Thonzberry
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2001
- Messages
- 1,856
- Reaction score
- 0
Trouble in Action
by Keith McCafferty
How to avoid triggering a tragedy.
Any time that a firearm discharges, under any circumstances, the consequences rest with the person who carries it. As esteemed Field & Stream managing editor David E. Petzal states, "You can't shift responsibility onto a piece of machinery."
Assume that a loaded gun can fire at any time, regardless of the care with which you handle it. If you obey the No. 1 rule of handling firearms—always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction—any accidental discharge will result in nothing more than a hole in the ground or sky. Keep in mind that if you use guns long enough, you will someday have one go off accidentally. To lessen the chances of this, you need to understand how the action of your gun raises safety concerns specific to its design.
Letting Down the Hammer
When I asked a number of gun experts, seasoned hunters, and guides what they considered to be the most dangerous action, to a man (and one woman) they responded that it was the action with which you are unfamiliar. Pressed further, the majority pointed to exposed-hammer guns as needing particular care when handling. Any gun that cocks the hammer in the act of chambering demands that a cold, sweaty, or gloved thumb work in harmony with a cold, sweaty, or gloved index finger to simultaneously depress the trigger and lower the hammer back down to the half-cock or safe position. Also, exposed hammers can catch on brush or clothing and the rebounding hammer can fire the gun.
Latter-day Marlin 336s and Winchester 94s, as well as other lever guns, address the exposed-hammer conundrum with crossbar safeties that block an accidental discharge before the action of the lever cocks the hammer. Most experts I interviewed welcomed this, especially for young hunters who don't have to break old habits to get used to it. (Ironically, the Winchester 9422 that many fathers buy for their sons does not have the crossbar safety.)
When Broken Is Good
Break-action shotguns and rifles offer many safety advantages. With the action cracked, it's simple to determine if the gun is loaded or a barrel obstructed, and they're easy to unload before crossing a fence or ditch (which encourages hunters to take this safety precaution).
The natural balance point and comparatively light weight of a double also translates into less fatigue and carelessness toward the end of the day. Dennis Cavanaugh, an upland bird guide, points out that his clients who use pumps and autos tend to put their shotguns on a shoulder with the barrel pointing backward when they get tired. He likes to see doubles because they can be carried with the action cracked open. And because doubles load quietly, hunters are more likely to hike with the chambers empty when hunting turkeys or other game that doesn't require quick shooting and might spook at the noise of a pump or autoloader chambering a shell.
Concerns include a shooter's tendency to play with the tang safety because it is right under the thumb; plus it's easy to accidentally push off if you take a tumble. Safeties that do double duty as the barrel selector—the Ruger Red Label comes to mind—won't slide forward to the fire position unless they are first pressed all the way to the right or left. This complication, slight as it is, can lead to a hunter nervously flicking the safety and unintentionally carrying it in the forward position. Also, the nonautomatic safeties that are popular on sporting clays guns can be forgotten between flushes. For occasional hunters who are not used to paying attention to safeties, those that return to position when the gun is opened are best.
Finally, break actions must be swung down into duck blinds for reloading, whereas pumps and autos can be loaded with the barrel pointing safely at the sky. And mud in the blind can become mud in your barrel, causing the gun to blow up when you pull the trigger. As contributing editor and hunter-education instructor Lawrence Pyne says, "I get tired of telling people that their barrels look like they need swabbing out."
Manning the Trombone
Because pumps require manipulation between shots, there is no chance of an accidental discharge if you slip after a shot. (A duck hunter near my home fell over backward on firing at an overhead bird and accidentally tripped the trigger of his auto. Two pellets struck his partner in the head and killed him.) This makes a pump a good choice in wetlands.
Nevertheless, pump-gun hunters need to become familiar with their guns! Too many of us are once-a-year, borrow-a-shotgun outdoorsmen, and to the uninitiated, pumps seem complicated. I've hunted with men who had no idea how to manually extract shells from the magazine (by depressing the spring lever) and, as a consequence, jacked all the shells through the chamber to unload, and who also did not understand the magazine cut-off mechanism that facilitates the removal of a chambered shell for crossing fences or switching loads. Too often I have seen others fumble with numb fingers to clear shells while the muzzle vacillated between the sky, the ground, the dog, or my head. As hunting writer Wayne van Zwoll says, "Any time you concentrate on the mechanism instead of the behavior, you have a dangerous situation."
