Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska the safest bolt gun safety?

I have never seen any gun fire with the safety on if they had one. Also I have never seen a gun fire without something pulling on the trigger. Maybe they do I just haven't seen it. I hear a model 70 safety locks the firing pin and is the safest system. I have never owned one.

Yup.

Just wondering out loud...
Did you happen to mention that to the buyer of said rifle?

When are you gonna start a new "Match King" thread, pard? I can see the wheels turning... 😉

As said a 3 position safety is best for bolt guns. You can load and unload with safety. Ruger and Winchester are two that come to mind. Remington no.

Seems I read years ago an article by an African professional that didn't use the safety on his rifle, but carried it with a round in the chamber and the bolt handle up. Mauser or M70 IIRC.

Mainer is correct. This method is really dumb because it’s less safe than just using the safety. Every time you do this the firing pin moves forward and smooshes against the primer. Eventually, the gun goes bang with this method. I know because I had a guy nearly take my head off with an ND while using this “safe method” back in ‘06.

Getting away with doing a dumb thing for years doesn’t make it any more reasonable. It’s still dumb and will catch up with you sooner or later.

More to the point it will catch up with whoever you hunt with.

I wanted to comment on the Steyr Safebolt safety. It is really a 4 position safety,a conventional 3 position plus an extra postion in which the bolt closes a few more degrees to rest very flat against the stock.

In this postion the firing pins moves so that it no longer aligned with the firing pin channel. The gun can not fire.

I don't know of another safety system that not only blocks the movement of the firing pin,but literally moves it out of alignment with the rest of the firing mechanism.

The Ruger #1 safety is superb. Couldn’t help saying it, despite this being about bolt gun safeties.

On the bolt gun, I like almost any safety that’s easy to get to and cams the striker back.

Blaser's (and some sauers, maybe others that are built by the same holding company) have a decoker safety that's bulletproof.

😏😉

Sold it to the gunsmith that checked it out, said he could fix it.
Off my hands and conscience.

You are a good egg sir! 😎

Let's keep each other safe out there.

I have a BDL in 270 Win, bought in 1968. Probably has over 1000 days in the field more on the range. On it's 3rd barrel. Killed everything from marmots, to elk and bears with it. Never an issue. My son has it now, got his first elk with it about 7 years ago. He loves the gun as do I. So I bought myself a "new in the box" BDL in 7mm Rem Mag cause my son won't give me my 270 back lol. I believe the newer ones have had some QC issues. The late 60s through early 80s models were pretty damn good rifles.

Silencers are not... they are suppressors.

Safeties are not... they are risk limiters...

Handsomest rifles ever made to my eye

It ain't the "safety", so much. It's the shooter and circumstances. Any one who depends on "safety" when a hot chamber is not necessary, is a fool. Sorry about that... Not.

An empty chamber (if not called for carried "hot"), is almost foolproof. Almost. There are always super-fools of course.

The Mod70 safety , et.al. are second best, IF a chamber needs be carried hot. And yes, there are circumstances it can/should be. But otherwise......

A "safety" can inadverantly be bumped off, taken off and forgotten to be put back on., gummed up, mechanically wear, fail, etc. If there is no round in the chamber, it's still "safe".

I was goat-hunting with a partner. Both of us (needlessly) carrying hot chambers on the assault up the mountain. Not even stalking goats as yet. I was second, stumbled on rock, my rifle swept Duane. I checked the safety ( (O3-A3, customized 308 Norma Mag) - it was off! I immediately unloaded the chamber.

LAST TIME- 50+ YEARS AGO, I EVER NEEDLESSLY CARRIED A HOT CHAMBER. SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME.

I never told Duane either.... any guy behind me carries an empty chamber, or, he goes first, and I never hunt with him again. Coming into camp, every one "safeties" their gun by insuring an empty chamber. I prefer to hear a dry fire..... No exceptions.

"Safeties". un-necessarily relied upon, are just your second (third/forth? ) chance.

las;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope you're warm, well and dry up on the Kenai this morning.

We're actually getting a wee bit of prairie weather today in that it's currently -22°C with a biting north wind to add some zest.

Where we hunt during most of the season we can run into black or grizzly bear, whitetail or mule deer, elk, moose, California Bighorn, mountain goats, range cattle, feral horses, mushroom pickers, timber cruisers or grow op tenders. The grow op folks are less now that Sparkle Socks legalized weed, but for most of my hunting life here in BC - 40 years - that was the sum total of random stuff we'd bump into.

Our season starts at the beginning of September and runs to the end of November for big game, so we've got the luxury of both hunting on the mountain behind the house and also doing it for a quarter of the year.

On top of there being very specific seasons we've got point restriction, so moose will be no more than 2 points on one side, mule deer for much of the season is 4 point not including the brow tine and elk is 6 points.

The first bull elk I called in had a spectacular rack that was 4 on the right - thick as a fence post mind you sir - and 5 on the left. I believe I must have counted his points at least a couple dozen times.

Anyways, during that time, like as not, I'd have had time to pull the lever on the No. 1 closed or if it'd been a bolt gun, just thumb the bolt down.

Way back when, I had two co-workers decide to go hunting together, we'll call them Martin and Chris since I'll at least keep it straight that way.

As they told it later, both had .308 lever rifles, Martin a BLR and Chris a 99. They were hunting mule deer, in the snow so it would have been a 4 point restriction, regardless both had the rifles slung, rounds chambered but the BLR was hammer forward.

Part way up a steep hill with Martin in front, Chris slipped and went ass over teakettle downhill. Somewhere during that performance the 99 went off.

Chris stood up and said to Martin something to the effect of, "Holy S..t, I almost blew my head off!" to which Martin replied, "Yah well you shot me!".

Martin was kind enough to give me some photos of the wound that I passed around in Hunter Safety class every spring for the next 25 years.

The bullet hit him about his half way up to his knee on the leg, missed all the leg bones but still took out a scoop of flesh about the size of a lemon. It took him a good year before he could walk without a noticeable limp.

The elk story took place a few years after the Chris and Martin story and between it and a couple other moments where I took the time to consider life, I'd decided to be very intentional about how I carried while hunting.

As always there's a whole bunch of roads leading to Mecca and this is merely where I'm at on mine.

All the best.

Dwayne