Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Remington three position safety

Good points about 3 position safeties:

Bolt is locked when safety is fully engaged. This means bolt cannot be inadvertently moved slightly "up"which will case a misfire since action is not now fully cocked.Yes there is some hunting where hunting "hot" is required.If you never have had to hunt "hot" and hunt long enough, eventually, you will.


With a Rem 700 safety not an issue if you constantly roll your thumb over the bolt handle to make sure it is fully "down" and not moved out of position by brush, or rubbing on your coat or the conduct of gremlins,which of course never happens to anyone on here.

Provides a middle position to field strip bolt without special tools, dimes table tops etc,. This is handy when rifle gets cold and wet or frozen or immediate access to inside of bolt will be required for cleaning in the field.

The Rem 700 lets you do this afield.....no?

Also, prudent hand loaders always run loaded ammo through rifle prior to hunts.Firing pin can be removed easily and done safely. Also helpful to hand loaders when the bolt is used as a "feeler gauge"for sized cases with the firing pin removed.

Shroud mounted safety less likely to be inadvertently hit when cycling rifle from shoulder in rapid fire, than a side tang mounted safety.Also less likely to freeze in place from snow and ice during tough conditions. (This may not be an issue from blinds or where weather does not go from freezing rain and snow to below freezing in the span of an hour or two).

If you can't get a 3 position M70 safety from safe to "fire" in the span of a second or two, more familiarity and practice with the rifle is required.If a 3 position were such an impediment to moving a fully engaged safety to "fire", then guys like Harry Manners would not have ended a career as a PH untouched by dangerous game. The notion that we can't do the same in the presence of a little old deer or elk is hard to swallow.

I didn't learn any of this reading F&S . Actually I can't recall that it was ever explained in that or any other magazine.

Do all you cold chamber advocates carry your shotguns with empty chambers when hunting pheasant/grouse/quail too ?

Some folks just can't figure out how to safely carry and hunt with a hot rifle. For those, there's the M700.

Other folks know how and when to carry hot. For those, there are the M70's, M77's, Montana's, Mausers, et. al.

Don't try to turn a turd into a real hunting rifle.

Not a one.

I prefer 3 position safeties.

Bob has a point.

I wish Remington would either go with a 3 position or go back to the old bolt locking one.