Thread: One up the spout

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

So far there is no conclusive answer to my question 'can the rifle fire with the striker in contact with the primer but without any blow to the cocking piece'
There is a pretty unanimous conclusion that this is not safe or no safer than round chambered and safety on.

Just to clear up this term 'Half cock', with a cock on opening action, as soon as the bolt is lifted the action is 'cocked'. The bolt body is rotated relative to the cocking piece to the cocked position. There is a 'Half open bolt position' as the cocking piece catches in its rotation, some actions having an indent for this. On a 'cock on open' action there is no 'Half cock' position.
If anyone is having trouble with noise chambering a round, try the following: Right handed shooter, bring the fingers of the left hand around the underside of the action until they can apply slight pressure to the case and ride it as the bolt pushes it forward to the chamber. Some actions are noisier than others and some are more difficult to get at like T3's, the quietest are Mauser type actions ( positive feed).

Greetings @Moa Hunter,
To be clear I am not getting at you over this but the position you describe, with the round almost fully chambered and the bolt fully forward and a little down is NOT the half open bolt position talked about in the Arms Code and to my mind, at least, is unsafe with failures mentioned in the other posts. The Arms Code says as much without coming right out and being clear. It states that if the half open bolt position is unstable with bolt handle raised and drawn half way back (as it is on most cock on opening actions) then the chamber should be carried empty. Not really an option for bush hunting.
Regards Grandpamac.