Automatic Reactions
With semiautos you have to be constantly vigilant or you may forget that the gun is instantly ready to fire again after a shot. This is a special concern with young hunters, and also with those who switch back and forth among different actions during the year.
Autos are prone to jamming, too. As Cavanaugh points out, "Who wants to be fiddling around with a screwdriver or trying to remove a barrel under field conditions with a live shell in the chamber?" Never look down the barrel of any gun to see if it's clear. In the case of a semiauto, work your finger inside the chamber instead.
Nuts and Bolts
Modern bolt-action rifles are strong, reliable, and quiet, which encourages hunters to hunt—more often and far more safely—with the chamber empty. Each time you open the action, insert a finger to determine whether your rifle is loaded; it's an easy habit to form.
Lately, a lot of press has been generated about bolt-action rifles accidentally firing as the bolt is closed on a chambered cartridge. Remington 700s made prior to March 1982, which require you to push the safety off before lifting the bolt, are most often targeted. (Remington will remove the bolt lock mechanism on some models; contact the company at 877-387-6691 or http://www.remington.com/safety to see if your rifle qualifies.) Assume that a rifle of any manufacture can fire upon either opening or closing the action.
Another bolt-action peccadillo is the trigger, which in some factories is set so heavy that you could tie a leash to it and lead a schnauzer around the block before it would go off. Van Zwoll likens a heavy trigger to a dull axe—unsafe because you have to work too hard to use it. Because the triggers on bolt guns can be readily adjusted, too many do-it-yourselfers make the attempt, inadvertently reducing sear engagement to a dangerous degree. Shell out $85 to a gunsmith who'll do the job right.
Safety Alert
A final word about safeties: Keep them on until it's time to shoot. Raising a gun and slipping off the safety should be a single, practiced motion. But don't rely on any safeties, ever. One and all, they are just slivers of steel.
Contributing editor Scott Bestul put it best: "Who knows why safety mechanisms fail? Carelessness, thoughtlessness, eagerness, aging metal, gremlins…it doesn't really matter once that round goes off." You may win a multimillion-dollar settlement from a firearms manufacturer because your gun fired when it wasn't supposed to. But that won't bring back your brother. That won't bring back your daughter. Because the one thing that can't be recalled is a bullet.
by Keith McCafferty
How to avoid triggering a tragedy.
Any time that a firearm discharges, under any circumstances, the consequences rest with the person who carries it. As esteemed Field & Stream managing editor David E. Petzal states, "You can't shift responsibility onto a piece of machinery."
Assume that a loaded gun can fire at any time, regardless of the care with which you handle it. If you obey the No. 1 rule of handling firearms—always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction—any accidental discharge will result in nothing more than a hole in the ground or sky. Keep in mind that if you use guns long enough, you will someday have one go off accidentally. To lessen the chances of this, you need to understand how the action of your gun raises safety concerns specific to its design.
Letting Down the Hammer
When I asked a number of gun experts, seasoned hunters, and guides what they considered to be the most dangerous action, to a man (and one woman) they responded that it was the action with which you are unfamiliar. Pressed further, the majority pointed to exposed-hammer guns as needing particular care when handling. Any gun that cocks the hammer in the act of chambering demands that a cold, sweaty, or gloved thumb work in harmony with a cold, sweaty, or gloved index finger to simultaneously depress the trigger and lower the hammer back down to the half-cock or safe position. Also, exposed hammers can catch on brush or clothing and the rebounding hammer can fire the gun.
Latter-day Marlin 336s and Winchester 94s, as well as other lever guns, address the exposed-hammer conundrum with crossbar safeties that block an accidental discharge before the action of the lever cocks the hammer. Most experts I interviewed welcomed this, especially for young hunters who don't have to break old habits to get used to it. (Ironically, the Winchester 9422 that many fathers buy for their sons does not have the crossbar safety.)
When Broken Is Good
Break-action shotguns and rifles offer many safety advantages. With the action cracked, it's simple to determine if the gun is loaded or a barrel obstructed, and they're easy to unload before crossing a fence or ditch (which encourages hunters to take this safety precaution).
The natural balance point and comparatively light weight of a double also translates into less fatigue and carelessness toward the end of the day. Dennis Cavanaugh, an upland bird guide, points out that his clients who use pumps and autos tend to put their shotguns on a shoulder with the barrel pointing backward when they get tired. He likes to see doubles because they can be carried with the action cracked open. And because doubles load quietly, hunters are more likely to hike with the chambers empty when hunting turkeys or other game that doesn't require quick shooting and might spook at the noise of a pump or autoloader chambering a shell.
