Why set a rifle down with the barrel up?

[Gaerek]

I walked out the door, packed my bags, sleeved my gun's, grabbed my target during the ceasefire, called it an early day and drove off in my car.

I saw the member again, a month later, and he proceeded to rack his guns with the muzzle down. I performed another early departure from the range; without saying a word to the member.

I don't know if it would have mattered to the president, or any of the other higher ups at your club, but I would have told them that if they were going to keep allowing people to blatantly break safety rules that you were going to find another place to shoot. I'd even go as far as to ask for my pro-rated dues/fees back.

I'm big on safety. Anytime I see a safety violation, I bring it up to an RSO. Some may want to call me a narc or snitch, or whatever, but I personally don't feel like getting shot, or seeing damage or liability to my range of choice. Luckily, the RSOs at the range I frequent are also big on safety, and have no problem dealing with confrontation, when it comes to safety.

[buck460XVR]

His reasoning was the "oil and wood" thing and had to wonder how much oil you'd have to slather on to soak the wood with oil.

Back in the days when I was a kid(50+ years ago) and grandpa was doing this you have to realize, that things were much different. Homes were not air conditioned in the summertime, thus guns were subject to high humidity.....thus they got heavily oiled to prevent rust. Guns used for hunting deer got taken outta the closet for one week a year and then put back until the following year, thus guns were heavily oiled to prevent rust. Being oiled like this before the age of gun safes, dehumidifiers, desiccants, and air conditioning is the only reason many of those old guns are in good condition today. Many old timers like my grandpa didn't have the luxury of having a specialized gun oil either, they used the same 3in1 oil or clean motor oil that they used to oil everything else they owned. This oil tended to stain wood because of the powder fouling it dissolve in the actions. Thus, they stored their guns muzzle down for extended period of time. Gramps had those nice canvas cases with the leather pads on the muzzle for all his guns, and the leather pads were all stained dark from the oil. Not only did the oil stain the stocks, they also made them swell from the absorbed oil and thus the wood to metal fit suffered. No..... gramps didn't intentionally stick his muzzle in the mud and snow, nor did he rest the unprotected muzzle on a hard surface. Nor did he keep his guns loaded while they were stored........back then there was no reason.

[mete]

It's sad to see a fine old British double shotgun with the stock around the receiver rotted out from the oil. Many shooters use much too much oil. A light coating is enough.

[RamItOne]

So it won't damage the crown. If you're over the barrel of a loaded rifle and you manage to set it off then plus one for Darwin.

[Beagle45ACP]

RamItOne, I couldn't agree more

[Brian Pfleuger]

Originally Posted by Gaerek

I don't know if it would have mattered to the president, or any of the other higher ups at your club, but I would have told them that if they were going to keep allowing people to blatantly break safety rules that you were going to find another place to shoot. I'd even go as far as to ask for my pro-rated dues/fees back.

Me too. What's the point of rules if everyone can just "do what you feel is safe"?

[patrickmn]

I can see somebody who is in the habit of resting their rifles with the muzzle on the floor of their safe propping one up that way by a tree or fence and not thinking twice about it until they take the next shot.

[jimpeel]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Demon

The problem of AD when jumping from a truck with an autoloader is when the muzzle is up. Inertia caused the bolt to retract far enough to pick up a round but not far enough for the sear to engage.
The STEN, the MP38, and the PPSH all suffered from this until the bolt tracks or knobs were redesigned.
The early production models of the M1 Carbine were also subject to this.

I was told the Thompson sub gun also had this propensity. Not good for a military firearm to discharge when the enemy is near.

[FAS1]

Seems to me that if you were talking about storing a shotgun, AR-15, or similar for home defense in a single gun safe, rack, etc., storing with the muzzle down would allow you to retrieve and position the gun quicker and with just your strong hand, especially if it has a pistol grip. I have always thought this would be the way I would choose for that application. All my long guns are stored in my safe with the muzzle up.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Grabbing the fore-grip with your off-hand would be no slower than grabbing a pistol-grip with your primary hand.... and there's no trigger to accidentally grab with your off-hand.

[ltc444]

Major reason for setting weapon down barrel up is debris in the barrel.

Brother was goose hunting. Set shotgun muzzle down. Mud in barrel. Fired 12 gauge. Bulged barrel and ruined family heirloom.