Do you actually use the safety in a bolt rifle? I don't.

[jjjjeremy]

Safety in different position would get me as well. I used to have the original Ruger M77 with tang safety, Remingtons, and a few Winchesters - my brain has to have consistency so I had to settle on just one action. Maybe I have some sort of antler induced brain damage, but I just have to keep things consistent. Lol

Maybe this is why I don't. Too many bolt guns with too many different safeties that can all be avoided by ensuring you have an empty chamber in the first place.

 

[Raghornklr]

I get that, but I can't put the safety on my bolt gun unless I have the rifle cocked. I don't put one in the chamber until the very last second, so I'd be cocking the rifle on an empty chamber for the sole purpose of engaging the safety on an empty chamber?

Do you walk around with your chamber open?

 

[cornfedkiller]

and let the firing pin down on an empty chamber

I usually run empty chamber with the firing pin lowered

When you guys say you let the firing pin down or its lowered, are you dry firing the rifle? If you chamber a round but then don't shoot, when you take that round out of the chamber, you are closing the bolt and then pulling the trigger?

Why?

 

[ElDiablito]

I always have a round chambered while hunting (I’m hunting - not going for a walk with a rifle!) and, yes, the safety is on.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I carry my rifle around with an empty chamber and on safe. If it's spot and stalk hunting I chamber a round when I'm ready to shoot. If it's treestand hunting out east, I chamber a round once I get into my treestand and then leave the safety on until ready to fire. Eastern whitetails would not tolerate me chambering a round before I shot.

 

[Jethro]

99% of hunting time I have a round chambered and safety on. East or West.

The 1%, which would be rifle strapped back on pack or rifle in gun bearer but I have others walking in front of me, I clear the chamber and still have safety on.

If I have rifle in gun bearer and I'm alone or am the lead person, round in chamber safety on.

 

[TaperPin]

I get that, but I can't put the safety on my bolt gun unless I have the rifle cocked. I don't put one in the chamber until the very last second, so I'd be cocking the rifle on an empty chamber for the sole purpose of engaging the safety on an empty chamber?

I’m sure you’d agree, what people don’t understand is we are checking the chamber to see it’s empty before lowering the firing pin. The lowered cocking piece is a visual indicator the rifle is safe. I feel it’s just as safe as an empty chamber with safety on. We aren’t willy nilly letting the firing pin down, and we aren’t doing it under pressure.

 

[Dos Perros]

I'm not sure what situation there would be a benefit to first spot an animal, then open and close the bolt, ensure bolt gets closed (assuming trying to do it slow and quite), then hope the animal hasn't noticed you to begin aiming.

It's a cumulative benefit over all the time spent not actually aiming at an animal, which, as it turns out, ends up being most of the time.

 

[MBAlex]

I always carry with one in the chamber and safety on, unless the gun is in the pack - then empty chamber and safety on.

Checking for the safety position before i shoot is second nature for me.

 

[shader112]

Western hunting where you're hiking for hours, maybe with a trekking pole in either hand, taking long shots that require setup time, and there's no benefit to having a round in the chamber.

I'd say it's more of a topography difference then westen vs whatever. I've killed deer and elk 'out west' with a rifle in timber where you couldn't see 100y. By the time you are on your mark there is no room for noise and extra movement.

But yea if you are hunting in the wide open and planing on spotting animals from a ways off outside earshot, it doesn't matter what you do

 

[BBob]

When you guys say you let the firing pin down or its lowered, are you dry firing the rifle? If you chamber a round but then don't shoot, when you take that round out of the chamber, you are closing the bolt and then pulling the trigger?

Guess you never learned the simple hold the trigger back as you are lowering the bolt? Doing that you're not dry firing, the cocking piece simply follows the cocking ramp down as you close the bolt.

 

[shader112]

It's a cumulative benefit over all the time spent not actually aiming at an animal, which, as it turns out, ends up being most of the time.

I guess that's my point, when it's finally time to aim at an animal I want to do just that, not jack around with loading my gun

 

[BBob]

This whole thing is funny. I've been hearing this same exact conversation for well over 40 years. It'll never ever be settled

 

[TaperPin]

When you guys say you let the firing pin down or its lowered, are you dry firing the rifle? If you chamber a round but then don't shoot, when you take that round out of the chamber, you are closing the bolt and then pulling the trigger?

Why?

I look to see the chamber is empty, hold the trigger back while lowering the bolt. There’s no dry firing. If the safety was on with an empty chamber I’d constantly be checking to actually see an empty chamber - I don’t care for that.

 

[Dos Perros]

I guess that's my point, when it's finally time to aim at an animal I want to do just that, not jack around with loading my gun

Ok, do what you want. I won't try to convince you otherwise.

 

[BBob]

not jack around with loading my gun

If it is your regular across the board SOP then the operation has no jacking around to it, it's just your normal functional SOP. It's just like anything else you learn and practice until it's normal.

 

[philos]

You're creating a bad habit that will eventually lead to a problem when you chamber one and forget in the heat of the moment situation. svivian

Always. It creates good habits, whether the gun is loaded or not. Jmoore

These 2 guys are 100% spot on.

Honestly as a moderator I had thought of deleting this thread because safety is not negotiable or debatable.

The best safety you have is your brain and you must train your brain-part of that training is to use every possible safety mechanism at your disposable. This must be adhered even at the cost of not getting a shot off on an animal.

There are too many accidents caused by lapses in judgment or by folks that thought they were smarter than the rifle manufactures.

 

[Mudpuddle]

Um, yeah. Hunting on the east coast where animals are up close and personal, I don't want to add extra movement and noise loading a round in the chamber when I'm ready to shoot.

 

[Dos Perros]

There could certainly be confirmation bias baked in, but I don't think my method has cost me any animals.

I will also chamber around moments before I crest a hill upon which I expect to perceive my target. So, you know, nuance.

 

[ORJoe]

Yes, it's an important part of knowing if my rifle is loaded and making sure I don't forget to load it.

When I'm driving or riding, the bolt is closed, chamber empty (that's the law so I roll with it), trigger pulled, striker down. The safety can't be put on safe like this.
So when I get out of the truck to go walking, did I forget to load my rifle?
Check safety with thumb, don't actually need to look at rifle:
It's set to fire and I can't set it to safe. Rifle's empty, forgot to load it, better load it.
It's set to safe. The only time I would do that is after I loaded it, so it's loaded.
It was set to fire and I can push it to safe: Something pushed it off, better be more careful.

So if I forget this all the way up to seeing an animal and pulling the trigger, I don't get an ear shattering *CLICK* on an empty chamber, I just get nothing and can regroup quietly.