and an actual discharge would be a rarity. The issue is, as always where you point it.

Tussock you have just opened up a firearm safety section and your advocating its a safe & acceptable practise to wander around in the bush squeezing the trigger ever half hour (in a safe direction) so see if your safety actually works? The issue is that habits like that become learned behaviour & one day when he's tired, dehydrated, etc the safety will actually be off.

If you want to check your safety, do it before a hunt on an empty chamber.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Bush= generally chamber empty until i find fresh sign or know im coming up on a nice spot then il chamber a round close the bolt and open it fully(not half closed) then go into creeping Jesus mode, carrying like this with your hand around the bolt(to stop it sliding back and dropping the round) Is for me comfortable and natural, quick and silent to close.If I have to go threw a thick bit or round a bluff ect that round goes back in the mag check empty on closing and close with finger on trigger(so the bolt is harder to lift if caught on shit)I'm not saying dont use your pre tested safety its just how I was taught and is natural for me.Open country =empty camber until ready to fire.

+1 I'm exactly the same . Not saying our method is the best or safest but i am surprised how many people rely on safety .

Well I'm going to buck the trend, I have always carried a live round with a dead bolt. I think it is safer than having a cocked firing pin behind a live round like with the "half cock" method. The amount of shock needed to make the firing pin retract in the bolt and slam forward and initiate the primer would be huge. I have never had a problem and I think alot of people just have it in their head it is unsafe, I would think it is safer than half cock especially when rifle is dropped.

Or I carry actioned with safety on, as I believe the manufactures know how to make a safety better than us.

However if I am behind anyone I always have my rifle in the loaded state, not actioned.

If you observe the first rules of firearm safety and "treat every firearm as loaded" and "always point your firearm in a safe direction" then using the safety is no problem. Obviously rifle should be unloaded whenever negotiating an obstacle.
Having said that I have seen some terrible gun manners (even from one of the hosts of our outdoor tv shows!), could these be due to some of the safety tips taught that they believe their rifles are unloaded and thus "safe" and ok to wave their muzzle around? Just a thought!