Hunter shot west of Spences Bridge

[tomcat]

Why does anyone need a safrty. Only load it when it will be shot!!!

Yes, when you see your opportunity , if you don't have time to load your chamber you don't have time to make a decent shot IMO.

[IslandWanderer]

Yes, when you see your opportunity , if you don't have time to load your chamber you don't have time to make a decent shot IMO.

That doesn't make much sense imo.

[Firstblood]

Bird hunting, still hunting up close and personal, moving to get a better shot. There are lots of times and reasons to have your gun loaded while hunting so dont act like you know better, a safety is one thing but treating every gun as if it is loaded is rule number one even then accidents do happen.

[IslandWanderer]

Bird hunting, still hunting up close and personal, moving to get a better shot. There are lots of times and reasons to have your gun loaded while hunting so dont act like you know better, a safety is one thing but treating every gun as if it is loaded is rule number one even then accidents do happen.

Agreed, and I think that muzzle control and assuming every gun is loaded helps to increase safety.

[375shooter]

I think that actual safety failure is a pretty rare occurrence on most makes of guns. If it does happen, it's most likely a cause of some sort of dirt built up in the trigger mechanism preventing the safety from fully engaging to the ON position.

As long as the safety is kept clean by proper maintenance, I believe human error to be more of a factor in rendering a gun unsafe (ready to fire). There are two ways this can happen.

The first is when a safety is switched to the the ON position, but some time later is then inadvertently switched to the OFF without the user realizing it. The second is when the user THINKS they have put the safety ON, but have actually in fact not done so. It might be hard to image this could happen, but it does, and happens more often than many people realize.

Another potential problem (not a fault of the safety though) is if someone without sufficient knowledge, attempts to adjust the trigger and does so improperly. If this happens, depending on how the adjustment was made, the simple act of switching the safety from the ON position to OFF position, could make the gun fire. Another possible result of an improperly adjusted trigger is the potential to fire if the gun is jarred hard enough, or if a round is chamber from the magazine rapidly enough.

Remember these are only potential problems and only if the trigger adjustment is changed improperly from the factory setting. If not changed, there is no need to be concerned. As a side note, if someone is not comfortable with adjusting a trigger themselves, it's a good idea to either leave it alone, or get assistance from someone who is.

Personally I rarely rely on a safety. The only time I will, is if I'm trailing an animal that has already been shot. The rest of the time, while I hunt, the chamber is either empty, or there is one in the chamber but the striker is uncocked. Even then I check periodically to confirm the rifle is indeed uncocked, while always maintaining safe control of the muzzle.

It's definitely saddening to hear whenever a hunter has been shot, for whatever reason. My heart goes out to his family!

[Fella]

None of us know what happened, I think the best thing to do now is to send up prayer/good vibes/positive thoughts to the victim and his/her family.

[fuzzybiscuit]

Personally I rarely rely on a safety. The only time I will, is if I'm trailing an animal that has already been shot. The rest of the time, while I hunt, the chamber is either empty or there is one in the chamber but the striker is uncocked. Even then I check periodically to confirm the rifle is indeed uncocked, while always maintaining safe control of the muzzle.

I’d agree to never trust a safety and to always practice good muzzle control. But safe muzzle control is the key because un-cocking a firearm on a live round is about as dangerous as it gets. When un-cocked, the firing pin is resting against the primer. Accidentally drop that firearm and there is a very good chance it will go off when it is left in the un-cocked state. Who knows where a dropped firearm could end up pointing so leaving it un-cocked is not a safe practice and I’d never hunt with someone who did it.

Un-cocking a rifle on an empty chamber is another thing all together but there would also be no point in doing so...

[375shooter]

I know it SOUNDS pretty scary to many, but really it's not very dangerous at all. Statistically it's very safe. I believe there has only been something like 3 instances of it actually happening and those may have been with guns other than bolt actions. It would take more than dropping it onto the ground while walking along hunting, to make it discharge.

Dropping it from the height of a tree stand might do it, though. In this case be extra careful, or keep the chamber empty. The noise, and the time it takes to chamber a round could result in lost opportunities though.

I’d agree to never trust a safety and to always practice good muzzle control. But safe muzzle control is the key because un-cocking a firearm on a live round is about as dangerous as it gets. When un-cocked, the firing pin is resting against the primer. Accidentally drop that firearm and there is a very good chance it will go off when it is left in the un-cocked state. Who knows where a dropped firearm could end up pointing so leaving it un-cocked is not a safe practice and I’d never hunt with someone who did it.

Un-cocking a rifle on an empty chamber is another thing all together but there would also be no point in doing so...

[WetLeopard]

Really sad to hear. As a newer hunter just starting to feel more "comfortable" with my firearms, it's unfortunately a good reminder you can't get lazy with gun safety.
Even in limited experience though I have to agree with what someone said above. I do a lot of still hunting, and it really just isn't feasible not to have a round chambered. In my limited experience, I think there would be a significant risk of a poor/unethical shot if forced to hurry through chambering a round while trying to get on target.
Muzzle control is everything, a safety is there as a backup but of course never to be relied on.

[MOOSE MILK]

Carrying an unloaded rifle in griz country is like carrying a club.