Highlandladdie Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Bolt closed. Only just fits with out breaking down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photon Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Snap caps in a semi. Heard it all now. Throw the bloody things away unless you've got leaf springs in your gun. Mines closed same as all guns in the cabinet, with nothing in the chambers. Obviously i should be publicly flogged and i presume burnt at the stake for doing the same to both of my pump actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Closed and dry fired, been doing it for 20 years Never had a problem with any of my semi autos, Atb Flynny +1 It releases the load on all the springs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69chris Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) closed, i know it was unloaded when i put it away, only i have access to the cabinet so unless i have a rogue gang of reloading pixies hanging around i know it'll still be empty when i take it out Edited January 30, 2015 by 69chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Any reason you dont like snap caps mate? Would never use them in a semi, just pull the bolt back 3/4 and pull trigger. I dont use them but getting an O/U soon so would i need them then? Cheers, Mitch The reason I don't like them is modern guns don't need them and getting into the habit of putting things into the chamber before putting away is not a good habit. An empty gun never shot anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Dog Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 All guns regardless of type stored with bolts/actions closed, any gun taken out of the cabinets is checked before bagging/cleaning etc. I was always told to treat any gun as if it was loaded until you check it and prove otherwise. Good advice. All guns checked clear before storage and when taken out for use. Personally store auto closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyxologos Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Thanks for the replies guys. So, will a closed bolt (without pulling the trigger) be the best way to protect springs, firing pin etc? On my o/u and s/s I use snap caps and pull the trigger as I was told this is the best practice (I realise this is a contended issue) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Thanks for the replies. I did not know you can use snap caps on a semi. I use them for my o/u and s/s but was not aware it's possible on a semi... Not sure why you didn't think you could use them in a semi?! Fact is for the vast majority of semis you don't need to anyway (ignoring the whole should I shouldn't I debate over snapcaps anyway), just hold the bolt face part closed and press the trigger, then release the whole bolt slowly to the closed position, simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 All the semi's I owned I can release the hammer tension by closing the bolt atound half way. Then pull the trigger and it allows the hammer to sit on the rear of the bolt. Then slowly close the bolt. If your safety consious! Pop in a breech flag. That way the bolt can't close if you catch the release botton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 +1 It releases the load on all the springs! All the springs ...... All 1 of them then.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet1747 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Closed barrel down and cleaned and oiled up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil smith Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 All the springs ...... All 1 of them then.... Most Auto's will have at least 3 or 4 within the mechanism. By leaving the bolt closed you allow as much tension as possible off the largest of those springs, that is the action spring, located in most cases inside the tube that runs within the stock & acts upon the rear of the bolt, if you leave the bolt open then this spring will be compressed & under maximum tension & may weaken the spring over time. The second strongest spring is usually the hammer spring & by firing the gun prior to storage you again release this spring to a lower tension than if left cocked, but by doing so you place a small amount of extra tension onto the firing pin return spring housed inside the bolt. Most also have a spring the acts on the carrier dog (lifter) but again by leaving the bolt closed its under lower tension than if left open. As all of the springs mentioned are modern coil springs & are easily available these days & also cheap to replace, its not worth the trouble of trying to go to any great lengths to protect them, I change these springs in my main competition guns every 5-10 thousand rounds to avoid spring related issues & excess wear on the associated component parts, but closing the bolt & dry firing helps to extend their life a little bit, works for me. N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retromlc Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IEH Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Dry fired and closed for me. I always check every gun is clear when I first pick it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninja_fox Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Dry fired and closed for me. I always check every gun is clear when I first pick it up. +1 First thing that I do when I take the gun out of the cabinet is check it's empty & then put the breech flag in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sishyplops Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Closed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewluke Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 i always double check that the gun is empty before i put it in the