Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Safety locking bolt down.

Hot vs cold chamber? It depends. The International Hunter Education Association does not recommend cold chambers except when traversing rugged terrain, crossing fences, ditches, or climbing into elevated stands. And obviously when in vehicles or structures. I've been teaching hunters ed classes since 1986. That is the method I teach and practice. As a rule the chamber is hot, but when conditions change I go cold.

I prefer the 3 position safeties that will allow me to lock the bolt down and still work as a trigger block when loading/unloading. But most of my rifles have 2 position safeties that do not lock the bolt. It isn't a deal killer either way. I've had the bolt come open once and I lost 1 round of ammo while walking with my rifle slug on an easy trail. I have no idea how it happened, but it wasn't that big of a deal.