Safety Training for Youth is mostly now mandatory to get hunting license and this is a good thing as many parents are isolated from opportunity to teach their youngsters the safe and enjoyable way to enjoy shooting.  They who practice expect that clearing the weapon, accessing access to the practice area, safe setup and protection from nearby intrusion, and to load, aim, fire is expected; practice improves the accuracy and adds confidence for the shooter.  What happens if the weapon discharges ‘on its own’ after loading and locking the breech?

Winchester manufactured a great hunting rifle for several years including the Model 70 bolt action.  This rifle has been one of the great hunting rifles in America and has astounding followers and they boast the features, handling, and accuracy among other plus points.  There is a potential problem which I first witnessed on a high altitude hunt with my brother and his friend when we were securing weapons after our first foray of the day before entering the vehicle to return to camp.  We are careful as any of them who handle weapons responsibly so each has their weapons pointed away from the vehicle toward a safe ‘target’.

The friend was clearing his Model 70 30-06 one shell at a time; ejecting a shell, closing the breech, extracting another shell and when he closed the breech the rifle fired!  My brother instantly accused him of pulling the trigger but was not so!  We chalked it up to a weird odd occurrence.

A few years later I was hunting again with my brother with my Winchester Model 70 30-06 and had a similar situation as I ejected a spent cartridge and locked a second round for my next shot and the rifle fired upon closing the breech!  What?

My gunsmith smiled and agreed this is a problem with the older weapons after hundreds of rounds fired, there is a ‘holding pin’ that temporarily holds the firing pin from acting during the closing and locking of the bolt–like the safety does.  There is a tang “protrusion” that is the culprit as this is a sliding contact and wears down with use.  Disassemble the bolt and replace this important part–maybe every 10 years on schedule and avoid disastrous firing error!