cabinet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) Most Auto's will have at least 3 or 4 within the mechanism. By leaving the bolt closed you allow as much tension as possible off the largest of those springs, that is the action spring, located in most cases inside the tube that runs within the stock & acts upon the rear of the bolt, if you leave the bolt open then this spring will be compressed & under maximum tension & may weaken the spring over time. The second strongest spring is usually the hammer spring & by firing the gun prior to storage you again release this spring to a lower tension than if left cocked, but by doing so you place a small amount of extra tension onto the firing pin return spring housed inside the bolt. Most also have a spring the acts on the carrier dog (lifter) but again by leaving the bolt closed its under lower tension than if left open. As all of the springs mentioned are modern coil springs & are easily available these days & also cheap to replace, its not worth the trouble of trying to go to any great lengths to protect them, I change these springs in my main competition guns every 5-10 thousand rounds to avoid spring related issues & excess wear on the associated component parts, but closing the bolt & dry firing helps to extend their life a little bit, works for me. N Actually it would depend on the make of auto.... In my comment I was referring to the "firing off" of the gun, in doing so it would only relieve some tension on the hammer spring, which is unnecessary. Modern Berettas for example have 1 spring on the front over the mag tube, not in the stock, and the firing pin is free floating. The only other is on the hammer. Edited January 31, 2015 by chrispti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Albert Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 You should have a flag in the breech and the bolt closed on it whenever you move about with it or have finished shooting. Mine always has the flag in it and the bolt closed when it's in the cabinet. That way you know, at a glance, that it's not loaded. Always make sure the mag is empty as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyxologos Posted February 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Can someone please explain in a bit more detail this 'close the bolt 3/4 of the way and pull the trigger' thing? I don't get it. Do I hold the bolt ajar and pull the trigger? If so, what for? What is the benefit of doing this? Is this an alternative to using snap caps? Since I do have the snap caps, won't I be better using these instead of following the dryfiring procedure described? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 You should have a flag in the breech and the bolt closed on it whenever you move about with it or have finished shooting. Mine always has the flag in it and the bolt closed when it's in the cabinet. That way you know, at a glance, that it's not loaded. Always make sure the mag is empty as well. Why should you always have a flag in the breech when you move about or have finished shooting? You should always treat all guns as "live" until proved otherwise,all my guns are cleared and dry fired when I have finished in the field,then again once cleaned and put away,when they come out of the cabinet they are cleared again.If I handed you my shotgun I would do so with it in a state you could see it was clear and expect you to state it was clear before handing it to you. You don't need flags if you have followed the correct SOP's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Can someone please explain in a bit more detail this 'close the bolt 3/4 of the way and pull the trigger' thing? I don't get it. Do I hold the bolt ajar and pull the trigger? If so, what for? What is the benefit of doing this? Is this an alternative to using snap caps? Since I do have the snap caps, won't I be better using these instead of following the dryfiring procedure described? Thanks! It's the same process as closing the bolt on a bolt action rifle, which as you know, leaves the rifle cocked. If you slide the bolt slowly forward to close it while holding the trigger back it decocks the rifle, exactly as it does with a semi auto shotgun, thus leaving the bolt closed but safe, from the perspective that it can't be fired until cocked again. Your snap caps leave the mechanism in exactly the same position; uncocked and safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Can someone please explain in a bit more detail this 'close the bolt 3/4 of the way and pull the trigger' thing? I don't get it. Do I hold the bolt ajar and pull the trigger? If so, what for? What is the benefit of doing this? Is this an alternative to using snap caps? Since I do have the snap caps, won't I be better using these instead of following the dryfiring procedure described? Thanks! Try holding it open at different lengths, you should be able to "fire" it quite short, in many cases much less than half closed. The object of this is to stop the spring/pin getting up full momentum before coming to a sudden halt as it does in normal dry firing (in effect doing the job of a snap cap), it also allows the mechanism to close fully without a snap cap holding the spring under pressure (all be it a tiny amount). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyxologos Posted February 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Brilliant. Thanks for the advice guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesP Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 I am an old stick-in-the-mud. I simply don't believe that springs inherently lose their vital properties simply through, for example, a gun being stored without first"firing" a snap cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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