Thread: How to verify an airgun is unloaded ?

I was doing some range officering and had the job of checking people's guns were empty as they left the mound. Some were .22RF and some were a variety of air rifles.

With a precharge airgun, you can almost see the chamber but if a pellet is pushed a little way in you might not see it. In fact, I'm told the "bolt" pushes it a few mm down and you couldn't see it.

Then, the air tank is full and not emptied between sessions so if the bolt were closed again, it would be fully loaded ready to shoot.

So, the only way to unload an unshot pellet is to shoot it out.

Someone suggested a piece of weedeater line used like a plastic chamber flag.

Airgun ranges and field target shoots must deal with this all the time. Is there a best practice procedure that will verify all sorts of air weapons are safe to handle, transport, store ?