Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Safeties: 2-position vs 3-position?

I'm a lefty. I took a left hand Ruger MKII and a Mauser M-98 to Africa in May. The Ruger proved to be heads and shoulders above the Mauser with it's low scope safety. Getting a live round back out, as my ride took off over the rocks, proved this, time, and time again. My P.H. made his point, that the big difference between the U.S. and Africa, is that you always reload instantly, and keep a live round in the chamber, until he says to unload the rifle. So the three position safeties are golden, between the occasional shots.

I like a three position safety but I don't consider a two position one a liability, nor would it influence my purchase of a rifle. I have never hunted Africa, but I've known many that have and none ever mentioned a problem with a two position safety.

Again, I appreciate all the responses. And it is very nice that they were all thoughtful and did not get into the raging argument that sometimes develops on this topic. You helped me think it through.

I made my decision and took the rifle to Jim Kobe yesterday. The conversation with him about the trigger, safety, and other things was also very helpful. (I am fortunate indeed to live within driving distance of both Jim and Redneck.)

I'm going with a new Timney trigger and Jim's two-position side-swing safety. I counted up, and I have 6 rifles with Timney triggers and 11 with two-position safeties. I've never had a problem with any of these. Obviously, someone else might have made a different decision. Jim is also going to do the stock work. I'm sure I will like the finished product.

Hmmm...interesting..

That's funny Bob. Never know when that CRF is going to pay for itself do you

Hi Woodsy, my point is that I had both a low scope safety, left hand, on my 416 wildcat Mauser, and the stock three position safety, on my 270 Win.,CRF Ruger MkII, left hand bolt rifle. Both rifles are scoped, and I carried both of them in the carrier in the High Rack Pickup Box. So it gave me a good chance to really compare them against one another.

I didn't know which rifle to grab, until the game presented itself. We went after small plains game, but I finished up with a Kudu and a Gnu. FWIW, I had my G.S. match the pull of the new Timney trigger in the Mauser build, to my existing 3.5 lb. trigger pull, in my Ruger MkII.

Walking over the ground, you can simply stop while you load or unload. But in a High Rack box hunt, and where I was, you can't even walk over all these loose rectangular rocks, in the Karoo, the driver has the final say, on the giddy up!

But on my Mauser, the safety locks down the bolt handle, on safe, so it comes off, to empty the chamber, as the truck bolts off. A two position safety that lets you unload on safe, is much better, in this High Rack drill, IMO.

bsa I frequently need all the help I can get...you think I have trouble walking, you should see me shoot!

Bob, don't ruin my image of you....I know that "S" on your shirt means you don't fall down and I know you are bs'n about your shooting ability...

In a PF rifle it makes sense to have a 3 position safety since you have to cam the bolt over in order to make the extractor snap over the rim so the case can be extracted. In a CRF, all you have to do is move the bolt straight forward and back.

If you need to carry the rifle with a round in the chamber, just hold it vertically with the trigger pulled and chamber a round, then let off the trigger. Then all you have to do is lift the bolt handle to cock it.

none of this is right.

More to the point I would be waiting for the God all mighty bang...and the slap of [bleep] on the ground.

Ok then. Just move the bolt back and forth on your PF and watch it double feed. If you hold the trigger while riding the bolt home, it locks the trigger to the rear, so it cant possibly fire. Now unless your bolt shroud falls off and someone comes along with a punch and hits it with a hammer, the rifle's not going to go off.

Do you handle rifles very much? or just read about it?

if you hold the PF at an angle (muzzle up) with the ejection port down and push the bolt foreward just far enough to strip the top round from the magazine, then retract the bolt, said round simply drops out (into your hand if you have a clue)

if you lower the firing pin onto a loaded round, the mainspring will apply constant pressure on the primer and could easily cause a ND. i have never seen this method called safe by anybody with a clue.

and i handle rifles a bunch more than you do.

Obviously not. With the firing pin cocked and the trigger locked to the rear, the firing pin is NOT resting on the primer. Go think about that and come back later............

Oh for Gods sake....when you let the firing pin ride foreward as you chamber a round with the trigger engaged, you will end up with a live round with a firing pin resting against it.

If I ever see any prick I hunt with doing that I will immediately stop hunting with them and make them painfully aware of how f_cking stupid they are...now piss off and grow a brain.

i gotta quote this before the stupid gets edited out of it. my gawd...

JSTUART is correct. pulling the trigger while chambering a round allows the FP to follow the cocking cam until the tip of the FP i resting on the live primer under spring pressure.


seriously, dude, you should be asking for advice instead of trying to give it.

GFY, really

in fairness, i did have a good belly laugh over your "firing pin cocked and the trigger locked to the rear" comment...

thanks for that.

Obviously you haven't tried it. Just keep throwin' stones at the moon.

sure i have. guess what. when you pull the trigger to the rear and close the bolt on a loaded round, the firing pin 'uncocks' and goes foreward. and the tip of the FP hits the primer. just like it's supposed to. imagine that...

trust me, do NOT go around telling people to do schitt like this, because you do not have the slightlest clue