Are you safe?

[Jimmy B]

I was just wondering which shooters use their safety and how many break their gun before removing it from the slip. I ask this as after my first lessons by a CPSA instructor he said not to worry about using it just "keep your finger on the wood until ready". I thought this was a bit strange?

In my previous job weapon carriage, muzzle awareness, safety catch, and finger on the trigger guard never inside was paramount so after the lessons I simply reverted back to how I was always taught. I break my gun before removing it from the slip and always point it in a safe direction with the safety on until I'm ready to shoot. I seem to see people all the time pointing a closed shotgun at others and not breaking it when they should (or as I've been shown, right or wrong?) but I can't see if they use their safety so was curious to see if others do?  :biggrin:

 

[ianmaney]

Surely you wouldn't have cartridges in the gun whilst in the slip anyway?

I personally take the gun from the slip and then break it and close it before i put it back and have never once used the safety, if there are cartridges in the gun whilst on a stand i break it, if for instance the trap has run out, i will always remove the cartridges too

 

[Jimmy B]

You would hope not! I completely agree with you, I'm just trying to find out what the general "norm" is and why really.

 

[Will Hewland]

Plenty of ways of being safe without using a safety. Most clays gun never have the safety on, indeed many have it disabled. As Ian kinda says, cartridges should only be in the gun when an accidental fire would be harmless down range.

 

[Hawkeye]

Jimmy , your safety awareness is admirable. Please rewrite your post in capital letter's.

 

[paul b]

no such thing as a safety on a gun,the only safe way is empty and open. you should always assume a closed gun is live.

 

[Will Hewland]

Jimmy , your safety awareness is admirable. Please rewrite your post in capital letter's.

Anybody relying on a safety is unsafe IMO..

 

[Hawkeye]

no such thing as a safety on a gun,the only safe way is empty and open. you should always assume a closed gun is live.

Well said Paul

 

[Jimmy B]

Jimmy , your safety awareness is admirable. Please rewrite your post in capital letter's.

Anybody relying on a safety is unsafe IMO..

Safety is not there to be relied upon, it's another barrier or precaution to stop the unthinkable. By not thinking about safety in some form is unsafe.

 

[** Pending Removal **]

no such thing as a safety on a gun,the only safe way is empty and open. you should always assume a closed gun is live.

Correct.

 

[Jimmy B]

So not using your safety would be perfectly acceptable?

 

[Will Hewland]

So not using your safety would be perfectly acceptable?

Absolutely. The only safe thing is a proven unloaded gun. Work on that.
Think of the safety as an airbag in a car. Just might save you, but best idea is don't drive into a wall at 100mph.

 

[Jimmy B]

Noted! And already doing them, I don't think I will change my ways as I've done them for so long now and I don't think it can do any harm its just interesting to see other shooters views on the issue.

 

[T.C.]

As I understand it,a shotgun safety only blocks the trigger , it does not block the hammer. This means a loaded gun can go off with the safety on if dropped, for example.The safety on a pistol or rifle works in a different way. It would seem wise therefore that seeing an empty open gun is the only way of being sure a shotgun is safe.

 

[ehb102]

I was just wondering which shooters use their safety and how many break their gun before removing it from the slip. I ask this as after my first lessons by a CPSA instructor he said not to worry about using it just "keep your finger on the wood until ready". I thought this was a bit strange?

I was taught to break the gun before getting it out the slip last year as part of the CPSA course, and I know others who have learnt the same. I've been congratulated by experienced people for knowing how to get a gun out properly, so whilst I'm surprised a coach would say that there are obviously enough people around who don't know to do that to make an impression.

My gunsmith, who is awfully experienced, hates safeties and said if he had realised I had one he would have disabled it for me. 

I like the idea that "an unbroken gun is a loaded gun".

 

[Bebo]

Interesting topic.  I'm new to this shooting lark and haven't used my safety.  I keep my gun broken and usually over my shoulder.  At the ground where I shoot they have gun stands next to most of the stations and I often see closed guns out of the slips in them.  Is this considered generally acceptable?  Don't want to start acquiring bad habits by following others examples when I shouldn't.

 

[Will Hewland]

Interesting topic.  I'm new to this shooting lark and haven't used my safety.  I keep my gun broken and usually over my shoulder.  At the ground where I shoot they have gun stands next to most of the stations and I often see closed guns out of the slips in them.  Is this considered generally acceptable?  Don't want to start acquiring bad habits by following others examples when I shouldn't.

Yes it's acceptable, however you hope that each gun was proven empty before being closed and placed in the stand. While in the stand the barrels are pointing skyward, so should not shoot anybody if they were loaded and went off.

When the gun is picked up, it should be broken immediately, while the barrels are still facing skyward.

 

[** Pending Removal **]

I always put my gun into the rack broken. It is ten obviously unloaded because the cartridges would slide out.

 

[psych4shooting]

Having been handed a gun in a slip once on a game shoot, that when I broke it as I took it out of the slip had two in the chamber, then I certainly will always break as I take out of the slip regardless and also ask any client to do the same as they take their gun from the slip. Just the same as you close the gun as it goes back in the slip. There can be no middle ground - be dead certain or dead!!!!