Gun safety use...

[Victor3]

 The last time I went out shooting it hit me how infrequently I engage a manually-operated "safety" on most of my guns. I don't usually view them as adding any measure of safety if you're never letting the muzzle point where it shouldn't, and don't chamber a round until required. I don't generally rely on them to prevent a gun from firing.

 I don't know how many times over the years I've protested when someone pointed a gun in my direction and was told "don't worry, it's on safe."

 I use the half-cock position on my Win 62A when I'm hunting (no round in the chamber), but that's only because it keeps the action from opening while walking around. I've carried my 1911 cocked & locked at times. In the past, I've hunted with bolt action rifles that had a round in the chamber and engaged the safety if I thought it would take too long to cycle the action for a quick shot in heavy brush. I don't think it's a very safe practice though.

 Do you use them? Depend on them to prevent a discharge? In what circumstances, why, and on what type of gun?

[williamlayton]

Know yourownself and your weapon, carry it safety on, never sweep another.
I am not afraid of a weapon, I am conscious of safety.
I understand the conerns but a weapon must be chambered to be used.
If the old thing aint dangerous don't have it.
Blessings

[slim rem 7]

when shooting by myself ,before i get set to make a shot that involves hold over an such ,,the safety is off,an the rnd is chambered..i hate to tell how many times i left what i suspect was my best effort ,,unshot..because in my concentration ,id forgot to take the safety off.. jmo.
 now if somebody is with me.. the safety is on ..but im well taught by my dad that,, that gun barrel stays pointed dn an never at anyones heel ,,safety or not..may not be what you were taught ..but its what i was taught an so far its served me well,as most things dad taught me have..slim

[Mikey]

Well, I'll tellya all right now that safety is nothing to joke about.  I am always ducking out of the way when one of my 'friends' starts swinging a barrel my way, no matter how many damn times I say - hey watch where that barrel is pointing.

And safeties work, that's what they were designed for.  If you wonder about your safety working, test it out.  There is nothing wrong with carrying a rifle or shotgun with a loaded chamber if the safety is engaged and it works; we carry our weapons this way in combat and our hunting firearms this way in the field.  Safeties work to prevent discharge.

I carry my 1911s cocked and locked.  I carry my Winchesters on half cock, or full cock with the cross-bolt safety engaged.  If I am carrying a custom rifle I make certain the safety works before I load the firearm and chamber a round. 

It drives me nutz when some one at the range handles a firearm unsafely on accounta I'm usually the one the dang barrel starts to point at just before I start diving out of the way. 

My best buddy and I were at his son's house just plinking around and having fun but after we went back inside and cleaned the pistols he accidentally discharged his pistol in the basement garage.  I felt the concussion on my pants leg and yelled to him to put the g-d safety on.  Nobody got hurt and we all looked to see  the bullet hit but couldn't find it.  Safety is something I always try and practice and it whizzes me greatly when others don't.

[Graybeard]

The only safety that matters is the one between the ears of the person holding that gun. I've spent a huge portion of my life time on clay target ranges shooting with a cross section of folks. No one uses the mechanical safety on the gun on skeet, trap and sporting clays ranges. Safe gun handling practices and only loading the firearm when in place and ready to shoot are the keys to real firearms safety.

The same applies when hunting or just plinking. It's not where the silly little safety button is that matters it's how you handle the gun and where that muzzle is pointed that is important.

[Squib]

the biggest arguement I've always heard is that someone can "forget" to manipulate some lever or device correctly if stressed- don't carry a gun you can't handle when stressed- shooting someone/self-defense is stressful

for a quick analogy, think manual vs automatic transmission, 1911 vs glock... whatever works for you STRESSED OR NOT!  if you want manual with more options or abilities but with more weapon-awareness required, good for you if you can handle it. 

[gwhilikerz]

Speaking for myself I like safeties and am much more comfortable with a safety and/or a hammer.I will not purchase a handgun that doesn't have one or both. My revolvers have hammers, pistols have safety and most have hammer also. I don't feel comfortable about shoving a hammerless revolver or a double action hammerless auto in my pants. If I am carrying a hammerless auto then the chamber is empty.

[williamlayton]

I guess it is just habit, but all my guns in the closet are loaded and on safety.
It is a drill I do often at the range--load the weapon and put it on safety and thumb it off when at ready on the line.
I am conscious about sweeping---all the time.
I have caught myownself putting a mag in the weapon and the weapon pointed at other than down range and it scares me to death.
Blessings

[Victor3]

Safeties work to prevent discharge.

 Most of the time. Like all things mechanical though, gun mechanisms do on occasion fail without warning. I once had a '98 Mauser fire as I disengaged the safety...

 I'd pulled the trigger, then realised that the safety was on. Not noticing that the trigger hadn't returned forward, I flipped the safety off and boom. It was pointing downrange, but was no longer on my shoulder when it went off and the bullet went over the backstop. In this case it would have been safer not to have engaged the safety; the rifle would have fired normally and cycling the bolt for the subsequent round would not have set the striker, alerting me that something was wrong.
 
 For most of my shooting (hunting, plinking, target shooting), I'm able keep the chamber empty when I'm not firing. If a gun leaves my hands, the action is opened whenever practical so I and others can clearly see that it's not able to fire.

 I've found that more often than not - especially with younger and/or less experienced shooters - manual safetys lull some into a false sense of security where they think they can be lax on important safety aspects of gun handling.

[Badnews Bob]

It may not be correct but I only use the safety at the range.  But then I mostly hunt with single shots and revolvers that don't have safeties.

[LONGTOM]

I may be of the few but I use the safety on all firearms that are equipped with one.
Doesn't take the place of safe gun handling, just enhances it.
Do I rely on them?
I sure do, just as I rely on the brakes on my truck to stop me, but I still look for a safe escape route in case they fail.
This has happened to me on two different occasions because of hitting something in the road that broke the brake line.
I use the safety and check it often.
Just the way I was taught.
I trust it to work just the same as I trust any other device to work.
That is want they are there for, but I don't rely on them as my only means of being safe.
Like others have said, they can malfunction.
It also makes those around me feel safer.



LONGTOM