How to carry a lever safely with a round in the chamber?

I have 22 new Marlins.
One is a 30-30 ss the other is a 45-70 1894.
They both have the cross bolt safety and I just love it.
I damn near blew my foot off with a Winchester 1894 in 30-30 a long time ago.
I never forgot it.
Don't listen to all the bull about it being stamped Marlin.
The new ones with the safety are really better with the Ballard type rifling.
Old Gunsmith.
 
colombe said:
I have 22 new Marlins.
One is a 30-30 ss the other is a 45-70 1894.
They both have the cross bolt safety and I just love it.
I damn near blew my foot off with a Winchester 1894 in 30-30 a long time ago.
I never forgot it.
Don't listen to all the bull about it being stamped Marlin.
The new ones with the safety are really better with the Ballard type rifling.
Old Gunsmith.
Click to expand...

Was the gun on half #### when you had your negligent discharge?
Did your finger slip off the hammer with the trigger held back?

Perhaps you should elaborate so others can avoid making the same mistake....
 
BigUglyMan said:
Generally the half-#### notch on a levergun is much deeper than the sear notch and is deeper than the sear notch. The sear is actually buried in the notch making it impossible, short of a total metallurgical failure, for the hammer to slip past half-####. It is also impossible for the trigger pull to disengage the hammer from this buried notch. See the below image and be relieved.

HPIM2034.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the picture; it's a good illustration of what would have to break for the half #### to fail. In some cases it might make sense to have the cross-bolt safety as a backup, but I'm completely comfortable (and prefer) to carry my Marlins loaded and in half-####, the way they were originally designed.

One suggestion I'd make is to check the efficacy of any half #### notch before relying upon it by: WITH AN UNLOADED RIFLE POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION, put it into half #### and pull the trigger with a moderate amount of force. There should be little or no perceptible movement.

On two occasions I've purchased used Marlins that would drop the hammer from half ####; it turned out that the notch was worn (not broken) enough that the angle with the sear changed and pulling the trigger would allow the sear to lift the hammer back slightly and disengage the notch. A few minutes of careful filing to deepen the notch solved that problem and the rifles have not had any issues since.
 
I have carried my '94 Winchester on round in chamber and half #### for forty years of very rough going. Never a single issue. Cross bolts be damned, half #### is plenty, and a hell of a lot faster to move to full #### when needed.
 
The lever operated trigger blocking catch is not meant to be a "carry loaded" safety... It is there to safeguard against a mechanical miss-use firing of the gun before the cartridge is fully chambered ( out of battery A. D. or slam firing, etc.). To use it as "the safety" when carrying with a cartridge chambered is completely inadequate.
 
I have two Miroku-made Winchester 1892 rifles and a Marlin 1894. The Winchesters have tang safeties and the Marlin has a cross bolt. Neither one is obtrusive when disengaged and work well. I don't see why they're knocked so hard. With a cross bolt you can just leave it deactivated and the Winchester too.
 
mr00jimbo said:
I have two Miroku-made Winchester 1892 rifles and a Marlin 1894. The Winchesters have tang safeties and the Marlin has a cross bolt. Neither one is obtrusive when disengaged and work well. I don't see why they're knocked so hard. With a cross bolt you can just leave it deactivated and the Winchester too.
Click to expand...

They're ugly, unnecessary and pander to the nannies. That's why they're knocked so hard.
 
trebor2880 said:
nanny by definition: "to be overprotective towards"
Click to expand...

Actually by definition: "a person with special training to care for children in a household"

But hey, way off topic. I get the implication of "Pander to the Nannies". But I can't get my head around why using a gun with some added saftey is bad. I get the aesthetics issue.
 
GMC403 said:
Actually by definition: "a person with special training to care for children in a household"

But hey, way off topic. I get the implication of "Pander to the Nannies". But I can't get my head around why using a gun with some added saftey is bad. I get the aesthetics issue.
Click to expand...

Autocorrect screwed me there. I meant to say "ninnies".

If the half-#### was unreliable then I could advocate for more safety. But safe is safe. Hard to be more safe than safe.
 
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