The shoulder carry

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I don’t totally agree. While hunting alone in Northern Ontario 30 years ago or so, I had a seat fail on my rifle. The rifle was pointed in a safe direction and the safety was on. I was shocked. The rifle was in good repair. It must have been a flaw in the metal.

An interesting side note, on another occasion I had a pack of wolves trail me out of the bush for 4 or 5 miles. It was after dark but due to the moon and snow I could see them ghosting through the trees but could not get a shot. Very unusual behavior for wolves.

Your story serves to amplify why keeping the muzzle(s) pointed in a safe direction is the first line of safety.

 

[Art Lambart II]

When I was in my middle teens we had a family friend we'll call "RR". RR served in WWII as a bomber pilot, he was shot down over France and escaped back to England with the help of the French Resistance. RR was a fluent French speaker and was recruited into the OSS and returned to France several more times during the war. After WWII RR was recalled to active duty to fly bombers over Korea, needless to say RR had seen some @#$% and had been there and gone that. We would often go to the range with RR and to this day I still remember his range safety talks and the steps we took to insure everyone was handling their firearms safely. One year RR came deer hunting with us, RR and I where walking back to camp side by side from the mornings hunt and my father @Shootist43 noticed that the hammer of RR's 35 Remington was at full cock and the muzzle was pointed at my head. When dad told him to put the rifle on safe and point the muzzle in a safe direction RR's response was and I quote "Art it's ok we're hunting", RR left camp the next morning and we never went shooting or hunting with him again.

When I was in my early 20s I shot competitive bulls-eye with a guy named Bobby Plante, Bobby was so good with a hand gun he became a member of the US Olympic shooting team. Bobby had a bad habit, if he fire a bad string which was almost never he would raise his pistol to his head and say bang. Every time he did that we would remove him from the range and suspend his shooting privileges for a time. After making the US Olympic shooting team Bobby moved to the OTC in Colorado, one day the Mexican National Shoot Team was there to train and they learned that Bobby shot and worked on 45's, one of the Mexican team members arranged to meet Bobby and one of Bobby's team mates in his room to look at his 45. In Mexico the 45 is a military firearm and can only be owned by special permit and is commonly used by its owners for home defense, it is normally stored with the chamber empty and a loaded magazine in the gun. Bobby took the 45 from the Mexican shooter and racked the slide to make sure the gun was empty. At this point the Mexican shooter became frantic and started speaking in Spanish a language Bobby did not understand. In an effort to prove to the gun owner that the firearm was safe Bobby calmly raised the 45 to his head and squeezed. Bobby's US teammate testified that after the gun went off Bobby looked at the 45 with stunned shock before collapsing to the floor.

The first incident resulted in the loss of a friendship the second in a tragic loss of life and both could have been prevented by following the three basic rules for handling firearms:

1.) Treat every firearm as if it where loaded
2.) Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction
3.) Never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire

I don't care how you carry your firearm but if it violates one of those rules you need to find a new way to carry your gun.

 

[ArmyGrunt]

Sear (spellcheck!)

If you catch a typo within the first thirty min or so, click on you post and look for the tools. There's an edit button! I use it often when posting from my phone...

 

[ArmyGrunt]

When I was in my middle teens we had a family friend we'll call "RR". RR served in WWII as a bomber pilot, he was shot down over France and escaped back to England with the help of the French Resistance. RR was a fluent French speaker and was recruited into the OSS and returned to France several more times during the war. After WWII RR was recalled to active duty to fly bombers over Korea, needless to say RR had seen some @#$% and had been there and gone that. We would often go to the range with RR and to this day I still remember his range safety talks and the steps we took to insure everyone was handling their firearms safely. One year RR came deer hunting with us, RR and I where walking back to camp side by side from the mornings hunt and my father @Shootist43 noticed that the hammer of RR's 35 Remington was at full cock and the muzzle was pointed at my head. When dad told him to put the rifle on safe and point the muzzle in a safe direction RR's response was and I quote "Art it's ok we're hunting", RR left camp the next morning and we never went shooting or hunting with him again.

When I was in my early 20s I shot competitive bulls-eye with a guy named Bobby Plante, Bobby was so good with a hand gun he became a member of the US Olympic shooting team. Bobby had a bad habit, if he fire a bad string which was almost never he would raise his pistol to his head and say bang. Every time he did that we would remove him from the range and suspend his shooting privileges for a time. After making the US Olympic shooting team Bobby moved to the OTC in Colorado, one day the Mexican National Shoot Team was there to train and they learned that Bobby shot and worked on 45's, one of the Mexican team members arranged to meet Bobby and one of Bobby's team mates in his room to look at his 45. In Mexico the 45 is a military firearm and can only be owned by special permit and is commonly used by its owners for home defense, it is normally stored with the chamber empty and a loaded magazine in the gun. Bobby took the 45 from the Mexican shooter and racked the slide to make sure the gun was empty. At this point the Mexican shooter became frantic and started speaking in Spanish a language Bobby did not understand. In an effort to prove to the gun owner that the firearm was safe Bobby calmly raised the 45 to his head and squeezed. Bobby's US teammate testified that after the gun went off Bobby looked at the 45 with stunned shock before collapsing to the floor.

