my 1st try at grouse

[welsh]

I shoot right handed so there is always an ear plug in my right ear.

Wrong ear. If you must wear one plug, wear it in the off ear. It seems odd, but the off ear is the ear that gets more noise for most shooters.

[sharps4570]

So many advocates for leaving the safety on, yet everyone seems to be just fine with no hearing protection!? I hunt solo 99% of the time and my safety is off 99% of the time. I shoot right handed so there is always an ear plug in my right ear. Don't wish to lose any more of my hearing, thank you very much!

If I am walking on dry leaves myself, how the heck am I supposed to hear a grouse rustle the leaves 40 yards away? How will I tell if it's not a chipmunk?! 30 years of hunting grouse and I have never heard one other than when they flush or make soft clucking sounds when alarmed and nearby. Ear protection has never hindered my ability to hunt them!!!

When hunting with others (rare for me) I want to see everyone control the muzzles of their guns at ALL TIMES, plus everyone keeps the safety ON until the gun is shouldered and ready to fire. I wear two earplugs in such occasions as well.

You may agree that just by having a firearm safety ON (during a hunt) shouldn't be deemed as having rendered that as 100% safe. So many other factors form part of the equation too i.e. mechanical condition of the firearm being used, diligence in muzzle/trigger finger control at all times, being fully aware of surroundings etc etc. Having said that, with all other necessary precautions in place, technically, the safety switch is a foremost safety component that would prevent an accidental discharge.

It's a personal decision obviously, however, simply because one may hunt solo must not justify keeping the safety off. One example - I've observed instances in the field where an individual has leaned a loaded firearm against a tree in order to quickly relieve himself or to get rid of ants or leech inside one's clothing.......the firearm slid over from it's support falling to the ground with some force while the muzzle pointed dangerously at the person. One occasion, I encountered a Brown Cobra that suddenly slid down a vine only a few yards away......the fright caused me to jump backwards and fall on my back with the shotgun muzzle close to my face. Fortunately, in all those instances safety was on.

Ear plug use perspective, that could be well justified in hunt scenarios where high volume shooting may be involved (driven birds/duck blinds etc). For Grouse hunting, one would be considered lucky indeed to be able to fire off more than 5 shells in a given day!

[Cintax]

Wrong ear. If you must wear one plug, wear it in the off ear. It seems odd, but the off ear is the ear that gets more noise for most shooters.

This is my experience too. I think its because the right ear is in line with the muzzle but turned away so the high pressure sound wave doesn't hit the ear as much.

[chris1395]

I can't help myself, I'm so bored at work today......

Was there also a second Brown Cobra that suddenly slid down your leg after that first encounter?

One occasion, I encountered a Brown Cobra that suddenly slid down a vine only a few yards away......the fright caused me to jump backwards and fall on my back with the shotgun muzzle close to my face. Fortunately, in all those instances safety was on.

[welsh]

One example - I've observed instances in the field where an individual has leaned a loaded firearm against a tree....

In my army days, leaning a gun against anything was always strictly verboten for the obvious reason that it could fall or be knocked over. This is one of the most common of casual safety violations. Doesn't matter if the gun is unloaded if other people in your party can't see that it's unloaded at a glance. The only exception I make to this is briefly leaning a gun for a picture of dog and birds.

Incidentally, in my army days, the safety catch stayed on until the gun came to the shoulder ... we were trained that way.

[sharps4570]

Was there also a second Brown Cobra that suddenly slid down your leg after that first encounter?

Underpants remained unsoiled during that particular incident. However, it came very close to that when a cobra had decided to use the platform of our waterfowl boat to cross over to the other side. Another time, during a beat for Red Jungle Fowl, when a Leopard had emerged from the tea bush less than ten yards away.

The challenge with hunting in the tropics was/is that the nearest medical facility is usually hundreds of miles away and proper road communication is mostly terrible to non-existent.

[crayfish]

No safety ? really? Hope your life insurance is up to date. My finger is constantly checking to ensure that the safety is still engaged while hunting and I don't believe I have lost any shooting opportunities because I had to disengage the safety. If you hunt this way please do it alone and don't pass on this piece of wisdom to any new /young hunters.

x2 Always checking to make sure the safety is on, would never want to hunt with someone who thinks otherwise. If you cant flick the safety off before you shoot you definitely need some practice at the range. Don't put others in harms way.

[sharps4570]

If you cant flick the safety off before you shoot you definitely need some practice at the range.

Actually at the range, as far as clay shooting is concerned, the safety catch is more of a hindrance and hardly used......a reason why shotguns with auto safety feature (usually on breechloading field models) aren't desirable.

[greatwhite]

Not all guns have a safety, I have an old single Cooey shotgun Hammer and there is no halfcock. It's either pulled back and loaded or not. No the gun isn't broken.

[welsh]

Actually at the range, as far as clay shooting is concerned, the safety catch is more of a hindrance and hardly used....

Many dedicated target guns don't even have one ... but on the other hand, if you make a habit of using the safety for about 5000 rounds on the range, you will instil taking it off and putting it back on as you mount / lower the gun as an ironclad habit.

Not all guns have a safety....

But would you suggest that this somehow means you shouldn't use it if it's there?