Hunting Safety: The Safety in Hunting Rifles ..

Hunting Safety: The chronicle of hunting accidents returns, every year, a real war bulletin: too many, in fact, the victims of random shots fired by defective rifles, during the same hunting trips or while cleaning the weapon.

But who is to blame for these accidents? The hunter, the gun or both? When a hunting accident occurs, the fault is never of the weapon, but of the person who uses it without considering its operating characteristics and without adopting the most common rules dictated by prudence. All shotguns are equipped with safety locks that lock the trigger when the firearm is not in use. The safety is a mechanism present in all shotguns, over and under, shotguns, automatic and single barrel.

In over-and-under shotguns and side-by-side shotguns, the safety is located behind the release key, while in snaps it is located behind the trigger. The safety of the rifles, however, are not "safe" 100%, because they do not allow to block the battery of the weapon, that is the mechanism that gives rise to the shot and which is composed of the hammer and the firing pin.

A bump or an accidental fall is enough to start the shot even with the safety engaged.

In fact, there are currently no safety devices capable of preventing serious hunting accidents from occurring when the firearm is loaded.

In the safety of the hunting rifle, therefore, an important role is played by the skill, the knowledge of the hunter, the use of some indispensable precautions in the handling of the weapon and the model of the rifle used for the hunts. The device that blocks the trigger must be activated in all situations in which the weapon is not in use, even during the same hunt, especially if you are still looking for the prey and the right stalking. Unlocking the safety should only be done when you are in front of the game and ready to hit it. Better to avoid unlocking the safety too early in relation to identifying the prey. The safety devices of the triggers are made to be defused easily and in a few seconds, precisely to allow the shot only in the direction of the game. Before starting the hunt, it is useful to practice engaging and disarming the safety with the shotgun unloaded.

Another important precaution, to pay attention to in order to hunt without risk, is the use of bullets of the same caliber as the rifle. In addition to the precautions indicated, there are many others and all very useful for practicing a risk-free hunting activity. The shotgun must also be unloaded when crossing streams and inaccessible areas, because an accidental fall of the hunter can easily trigger an involuntary shot. Furthermore, it is necessary to avoid firing on hard surfaces and on bodies of water, where the rebound effect of the hit surface can lead to deflecting the bullet towards people or even against oneself.

Hunting should be avoided in case of strong wind, which causes the deviation of the trajectory of the bullets and in case of rain or fog, which compromise both the visibility and the functionality of the rifle. For greater safety, it is better to choose the latest generation rifles: older models require greater lubrication of the core, that is, of the internal part of the barrel, a detail that can also cause a considerable variation in the trajectory of the bullet after firing.

All shotguns must be carefully maintained and cleaned both before and after use. All operations must be carried out with an unloaded weapon. Excess lubricant and any foreign bodies that can obstruct the barrel and risk the bursting of the rifle in the hands at the moment of use must be eliminated from the speargun.

Rifle dogs also play a decisive role in the safety of hunting. The hammer (in this case not for hunting) is a part of the rifle placed towards the rear, from which the weapon is loaded.

The latest rifle models have internal hammers, that is, they are loaded by fully opening the weapon using the opening key. External hammer guns are loaded by lifting them after inserting the bullets into the chamber. The safety of the external hammer guns is activated by lowering the hammers. This locks the triggers, but the firing pin remains free and can cause a shot following bumps and falls. Some models of internal hammer guns activate the safety automatically as soon as the firearm is closed, as happens in side-by-side shotguns with the Anson & Deeley system.

But technology, to be truly effective, will always need the wisdom and skill of a good hunter ...