The Rugers will work well. Just never seen one in our guides or clients hands.
Mauser action 458 win mag has never let me down and has stopped enough brown bears to know it works.
And now I have lied. All this and I forgot a buddy had a client with a Ruger 416 ruger leave it as a tip and he now uses it. no flies on it.
Another has a blaser straight pull rechambered to 416 ruger. Thats a sweet rifle for sure.
So yup, I forgot, one ruger.
As to 3 position safety why? myself and other guides, never use safety. if there is a round in the chamber IE the need for it, the last thing I want is a safety failing. Hunt safety off, and may well remove it eventually, cold chamber as a guide until....and I maintain control of my rifle at all times so I know if the bolt might open... YMMV
Cold Chamber: I can perhaps/maybe agree with your sentiment…..as you are a guide/outfitter, hunting with folks you do not know. Muzzle control is paramount, but in a slip or trip loss of muzzle control “can” happen. However, the likelihood of both the safety being taken off at same the moment loss of muzzle control happens, is fairly remote!
I grew up hunting in “dog hair” thick timber/brush, where things could happen in fractions of a second. If you wanted/hoped to get a shot off …..you best be on high alert at all times, with a “hot” chamber and finger on or near the safety!
Several years ago a local hunter was still hunting along a game trail in heavy brush/timber…..with a “cold” chamber. He, unknown to him, got very close to a bedded grizzly. I can only surmise that he was very alert as he was still hunting with limited visibility….. He never got a round chambered, before the grizzly was on him!
These facts are verifiable from the hunter’s statement…… as the grizzly was “only” interested in escape and the hunter was in the bear’s chosen path of egress. The bear merely ran over the hunter, causing some minor injuries, while leaving the scene at a high rate of speed! “Cold” chambers are not always best!
The cold hard facts are, anything mechanical can fail…..and certainly human error most often plays an important role in accidental discharges. My father never trusted a safety, though he carried “hot”. When hunting he was constantly testing the safety by squeezing the trigger with the muzzle in a safe direction!
I do believe in a 3 position safety, as it must move through 2 positions to attain the fire position……unlikely in a slip or trip. memtb
