Are you safe?

[ips]

Whenever i pick a gun up or put one down / away i Allways check its unloaded. Also when extracting from slip i break it before i fully remove then also check its empty. You cant be too obsessive about safety better over careful than the other way. This is why i dont like autos unless you have one of those flag things in the chamber only the owner knows its empty.

 

[VicW]

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, 

I once witnessed a game shooter insist that his gun was safe with a cartridge loaded because it was in its slip with the safety on.

A fellow shooter took the slip off him,took the gun out and held it muzzles up. He then knelt down and banged the butt on the floor.

The gun duly fired and said game shooter was much chastened and very apologetic.A good demonstration.

Vic.

 

[Salopian]

Always assume a closed gun on view is a loaded gun.

When handling or holding a semi auto or pump always show that the breech is open and  is able to be seen by others.

Guns should always be placed in a gun rack at a ground or shooting stand 'Open'. If they are not in a slip.

 

[Lock Stock & Barrel]

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

This ^^^^

I break the gun whilst it's partially removed from the slip. If I'm waiting for a stand, the gun is either in my slip (empty), or empty, broken, resting on my boot with my finger across the wood of the pistol grip, never near the trigger. In fact I don't place my finger near the trigger until I'm ready to call 'Pull!" Once I've shot my 8 or 10, the gun's taken back (broken) and put in its slip (broken) and then when the barrels are in the slip, it's closed before zipping the slip.

Jimmy, by your comment about your previous life, I'm guessing you're ex-Bootneck, Crab Air or Pongo?

 

[Jimmy B]

No not ex forces. Some really interesting points and some worrying tales!

 

[Hawkeye]

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.

If you use gun rack's , always check the safety catch before shooting, otherwise it might be . . .lost target

 

[Angelfire]

So not using your safety would be perfectly acceptable?

Aye, perfectly acceptable. My Krieghoff had the safety locked in the off/fire position by a grub screw. I would assume many do the same on the clay grounds. Very different when out in the field.

Phil*

 

[ExSCA]

Yep - my Beretta also has the auto-safety locked off - the only time I ever move my gun to safe is in the field.

 

[PhilS]

I always carry my gun broken over the arm (don't tend to use the slip once out of the boot of the car), empty unless I am in a stand.

Agree with all the above - especially the point that the best safety device is the one holding the gun! :hunter:

 

[Lock Stock & Barrel]

Yep - my Beretta also has the auto-safety locked off - the only time I ever move my gun to safe is in the field.

I've just bought my wife a Beretta 687 SP, and it's the first gun she's had with an auto-safety (her previous Zoli did not have one).

That said, your only safety is your finger.

 

[Hamster]

You put the gun away in the slip without shells, so this business of breaking it whilst removing from the slip is just nonsense to me anyway. It might look old fashioned and ultra safe but it's OTT in my view. Good safety is the bit where you DON'T put it away with shells inside. 

 

[Hawkeye]

by breaking it , when it exits the slip , everyone else knows it's empty

 

[Darkside]

Fills you with confidence when some arsehole pulls an unbroken gun from a slip...

 

[FieldandClay]

Fills you with confidence when some arsehole pulls an unbroken gun from a slip...

Most shooting grounds have one!!

 

[Fuzrat]

unzip slip break gun remove, insert barrels to slip close and zip up. No doubt then. Its always a worry when on the first stand someone, even using the aforementioned, has the dreaded snapcaps still in

Edit, its right to be safe but its better to be seen to be safe. If I dont see it go away empty I dont know its coming out the same way.

 

[Richard59]

Jimmy, the ground(s) where you mention you have seen closed shotguns waved around at people is not really the place to be.

 

[Jimmy B]

Jimmy, the ground(s) where you mention you have seen closed shotguns waved around at people is not really the place to be.

Don't get me wrong the times I've seen it be done are from people visiting (I think anyway as I have not seen them before or since). I know having spoken to the ground owners at length re safety how they wouldn't tolerate this sort of behaviour so I think it would be unfair to suggest it is a reflection on the ground but more on the individuals.

 

[DoubleBarrelledDon]

I get around a bit with the job and I have seen horriffic things on both clay and game shoots.....nearly saw a flagger get 30 grams of 6 in the back from 20 yards on one game day (missed him by about 5 feet!)....and I have seen idiots on clay grounds nearly shoot their feet off...NOBODY is a safe shot until they retire, put the gun in the cupboard for the last time having never injured anyone in their shooting career....

 

[Lock Stock & Barrel]

You put the gun away in the slip without shells, so this business of breaking it whilst removing from the slip is just nonsense to me anyway. It might look old fashioned and ultra safe but it's OTT in my view. Good safety is the bit where you DON'T put it away with shells inside. 

Hmmmm... Whilst I agree completely that you put the gun away without shells in it, conversely, your immediate shooting party might know that the gun's not loaded as you draw it from the slip, but no other shooter passing your stand as you do so does - all they see is an unbroken gun... and they've no idea whether it's loaded or not. It's also good discipline and etiquette to have your gun broken immediately after you've shot, and all the way from the stand to placing it in its slip, surely?

 

[Salopian]

My old friend Norman Clarke Chief Instructor at Holland & Holland would open stop people and ask them to open their gun to show it was safe.

If they protested that of course it was unloaded and safe, he would then say "Well put the muzzles in your mouth and pull the trigger to prove it." None ever did, all opened their guns.