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How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
#7018918
01/01/18 12:20 AM
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Joined: Jul 2008
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Texas Dan
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I've been hunting with my Marlin 30-30 a lot this season and was wondering how you guys set your trigger and safety combination when on the stand? The type of safety will likely help determine this, but the idea is to have a gun that's safe and yet can be quickly and quietly readied to fire. For example, with the trigger in the halfcock position, isn't the gun just as safe from an accidental discharge as having the safety on? Do you leave the safety off when the trigger is set to halfcock? Or perhaps you leave the trigger fully cocked with the safety on. And what about those who use a lever gun like the Winchester Model 94 that doesn't have a safety on the receiver but can only be fired with the lever pressed against the neck of the stock? Do you consider the lever safety sufficicient with the trigger fully cocked?
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7018953
01/01/18 12:43 AM
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Joined: Aug 2011
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Tactical Cowboy
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There should be no safety on a lever gun.
As such, I keep a round chambered and the hammer half-cocked.
The secret to a long life is to try not to shorten it.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7018968
01/01/18 12:51 AM
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Adchunts
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My Glenfield 30A has one in the chamber, and the hammer down when I’m in the stand. I usually hunt with a T/C Encore muzzleloader and centerfire, so cocking the hammer is second nature.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Tactical Cowboy]
#7018985
01/01/18 12:59 AM
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Joined: Aug 2012
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TexFlip
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There should be no safety on a lever gun.
As such, I keep a round chambered and the hammer half-cocked. This. Close thread.
Just to make sure that it is done thoroughly, I go both ways.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Tactical Cowboy]
#7019014
01/01/18 01:18 AM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,278
Texas Dan
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There should be no safety on a lever gun.
As such, I keep a round chambered and the hammer half-cocked. So if your lever gun has a safety, you just might as well leave it off and only use the trigger's halfcock position to protect against accidental discharge. Correct? Of course, this assumes that in the height of a relapse into Buck Fever, you don't forget to pull the trigger back to its fully cocked position. Otherwise, when sitting on the stand, leave the safety on and the trigger fully cocked as would be the case with most of your deer rifles.
Last edited by Texas Dan; 01/01/18 01:20 AM.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019026
01/01/18 01:28 AM
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 4,140
Dalee7892
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My dad's old Winchester 32 spc.has no safety except for the position of the hammer, the New Winchester 357, I just acquired has a safety on it. I would have either safety off and half [censored] or safety on and full [censored]. Safety is first.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: TexFlip]
#7019031
01/01/18 01:34 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 27,091
Nogalus Prairie
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There should be no safety on a lever gun.
As such, I keep a round chambered and the hammer half-cocked. This. Close thread.
I learned long ago you can't reason someone out of something they don't reason themselves into.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Nogalus Prairie]
#7019039
01/01/18 01:37 AM
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Posts: 22,278
Texas Dan
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There should be no safety on a lever gun.
As such, I keep a round chambered and the hammer half-cocked. This. Close thread. No safety and no scope?
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019046
01/01/18 01:41 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 27,091
Nogalus Prairie
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Mine have a safety-it’s called the half cocked position.
I learned long ago you can't reason someone out of something they don't reason themselves into.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019056
01/01/18 01:48 AM
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 15,588
TexFlip
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There should be no safety on a lever gun.
As such, I keep a round chambered and the hammer half-cocked. So if your lever gun has a safety, you just might as well leave it off and only use the trigger's halfcock position to protect against accidental discharge. Correct? Of course, this assumes that in the height of a relapse into Buck Fever, you don't forget to pull the trigger back to its fully cocked position. Otherwise, when sitting on the stand, leave the safety on and the trigger fully cocked as would be the case with most of your deer rifles. If a lever gun has a safety, you remove it.
Just to make sure that it is done thoroughly, I go both ways.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019058
01/01/18 01:49 AM
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Joined: Aug 2012
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TexFlip
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There should be no safety on a lever gun.
As such, I keep a round chambered and the hammer half-cocked. This. Close thread. No safety and no scope? Didn't say anything about optics. There is zero need for a single action, manually operated firearm to have a mechanical safety.
Just to make sure that it is done thoroughly, I go both ways.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019079
01/01/18 02:06 AM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 29,685
Sneaky
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I don’t use the safety on a lever gun. I’d rather it didn’t have one.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019104
01/01/18 02:26 AM
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 313
Ritter
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Bird Dog
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My model 94 has a safety. It's called half-cocked.
The rest of my rifles have safeties also. They're called the guy behind the trigger.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Sneaky]
#7019134
01/01/18 02:40 AM
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Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 23,197
Bee'z
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I don’t use the safety on a lever gun. I’d rather it didn’t have one. X2 Half cocked is safety.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019165
01/01/18 02:56 AM
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Posts: 22,278
Texas Dan
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I suspected my post would generate some lively discussion, and that it has.
