Professional Hunter Gun Safety

[Dewald]

If you have for whatever reason chambered a round the rifle should be in your hands to ensure proper control over it and the direction of the muzzle and not slung over a shoulder or carried over the shoulder.

Exactly. No one will be too angry when a shot goes off into the ground. I have experienced someone drop a loaded rifle from a vehicle, and it is not pretty.

 

[JPbowhunter]

I've had two rifles go off when i switched the safety off and have never used it since.

My stalking method is to chamber a round and slowly depress the firing pin by holding the trigger and lowering the bolt. I always know where it's pointing and it's just a matter of lifting the bolt to recock.

Should add, if mountain hunting its bolt closed with no round chambered.

As for doubles it is a real conundrum, my shotgun is broken unless I'm shooting something but i could see why that wouldn't be desirable in DG hunting. Might be 'uncool' but could they just sling it?

 

[Foxi]

On a recent trip to RSA my Professional Hunter handled a rifle in a way that I have seen over and over again in photographs, magazines and on television. The over the shoulder carry where the barrel was pointed forward, towards the trackers. When we would stop the gun butt was placed on his foot and his hand was over the end of the barrel. All of this was with a loaded gun. When I questioned him about his gun handling the response was, " The safety is on." Gun safety is a pet peeve of mine and it drove me crazy.

only stupid.
countless people was killed by "safety on".
You failed the hunting-exam with us,if the barrel points to a person during the operation.
This is not professional ,only carelessness and pomposity (me , the big White Hunter,with my big double).
Foxi

 

[IvW]

I've had two rifles go off when i switched the safety off and have never used it since.

My stalking method is to chamber a round and slowly depress the firing pin by holding the trigger and lowering the bolt. I always know where it's pointing and it's just a matter of lifting the bolt to recock.

Should add, if mountain hunting its bolt closed with no round chambered.

As for doubles it is a real conundrum, my shotgun is broken unless I'm shooting something but i could see why that wouldn't be desirable in DG hunting. Might be 'uncool' but could they just sling it?

Some Weatherby's are prone to going off when taken off safety.

Lowering the firing pin on a chambered round is actually a very dangerous thing to do.

I knew a PH who use to carry his 505 Gibbs on a P14 action in that way. When I pointed out to him that it was dangerous he started a serious argument. He then proceeded to bump the butt on the ground and almost sh..t himself when the shot went off! Needless to say he did not speak to me for a while!

Try that under a controlled situation with your own rifle and you will not do so again.

 

[BenKK]

IvW, was there any stock damage in that situation?

 

[rookhawk]

On a recent trip to RSA my Professional Hunter handled a rifle in a way that I have seen over and over again in photographs, magazines and on television. The over the shoulder carry where the barrel was pointed forward, towards the trackers. When we would stop the gun butt was placed on his foot and his hand was over the end of the barrel. All of this was with a loaded gun. When I questioned him about his gun handling the response was, " The safety is on." Gun safety is a pet peeve of mine and it drove me crazy.

What I've seen in Africa is fairly appalling gun safety and maintenance standards compared to what we are accustomed to in the USA. It's pretty typical.

Examples: Total ignorance that the recoil from firing and then topping off the magazine over and over again results in all the bullets loose, powder pouring around inside the magazine, and jams....they had never heard of it until I showed them the bullets sliding out and powder everywhere. Cracked stock at the magazine area resulting in a likely critical failure during a crisis...never fix it. Using handloads given to them from strangers for DG work...no issue. Cleaning guns once every dozen years maximum. Bringing out guns that were under caliber for a DG area they'd never used before. The carry positions you've all mentioned. Leaving guns under a tree they climb and then jumping down cracking the gunstocks in half. (I've brought them replacement stocks) No/missing recoil pads on their guns. Throwing a hodgepodge of mixed ammo in their guns of what is rolling around the truck console on a given day, etc. Ironically, these same folks have lost relatives to gun safety related deaths and yet they persist. It's all pretty typical stereotypes in Africa.

