Under stress you instinctively revert to the familiar.
I screwed up by switching to a “new to me” Winchester 70 after many years of shooting and hunting with Remington 700’s. That might have been my first model 70, I’m not sure. I shot that model 70 quite a bit at the range, but never was in a hurry to take the safety off. I had buck and bull tags in Colorado. It was snowing and was three a.m. when I got where I wanted to be on a mountain near Grandby. First light a large buck got up within 50’ of me and disappeared in short order. I was pushing the safety foreword as the mule deer disappeared. I wasn’t stressed as in danger, but that rack and me being too slow to shoot - trying to take the safety off is a memory I’ll not forget. Being familiar with your rifle, in my opinion, trumps bolt, lever, or double.