As with any topic, it's easy to find someone who addresses it will some level of authority.
"I recently got an email from Ed Harris which touched on this very subject. Talking about the Marlin pistol-caliber lever actions, he says:
“The crossbolt safety of modern Marlins is wonderful and permits safe carry with the chamber loaded. This is safer than carrying with the hammer down and safety off, because in that manner the gun could fire if the hammer were struck or the rifle dropped.
When I worked at NRA I was aware of accidental discharges when the hammer jarred off the half-[censored] notch. The hammer being heavy enough, and pistol primers sensitive enough, the gun would fire even with the reduced hammer fall from the half-[censored]. We set this up in the lab and reproduced it with .38 Special loads regularly. Less often with harder primers in .357 and .44 Magnum, but it could still occur."
Last edited by Texas Dan; 01/01/18 03:04 AM.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: TexFlip]
#7019427
01/01/18 06:27 AM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,544
SnakeWrangler
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There should be no safety on a lever gun.
As such, I keep a round chambered and the hammer half-cocked. This. Close thread.
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored] Actually, BBC is pretty damn good "You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019555
01/01/18 01:49 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,278
Texas Dan
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It appears the excitement that comes with pulling back and fully locking the trigger when you first see that huge buck is something at least several of you enjoy with your lever guns. I like that plan as well, so long as I don't forget that I'm hunting with a lever gun and forget to do it during all the excitement.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019559
01/01/18 01:56 PM
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 194
grizzlyman
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Marlin 336 and BLR circa 1971 that I use have no crossbolt safety. Half [censored] over a loaded chamber has never presented a problem for me on any of my old lever actions.
Last edited by grizzlyman; 01/01/18 01:57 PM.
NRA Certified Rifle/ML Instructor NRA Certified RSO Graduate of Benning's School for Wayward Boys
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019596
01/01/18 02:36 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,278
Texas Dan
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After some additional reading on the subject, it appears halfcock failures is not the issue. The greater risk is created by the trigger being left fully cocked each time the action is fully cycled in order to place a cartridge into the chamber. This places the gun in a ready to fire condition with no mechanism to block an accidental release of the hammer. After loading each and every cartridge, the gun must be manually placed in the halfcock or safe trigger position.
Say what you want, but a firearm that is always placed in the ready to fire condition each and every time a cartridge is loaded carries greater risk. I'll even go further and say that based on what I know now, I would never give a high-powered lever gun to a kid if it doesn't include a later design safety mechanism.
"Many lever-action rifles have external hammers with halfcock notches. For many years, this was considered an adequate safety position for the hammer when the rifle was in the carry mode. The problem is, when the rifle is loaded and a round chambered, the hammer is left in the cocked position. The only way to release it to the halfcock notch is to pull the trigger and ease the hammer forward with the thumb or finger. For those with minimal dexterity or just not paying attention, this creates a dangerous potential to release the hammer too quickly or too far forward. In either case, an unexpected discharge could occur. To eliminate the potential hazard, many recently manufactured lever-action rifles have a manual safety to block the hammer from contacting the firing pin."
Last edited by Texas Dan; 01/01/18 02:50 PM.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019737
01/01/18 04:04 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,189
Tactical Cowboy
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I suppose greater levels of stupidity have developed in people in the last 40 years. The same safety device has been used on lever actions since the 1860 Henry, revolvers since 1836, and muzzleloaders for a good while before that.
The secret to a long life is to try not to shorten it.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Tactical Cowboy]
#7019779
01/01/18 04:33 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,278
Texas Dan
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I suppose greater levels of stupidity have developed in people in the last 40 years. The same safety device has been used on lever actions since the 1860 Henry, revolvers since 1836, and muzzleloaders for a good while before that. We all know that legal accountability for stupidity has since been tranferred from the owners of products to the companies that manufactured them. Still, we should offer credit to all efforts to make guns safer to use.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7019947
01/01/18 06:09 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,189
Tactical Cowboy
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.
Last edited by Tactical Cowboy; 01/01/18 06:09 PM.
The secret to a long life is to try not to shorten it.
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7020369
01/01/18 10:45 PM
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 327
tehachapi
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7020450
01/01/18 11:28 PM
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Joined: Jul 2011
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Ranch Dawg
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Marlin 45-70, safety removed ( after missing the biggest deer in my life because of the safety lol ) and replaced with a saddle ring. I keep a round chambered and half cocked.
THE ROAD GOES ON FOREVER AND THE PARTY NEVER ENDS.
F##K YOU JOE BIDEN !!!!!
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Re: How do you set the trigger and safety combination on your lever gun when on the stand?
[Re: Ranch Dawg]
#7020732
01/02/18 01:44 AM
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Joined: Oct 2006
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JJH
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I use the safety on my lever gun, just like the safety on a bolt action. (it’s a M99 )
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