Then take the Americans that judge the above as being so laden with risk and lack of due care and stack us up against the Germans...they think Americans on the whole are gun imbeciles. The Europeans take gun safety VERY seriously as they do maintenance and care protocols.

It's a cultural thing.

 

[JPbowhunter]

Some Weatherby's are prone to going off when taken off safety.

Lowering the firing pin on a chambered round is actually a very dangerous thing to do.

I knew a PH who use to carry his 505 Gibbs on a P14 action in that way. When I pointed out to him that it was dangerous he started a serious argument. He then proceeded to bump the butt on the ground and almost sh..t himself when the shot went off! Needless to say he did not speak to me for a while!

Try that under a controlled situation with your own rifle and you will not do so again.

I have in fact tried it and haven't observed it happen yet. Not to say it couldn't so i respect that.

Never fired a weatherby but my experience with safety has put me off for a lifetime. I personally cringe when i see someone fire at an animal, watch it go down and then load another and flick the safety on. When i was guiding i never let clients use it, it was a clear barrel until ready to take shot.

To be honest i have no intention of changing as i haven't found a better way to carry a gun when stalking deer in the bush. Bolt half cocked doesn't do it for me and as deer stalking is something done by oneself unless accompanied by my dog the risk isn't too high to me as im always thinking about safety.

When I'm with others (which is to say when I'm mountain hunting) I'll just continue to keep it unloaded.

 

[Eric Anderson]

Not a fan of slinging a condition 1 weapon.
For me, when I am hunting, my rifle is either condition 1 or condition 4. If my rifle has a round in the chamber, then it is in both hands. I also will not hunt with someone who walks around with the safety off. I don’t give a damn about half cocked BS. If your safety is not working, fix that shit.

 

[rookhawk]

I have in fact tried it and haven't observed it happen yet. Not to say it couldn't so i respect that.

Never fired a weatherby but my experience with safety has put me off for a lifetime. I personally cringe when i see someone fire at an animal, watch it go down and then load another and flick the safety on. When i was guiding i never let clients use it, it was a clear barrel until ready to take shot.

To be honest i have no intention of changing as i haven't found a better way to carry a gun when stalking deer in the bush. Bolt half cocked doesn't do it for me and as deer stalking is something done by oneself unless accompanied by my dog the risk isn't too high to me as im always thinking about safety.

When I'm with others (which is to say when I'm mountain hunting) I'll just continue to keep it unloaded.

This brings up such a great tangent on the conversation and really expresses why the Mauser style action (and all their copies) are so marvelous. When the safety goes on, it puts between .015" to .025" of distance between the firing controls and the sear...the sear is not engaged, very limited chance of a bump fire. Paul Mauser was an epic genius. Chock this up as one more reason why most people recommend Mauser style magazine rifles and their clones for dangerous game work. Truly brilliant.

 

[IvW]

IvW, was there any stock damage in that situation?

I did not have time to check but the rifle did recoil out of his hands and fell on the ground. It was not a very hard bump that caused it to go off.

 

[IvW]

This brings up such a great tangent on the conversation and really expresses why the Mauser style action (and all their copies) are so marvelous. When the safety goes on, it puts between .015" to .025" of distance between the firing controls and the sear...the sear is not engaged, very limited chance of a bump fire. Paul Mauser was an epic genius. Chock this up as one more reason why most people recommend Mauser style magazine rifles and their clones for dangerous game work. Truly brilliant.

When the safety is on no rifle should fire when bumped.

I am referring to the practice of chambering a round, then with the bolt up, pulling the trigger and then closing the bolt. The firing pin is now against the primer and held there by the pressure from the firing pin spring. If you now drop the rifle or bump the butt the rifle fires.

Very dangerous way to carry a rifle.

Agreed some safeties are better than others.