Do you use the safety on your shotgun?

[CampingJosh]

I do use mechanical safeties on long guns.

I dislike mechanical safeties on handguns. I have holsters for that.

Telling someone that every gun is loaded isn't one of the four rules in my house; it's simply a fact. That's how I keep them. Loaded and chambered, either with a safety or in a holster.

 

[Ruffnek]

Some folks will lose their mind if someone claims that the sound of a pump shotgun chambering a round has any effect on an assailant. I've gotten more than one person's attention with it and seen how well it tends to change some people's channel.

I don't keep a round in the chamber of my long guns be they AR, shotgun or bolt gun. Safeties are easily bumped off or fiddled with and there is no holster covering the trigger. I'm not concerned with giving up my location as anyone in my home doesn't know the layout so I retain plenty of advantage there. If someone is going bump in the night they're going to hear my warnings anyway. I'd prefer they leave as quickly as they came so the sooner I'm making noise the better.

I live in a trailer that is always well-lit because my three-year-old son is at the opposite end of the house so there aren't many places to hide once someone is actively looking for you. I need all the advantages I can get.

Anyone breaking in around here is probably gonna be on meth, so I don't feel that scaring them is going to be accomplished by a shotgun being racked, nor do I have the desire to startle them for fear of meth rage. My defense plan is based on the concept of having the gun on them before they notice me.

 

[oldpink]

I always and automatically use the safety on both my shotgun and rifles, exactly as Trigger Time states he does.
The trigger guard safety on my 870 is still far easier and quicker to actuate than trying to find the slide release alone, let alone racking the action.
Both of my Marlin lever guns are put on half cock until ready to fire.
My Ruger M77 has a tang safety, which is the easiest of all to operate.

 

[Hookeye]

I don't use a safety......when I shoot trap (as my action is open until it's my turn to shoot).
Hunting, it's on until I'm taking the shot. Comes off as the gun comes up.
Doesn't matter if it's tang or front of trigger guard..........automatic.

I have buds who hunt, birds coming in, they clack the safety off after gun up, then start swinging.
They miss a lot.

If i'm on stand, stalking, still hunting or calling............round in chamber, safety on.

Also don't subscribe to trying to load a round when bad guys might be present. IMHO there's a greater chance of a mechanical issue happening at the worst time.
Better to at least be ready with a known successful chamber of a round.

That pump action sound argument.............laughable. I think it much wiser to be ready to boom, and offer a verbal warning. If you want to give them one.

 

[gotguns]

Yes when hunting (deer, birds, rabbits) with a round in the chamber(s) for all action types. I do unload before getting in my treestand and then chamber a round once I have pulled the gun up. I disengage the safety while I am shouldering the shotgun, then finger on trigger as I align the sights. In an HD situation safety would be off with a loaded chamber with the business end pointing away from where I muster my family.

 

[sloughfoot]

I was trained on the use of the pump shotgun in the 1990's. The safety button was disregarded except in one instance after shotgun deployment, otherwise the chamber is kept empty and the shotgun is "cruiser ready".

None of this applies to hunting or range use of the shotgun. It applies to the use of the shotgun in an offensive or defensive role. Against men. Who might have to be gotten shot.

In 12 years on the PD I frequently used the 870 on hot calls or when I thought it might provide an edge. And many times, it did provide that edge.

On some calls, the hammer was down and the slide was ready to be racked. On other calls, the slide was back and all that was required would be to push the slide forward and bang the trigger for the loud noise.

Maybe three times, the slide went forward but it wasn't necessary to make the loud noise. Rufus made a move that stopped the process. The safety was applied when the suspect was secured and the shotgun was then converted to cruiser ready away from that scene and in a safe area.

That is my experience. I still deploy my home defense shotgun in the same way. It is how I trained. And I am totally comfortable with it.

You won't learn how to do it by reading about it.

When I am duck hunting, my story is different.

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

Our HD shotgun is a mossberg SA-20 and it has a round chambered with the safety off. this is how ive trained the girls. If they ever need it, its ready to rock.

 

[phylodog]

That pump action sound argument.............laughable. I think it much wiser to be ready to boom, and offer a verbal warning. If you want to give them one.

Is this based off of your experience in providing this sound to people engaged in criminal activity?

 

[phylodog]

I live in a trailer that is always well-lit because my three-year-old son is at the opposite end of the house so there aren't many places to hide once someone is actively looking for you. I need all the advantages I can get.

