Safety Question?
Question:
Years ago three of us were walking a slough area and the footing was tricky. A rooster flushed and one guy dropped it quickly. I commented on the quickness of the shot and was told that this fellow always has the safety off if he expects a flush. You could barely walk without stumbling and this guy has his safety off! He had never hunted with me and my buddy previously, and never did again. I looked at my buddy and he was as stunned as I was. We made an excuse about having to head home, dropped him off and went back out. With practice, clicking the safety off becomes automatic as part of the motion to mount the gun. If it adds a split second, so be it. Mike Sullivan Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
= This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field = with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have = the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my = finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is = customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance. It is my habit to keep the safety on. But a more important habit is to *always* keep the muzzle in a safe direction. Slipping the safety as you mount the gun is not difficult. I also shoot skeet and sporting clays that way and, if I shot trap, would shoot trap that way. I shoot every thing that I shoot low-gun. So, e.g., on the skeet range I call for the target, when I see it I begin the gun mount and in the process, slip the safety catch. So, as it comes to cheek, it is ready to fire. Just remember that neither the safety catch nor keeping your finger off the trigger is a substitute for keeping the muzzle in a safe direction at all times. That is the one thing that will *always* prevent accidental injury or worse. The other things, safety catch, finger off the trigger, etc. are supplements to proper muzzle control. — Best regards, Charlie "Older than dirt" Sorsby Los Alamos, NM "I’m the NRA!" Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
I like to carry the safety thing one step further. I have always been taught to never trust a mechanical safety device, although it is certainly worth using. Depending on the type of shotgun you are carrying you can easily render it inoperable by keeping the breech open. When I carry a pump I keep the block back halfway, and when an opportunity for a shot presents itself, as I raise the gun to my shoulder my hand automatically slides the pump fully forward into the locked (and ready to fire) position. The same thing works for a break open barrel gun like an over and under. You simply snap the barrel closed when you’re ready. Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
When actively hunting, my firearm is loaded with the safety on. Otherwise, it’s not loaded with action open to show the others that it is open. (open does not necessarily mean that there is no ammo in the magazine) And as posted earlier, my firearm is always pointed in a safe direction. Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
: This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field : with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have : the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my : finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is : customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance. I’m not really an upland bird hunter, since the quail population has been decimated in NC, but I do hunt a lot of dove, and since I hunt public land, I often have to flush ‘em out, in upland "style." Also, I hunt with an 870 — a pump shotgun — which might be different from the many answers you’ll probably receive, since 0/U’s can be left "broken" or open…. The Remington 870 has a cross-bolt style safety, which is an abomination, imho, but it’s what I got. I *always* leave it on, and have practiced flipping it off, and mounting the shotgun in two single motions so long, it’s now instinctive. Unfortunately, it also means "floating" my right index finger just forward of the trigger assembly, above the safety. Move #1 is moving the safety to the finger, not the other way around. I’ll describe it — I hunt with the shotgun at "port arms." If I flush a bird, or one flies in, I twist the shotgun with my left hand, in a single sharp motion, while simultaneously stiffening my index finger. Doesn’t take much — maybe 30 degrees? This brings the safety onto the pad of my index finger — or it *should*. Like I said, a lot of practice. 
The key thing, is I twist the shotgun to my finger — I don’t bring the finger to the safety. Anway, safety’s off, mount the shotgun, and hopefully a fraction later, the bird will be arcing to the ground like a falling shuttlecock. Not always — those doves are tricky. That said, this is my own system; I fully recognize safeties are mechanical parts that should never be depended on, but with a pump or autoloader, the options are limited. Above all, be safe, and (again, imveryho), every shotgunner owes it to himself or herself to shoot skeet, clays, or trap, initially, so the specific shotgun becomes second-nature. That said, II, that was *not* the way I handled the 870 in such a situation, where you start with the weapon already mounted….. Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
David, While hunting my shotgun stays on safe until I shoulder it to shoot and only then is the safety released. I have seen a few accidents involving stumbling that inadvertently caused a trigger contact. My advice, for what it is worth, is to leave the safety on until you are ready to fire, or in the act of bringing the gun to shoulder. Bruce > This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field > with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have > the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my > finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is > customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance.
Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
> This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field > with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have > the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my > finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is > customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance.
Hi David, What I teach kids in Firearms Safety classes is keep your safety on and your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. And always be aware of the direction your gun’s muzzle is pointed. With most guns, with either a cross bolt safety, or one on the top of the receiver, it shouldn’t be to difficult to flip the safety and locate the trigger during the time you are mounting your gun on a rising bird. And if you don’t get a shot, its no big deal. It’s better to not get a shot, than to accidently shoot someone. Stay safe, use your head. It’s the ultimate safety. Jim Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
> This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field > with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have > the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my > finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is > customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance.
ALWAYS keep the safty ON, until ready to make the shot. Robert Ruark, in The Old Man & The Boy has a great story about how he learned this lesson. The Old Man heard him click the safety off as he was walking up to a dog on point. The Old Man took the gun away and that was the end of that hunt. Only take the safety off as you put the gun to your shoulder to shoot. Mike Christensen Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
>This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field >with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have >the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my >finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is >customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance. >Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: > http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ >To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Definantly… It’s just TOO EASY to have an accidental discharge walking around in the field (step in a gopher hole, trip over a rock, get scared by a snake…) If you are working a field with other hunters, you MUST keep your safety on. The best hunting day in your life could be ruined by an accidental discharge. My technique: Trigger finger OUTSIDE the trigger guard on the safety ( or thumb on the safety of my O/U…) First reaction to a bird in flight is to assess the situation (shoot or don’t shoot), Then, rmeove safety, Then finger on trigger… Practice this enough at hoem with UNLOADED gun, and it will become a very SAFE second nature… Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance. Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
>This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field >with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have >the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my >finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is >customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance.
When you trip over that log hidden in the grass, do you prefer to have the safety on or off? SAFETY FIRST Charlie Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
writes >This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field >with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have >the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my >finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is >customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance.
You should keep the safety ON until the gun is mounted to your shoulder and about to take the shot. It is very easy to knock a sliding tang mounted safety off as you mount the gun. –Jonathan Jonathan Spencer — forensic firearms examiner Mountjoy Research Centre, Durham, England, DH1 3UR tel: +44 191 386 6107 fax: +44 191 383 0686 Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/ To leave the Hunting listserv list, send a message with SIGNOFF HUNTING
Response:
There is no question that I, and everyone I am willing to hunt with, carries their gun in the field with the safety on until they have identified a bird in the air and verified it is safe to shoot. This is not as big a handicap as it may seem to beginning bird hunters. With very little practice, it becomes second nature to see the bird flush… position feet and body correctly… verify the shot path is safe… mount the gun… release the safety… swing on the bird and pull the trigger. This seems like a lot of steps, but really you hardly realize it’s all going on. As much as I like the guys I hunt with, if one of them suggested that they were going to carry their gun with the safety off, I would kindly excuse myself from the hunt. (Actually, this wouldn’t happen as they are as safety conscience as I). > This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field > with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have > the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my > finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is > customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance.
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Response:
David, Good gun etiquette is pretty much universal, regardless of the type of hunting (shooting) you are doing, or the type of firearm you are using. While actively hunting (walking, on a stand, etc.) the gun should be full loaded, the safety ON, and you finger OUT of the trigger guard. When a shot presents itself you will thumb the safety off as the gun comes to you shoulder. Your finger will then to into the trigger guard while you find your sight picture. There are exceptions. For instance, if a long shot on an unsuspecting target is at hand, you may wish to move to a sitting or prone position, or avail yourself of a rest. In this case you will get comfortable, and get your sight picture first, then thumb the safety and go for the trigger. Using the above procedures you will loose no time getting off a shot. Safety *always* comes first – there is no exception. Steve > This is for the upland bird hunters… When you are out in the field > with your shotgun and waiting or walking waiting for a bird, do you have > the safety activated on your shotgun? I am very carefull to keep my > finger away from the trigger. However, I just am not sure if it is > customary to also place the gun on safety. Thanks in advance.
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