Safety Mechanisms

A safety is a device that blocks the action to prevent the firearm from shooting until the safety is released or pushed to the “off” position. The safety is intended to prevent the firearm from being fired accidentally. However, safeties should never be relied on totally to protect against accidental shooting. Safeties are mechanical devices and subject to mechanical failure from wear and other factors, and can fail when least expected. Also, safeties can be bumped from the safe position unknowingly as your firearm is being handled or as it catches on clothing or tree branches.

Typical Locations of Safeties

The red outlines indicate where safeties are typically located on rifles, shotguns, and handguns.

Safety TIP

You should never replace safe firearm handling by trusting the safety on a firearm. A safety is a mechanical device that could fail. Don’t release the safety until just before you shoot.

Knowing where the safety is and how it works is not always as simple as it might seem. There are many types of safeties. Sometimes persons alter or modify their guns to disable the safety. This is very dangerous, especially if the gun gets into the hands of an inexperienced shooter. Be sure you know how the safety works on your own gun or any others you handle. Never alter or modify your firearm yourself. Have an experienced gunsmith look at your gun if the safety does not work or if anything else is wrong with it.

Types of Rifle Sights

Remember …
Never use the scope on your telescopic sight as a set of binoculars!

Location: All safeties are located around the receiver of the firearm and are usually easy to spot. Common types of safeties are:

Cross-Bolt Safety

• Common on pump and semi-automatic firearms
• A simple push-button action that blocks the trigger or hammer
• Usually located at the trigger guard or ahead of the hammer

Pivot Safety

• Common on handguns and bolt-action rifles
• A pivoting lever or tab that blocks the trigger or firing pin
• Located on the frame (blocks trigger) or on the bolt or slide (blocks firing pin)

Slide or Tang Safety

• Common on some rifles and break-action shotguns
• A sliding bar or button that blocks the firing action
• Located on the tang(a metal strip behind the receiver) of break-action firearms or on the side of the receiver on some rifles

Half-Cock or Hammer Safety

• Common on firearms with exposed hammers
• Positions the trigger at half-cock, away from the firing pin
• Engaged by placing the trigger at half-cock; some firearms automatically rebound to the half-cock position after the trigger is released
• While not a true safety, it sometimes is described as a mechanical safety device by firearm manufacturers

Magazines

In repeating firearms, the magazine is the place that stores the ammunition that has not been fired. When you work the action, a cartridge is picked up from the magazine and placed in the chamber ready to be fired.

Magazines are designed with a spring and follower that push against the cartridges to move them into the action. When checking a magazine to make sure it’s empty, you must be able to either see or feel the follower; if you cannot see or feel the follower, there may be a cartridge jammed in the magazine, which can be dangerous. Tubular magazines require close attention to make sure a cartridge is not jammed in the magazine.

Magazines may be detachable or fixed.

• Detachable magazines allow you to remove extra ammunition from the firearm simply by removing the magazine.
• Fixed magazines require the ammunition to be removed manually from the gun itself. These include tubular, hinged-floorplate, and revolving magazines.
  

Sights

A sight is a device used to line up the muzzle with the shooter’s eye so that he or she can hit the target. Sights are more critical on a firearm that fires a single projectile (rifle and handgun) than on a firearm that shoots a pattern of shot (shotgun). Shotguns usually have a simple pointing bead. Rifles typically have an open, an aperture (peep), or a telescopic sight. Most handguns have an open sight, although some specialized handguns have a dot or a telescopic sight. Read more about using sights on pages 24-26.

• Bead Sight: Simple round bead set into the top of the barrel near the muzzle of a shotgun. Some shotguns have a second, smaller bead about halfway back on the barrel. The shooter uses the shotgun to “point” at and follow a moving object. The bead is used only for a reference as the shotgun is pointed and moved to follow flying or running targets.
• Open Sight: Combination of a bead or post front sight and a notched rear sight. These sights are simple and inexpensive. Open sights allow quick sighting. To aim, you center the top of the bead or post with the notch of the rear sight and line up on the target. Open sights can be fixed or adjustable.
• Aperture (Peep) Sight: Combination of a bead or post front sight and a round hole set on the rifle’s receiver close to the shooter’s eye. To aim, you center the target in the rear peep or aperture sight and then bring the front sight into the center of the hole. An aperture sight is more accurate and adjusted more easily than an open sight.
• Telescopic Sight (Scope): Small telescope mounted on your firearm. A scope gathers light, brightening the image and magnifying the target, and does away with aligning rear and front sights. The aiming device inside the scope is called the “reticle.” To aim, you simply look through the scope and line up the crosshairs, post, or dot with your target. Telescopic sights are the most accurate, which makes them popular for hunting.
• Dot Sight: Small device mounted on your firearm. A dot sight uses electronics or optical fibers to project a glowing dot or other mark on a lens in front of the shooter’s eye. Some dot sights also magnify like telescopic sights.