Anyone breaking in around here is probably gonna be on meth, so I don't feel that scaring them is going to be accomplished by a shotgun being racked, nor do I have the desire to startle them for fear of meth rage. My defense plan is based on the concept of having the gun on them before they notice me.

Everyone has their own plan as you mentioned earlier, I'm not criticizing anyone for theirs.

 

[lonehoosier]

Reading another thread I see people prefer the Mossberg over the Remington or vice versa based on safety position. "It's easier to reach the tang safety" or, "I prefer the safety right next to the trigger guard."

Am I the only one that never uses the safety on a shotgun?

I know it's an antiquated hold-over from back when shotties weren't drop safe (and most are now) but I've always carried an empty chamber and pumped when it's time to get serious or, if it's already business time, just walked around with the safety off.

Am I really just unnecessarily old school? Or do some of you guys do that too?

I don't know of any Mossberg, Remington or Bonelli shotguns that are drop safe. All those have trigger safety not firing pin safety's.

Which shotguns are drop safe?

I know of only the KSG

All three of my 870 HDs are cruiser ready. It means hammer down on an empty chamber, slide unlocked, safety off. That way, just grab and rack, I'm good to go.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I keep my HD shotgun on an empty chamber simply because the odds are higher I'll drop it taking it out of it's storage area than I'll need it for HD. Most shotguns are NOT drop safe. I still use the safety as well, because that's how it sits in my patrol car and I want exactly one manual of arms.

I'm of the same opinion as Phylo. Racking a shotgun gets people's attention. If I need to do it on the sly, I can.

 

[SSGSAD]

All I can say, is ..... Train the way you are going to FIGHT,

AND, FIGHT the way you have trained .....

The op, was about shotguns ..... My Maverick has it on the trigger guard .... so many people have accidents,

I don't fiddle around the trigger ..... PERIOD .....

AR, 26 years in the Mil., safety on, mag inserted, close bolt, sight, safety off, BANG, repeat as needed .....

 

[GIJEW]

That pump action sound argument.............laughable. I think it much wiser to be ready to boom, and offer a verbal warning. If you want to give them one.

It might be laughable to PLAN on making noise with your shotgun to scare off the evil spirits, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't work. FWIW it did for my bro in law.

I keep my shotgun "cruiser ready" with the safety off because I think that under stress, racking the slide will work better for me than disengaging that little safety button that's on the backside of my 870s trigger guard. I hear what you're saying about short stroking the slide. No free lunch. Both problems respond to training/practice.

 

[9mmfan]

I use the safety on long arms. No safety on hand guns.

 

[Hookeye]

Safety on my handgun (used to be P35, now 1911). Have also used a few revolvers (Smith and Colt).
It comes off as the gun comes up.
No prob if I use a non safety auto.........sweep for it anyway.

However, I will not have handguns that have safeties that work opposite to thumbing down to go bang.

If my auto is in my holster it has one chambered and is cocked and locked.

 

[MohawkSlim]

Which shotguns are drop safe?

I've had far too many people tell me, "All the modern ones are fine as long as you use the safety." It's amazing what can happen when we apply universal safety rules!

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I know it's an antiquated hold-over from back when shotties weren't drop safe (and most are now) but I've always carried an empty chamber and pumped when it's time to get serious or, if it's already business time, just walked around with the safety off.

What exactly constitutes your basis of knowledge for the contention that shotguns are now magically "drop safe"? When did this event transpire? Is there a serial number start as to each model where the magic happened?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I've had far too many people tell me, "All the modern ones are fine as long as you use the safety."

So, people in a gun store tell you something and this is transformed into a true statement?

I must be missing something. Are you being sarcastic to point out how foolish it is not to use the safety? Sort of A Modest Proposal gun safety lesson?

 

[MohawkSlim]

What I'm saying is there are people out there who believe the safety makes their shotgun drop safe.

 

[Zoub]

What I'm saying is there are people out there who believe the safety makes their shotgun drop safe.

One of the best lines I ever heard in a corporate meeting. Old guy seated next to me, retired shop teacher who worked to stay active, makes a great comment about a safety issue we had. People were drifting away from our SOP and he was concerned.

A 20 something "kid" replies "says the shop teacher missing one finger."

Both were right.

If a guy has all his fingers and toes and tells you something is safe, don't work with him. He is an accident waiting to happen. If a guy with no toes says use your safety, he has a certain street cred you can't buy, he is telling you something.