I just tried it one rifle, my pre 64 FW M70 and got the same results as Joe. I even tried lifting the bolt handle almost horizontal. The safety went off,and the firing pin dropped at each level.
In each case as the firing pin fell, the bolt handle snapped all the way down into the closed position, no matter how high I had the bolt handle.
Whether there was enough force to light up a primer I can't say,but it sounded like it.
On the Kimber 257, the bolt does not have to be lifted very high at all before the safety locks up in the middle position. It feels different from the M70.
However, with the safety off, the firing pin falls and the bolt handle snaps down to the full down position.