Concerns include a shooter's tendency to play with the tang safety because it is right under the thumb; plus it's easy to accidentally push off if you take a tumble. Safeties that do double duty as the barrel selector—the Ruger Red Label comes to mind—won't slide forward to the fire position unless they are first pressed all the way to the right or left. This complication, slight as it is, can lead to a hunter nervously flicking the safety and unintentionally carrying it in the forward position. Also, the nonautomatic safeties that are popular on sporting clays guns can be forgotten between flushes. For occasional hunters who are not used to paying attention to safeties, those that return to position when the gun is opened are best.
Finally, break actions must be swung down into duck blinds for reloading, whereas pumps and autos can be loaded with the barrel pointing safely at the sky. And mud in the blind can become mud in your barrel, causing the gun to blow up when you pull the trigger. As contributing editor and hunter-education instructor Lawrence Pyne says, "I get tired of telling people that their barrels look like they need swabbing out."
Manning the Trombone
Because pumps require manipulation between shots, there is no chance of an accidental discharge if you slip after a shot. (A duck hunter near my home fell over backward on firing at an overhead bird and accidentally tripped the trigger of his auto. Two pellets struck his partner in the head and killed him.) This makes a pump a good choice in wetlands.
Nevertheless, pump-gun hunters need to become familiar with their guns! Too many of us are once-a-year, borrow-a-shotgun outdoorsmen, and to the uninitiated, pumps seem complicated. I've hunted with men who had no idea how to manually extract shells from the magazine (by depressing the spring lever) and, as a consequence, jacked all the shells through the chamber to unload, and who also did not understand the magazine cut-off mechanism that facilitates the removal of a chambered shell for crossing fences or switching loads. Too often I have seen others fumble with numb fingers to clear shells while the muzzle vacillated between the sky, the ground, the dog, or my head. As hunting writer Wayne van Zwoll says, "Any time you concentrate on the mechanism instead of the behavior, you have a dangerous situation."
Automatic Reactions
With semiautos you have to be constantly vigilant or you may forget that the gun is instantly ready to fire again after a shot. This is a special concern with young hunters, and also with those who switch back and forth among different actions during the year.
Autos are prone to jamming, too. As Cavanaugh points out, "Who wants to be fiddling around with a screwdriver or trying to remove a barrel under field conditions with a live shell in the chamber?" Never look down the barrel of any gun to see if it's clear. In the case of a semiauto, work your finger inside the chamber instead.
Nuts and Bolts
Modern bolt-action rifles are strong, reliable, and quiet, which encourages hunters to hunt—more often and far more safely—with the chamber empty. Each time you open the action, insert a finger to determine whether your rifle is loaded; it's an easy habit to form.
Lately, a lot of press has been generated about bolt-action rifles accidentally firing as the bolt is closed on a chambered cartridge. Remington 700s made prior to March 1982, which require you to push the safety off before lifting the bolt, are most often targeted. (Remington will remove the bolt lock mechanism on some models; contact the company at 877-387-6691 or http://www.remington.com/safety to see if your rifle qualifies.) Assume that a rifle of any manufacture can fire upon either opening or closing the action.
Another bolt-action peccadillo is the trigger, which in some factories is set so heavy that you could tie a leash to it and lead a schnauzer around the block before it would go off. Van Zwoll likens a heavy trigger to a dull axe—unsafe because you have to work too hard to use it. Because the triggers on bolt guns can be readily adjusted, too many do-it-yourselfers make the attempt, inadvertently reducing sear engagement to a dangerous degree. Shell out $85 to a gunsmith who'll do the job right.
Safety Alert
A final word about safeties: Keep them on until it's time to shoot. Raising a gun and slipping off the safety should be a single, practiced motion. But don't rely on any safeties, ever. One and all, they are just slivers of steel.
Contributing editor Scott Bestul put it best: "Who knows why safety mechanisms fail? Carelessness, thoughtlessness, eagerness, aging metal, gremlins…it doesn't really matter once that round goes off." You may win a multimillion-dollar settlement from a firearms manufacturer because your gun fired when it wasn't supposed to. But that won't bring back your brother. That won't bring back your daughter. Because the one thing that can't be recalled is a bullet.