The first incident resulted in the loss of a friendship the second in a tragic loss of life and both could have been prevented by following the three basic rules for handling firearms:

1.) Treat every firearm as if it where loaded
2.) Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction
3.) Never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire

I don't care how you carry your firearm but if it violates one of those rules you need to find a new way to carry your gun.

I've sworn to myself, and wife when married long ago, if I ever had a negligent discharge I'd sell all my guns. I never allow myself to do foolish acts, as much for my own safety as for the kids and those I care about.

 

[WAB]

I had a friend who did not appear to be capable of controlling the muzzle of his gun. I told him that if I looked down the barrel of his gun one more time we were done hunting together. We are done hunting together. Too bad, decent guy, he just could not seem to maintain awareness and control of his firearm.

 

[Jeffrey]

Jeff Cooper Safety Lecture:

WAB: Was the rifle you had in Ontario a Remington 700, by chance? I'd just as soon no one around me have a Remington 700 with a loaded chamber unless its in a bipod/bench aiming downrange...

Just to clarify: I've always been told "African Carry" was slung, weak side shoulder, muzzle down. "Gunbearer Carry" is over the shoulder muzzle forward. It seems Gunbearer carry would only be appropriate for very long walks NOT in single file.

 

[WAB]

Jeff Cooper Safety Lecture:

WAB: Was the rifle you had in Ontario a Remington 700, by chance? I'd just as soon no one around me have a Remington 700 with a loaded chamber unless its in a bipod/bench aiming downrange...

Just to clarify: I've always been told "African Carry" was slung, weak side shoulder, muzzle down. "Gunbearer Carry" is over the shoulder muzzle forward. It seems Gunbearer carry would only be appropriate for very long walks NOT in single file.

It was a Remington 788. I had it repaired and sold it shortly thereafter. I now use mauser and M70 actions pretty exclusively.

 

[CTDolan]

When I was a kid hunting deer in northern Minnesota, I was with a few other guys who were gutting out a buck. One of the elders handed me his rifle, asking me to hold it for him. I had the rifle in hand, holding it just forward of the receiver and pointed in a safe direction. About 30 seconds into holding the rifle it went "bang". My hand wasn't within 12 inches of the trigger and the safety was on (Remington auto-loader, 30-06, with safety in the trigger guard). I'll never forget that moment.

It just goes to show that you can never be too safe and, if there isn't any reason for it, unload the gun or at least open the action so that it cannot fire. That rifle should never have gone off, but it did. Imagine if it'd been pointed the wrong way. Never place your trust in a safety. Never think "just this one time". Never play the odds. It only takes once (like when a local kid put a bullet through the shoulder of his best friend, thinking that the .25 ACP they were handling was unloaded...thankfully, the kid lived...thankfully, for him, it was a .25 ACP and not a .45 ACP...had it been the latter, he likely would've bled out on the spot).

 

[CTDolan]

It was a Remington 788. I had it repaired and sold it shortly thereafter. I now use mauser and M70 actions pretty exclusively.

Mauser has the best safety of any rifle, period. The 3-position which retracts (and blocks) the firing pin, plus the original 2-stage trigger, cannot be beat (plenty of sear engagement with the 2-stage trigger!). I'd still not trust my life to it, but as far as I can tell it is the best (second only to, perhaps, a de-cocker such as Kreighoff uses on their doubles).

 

[Edward Wright]

I have to add a comment from personal experience. I was bird hunting with my brother in law, and was following him from the car with guns and dog in tow. I always tAlked safety and had reiterated that guns stay unloaded until in the field.
As I followed him up a small rise he slipped , having the gun over his shoulder, it discharged behind him in the ground about 20 ft back, almost killing his dog, who had stepped in front of me and stopped me a few seconds earlier.
That blast would have sent a full load of no 6 shot into my chest if I was 10 seconds quicker in front of that dog.
My brother in law was white as a sheet when he turned to look at me. Repeating several times “ that gun was unloaded”

 

[CTDolan]

In a double without intercepting sears (intercepting safeties some call them), the only thing stopping the gun from firing is the sear spring holding the sear it its bent (and the cut of the sear and the bent, the relationship, which with age can become compromised…double discharge, anyone?). The safety only blocks the trigger blades. It’s one hell of an unsafe situation if you ask me. When I was looking into making doubles the only boxlock design I would consider is one with an intercept (they exist but are rare…I do believe that Heym’s new double has them, though). Far better would be a double with exposed hammers and a deep half-cock notch, but nobody seems to like those anymore...

 

[lwaters]

I borrowed a 30-06 from my ph and he had me carry it bolt up as the safety was removed or didn't work. Actually a pretty good way it can't be fired with bolt up. I usually us a sling that way the muzzle is up. I am wondering how to carry my Ruger No.1 any ideas?

 

[bruce moulds]

"negligent discharge"
far better term than accidental discharge.
bruce.

 

[WAB]

I borrowed a 30-06 from my ph and he had me carry it bolt up as the safety was removed or didn't work. Actually a pretty good way it can't be fired with bolt up. I usually us a sling that way the muzzle is up. I am wondering how to carry my Ruger No.1 any ideas?

I would use a sling.