Discussion on storing a rifle cocked or uncocked

[RLP]

I would really like to hear from other members on their view on storing a bolt rifle in a cocked or uncocked manner. I store my factory rifles uncocked and usually release the firing pin by engaging the trigger as I rotate the bolt down ---right or wrong ?? My BR rifles I leave cocked because I think dry firing will damage some styles of firing pins and I don't want to leave a snap cap in the chamber. ?? Your views and input would be appreciated. Thanks RLP

 

[MrMajestic]

No expert here but I do the same as you mentioned. My background is in Machine Tool repairs, alignments and calibrations and as such I have been around springs that are used generate a mechanical action or advantage. They wear out and releasing their load prolongs their life span and possibilities of taking "set".

 

[jonbearman]

Most bolt actions can be let down by simply starting to rotate the bolt in the locked position and squeezing the trigger after you start to move the bolt handle down.

 

[Outrider27]

Springs wear out. Springs wear out orders of magnitude more quickly if not stored in the relaxed condition. And, at least in the several makes of bolt action rifles I own, pulling the trigger while slowly rotating the bolt down releases the load on the spring without actually dry firing the mechanism. My feeling is do all your rifles a favor, including especially your BR rifles.

 

[jonbearman]

I thought I just said that,LOL

 

[Outrider27]

You did. I got the message that someone had posted while I was typing, but figured if we both said it, they'd know we were serious.

 

[Heavies]

Is it a bad thing to dry fire a centerfire bolt action? When I take position, I always dry fire a few times to setup my natural point of aim. This translates into hundreds of dry fires a year.

When I put the gun away I usually do the bolt rotated down thing, just cause I'm usually in my house, and treat a gun as always loaded. But I guess YMMV.

 

[pdogsbeware]

How many old rifles have you guys shot? Pre-64 Wins, Garands, 1903s, grandpa's old deer rifle... I even had a Commission rifle dated 1891 (yes, you read that right) and it never had a weak primer strike.

BUT...it certainly doesn't HURT to leave store them uncocked. If it makes you feel better, and you already do it, our opinions don't really matter, do they? haha I agree with you guys, logic dictates the spring will wear...but in practice, I'm not worried about it.

 

[necchi]

Yeah, but pdogs,
You don't know if the old gun has already had the spring or pin replaced. Or if the spring is still working on Grandpas gun because he always stored it with the spring relaxed.

Another vote for stored with spring relaxed

 

[necchi]

[quote author=RLP] and I don't want to leave a snap cap in the chamber.
[/quote]
Why not leave a fired case with a primer in, run it through the tumbler for cleaning, size it if needed and use that?

 

[Taildrag15X]

If it "cocks on closing" I store them open and relaxed, if it "cocks on opening" it closed an relaxed......

 

[ReedG]

My benchrest rifles are all stored with the bolts out of them so, I guess that means they are stored cocked. Everything else is stored bolt-in and uncocked by holding the trigger as the bolt is closed.

 

[TheSnake]

Another vote for undocking them when lowering the bolt. I would never leave an empty case in the chamber in anything that is going to sit there awhile since I think the case could oxidize or corrode over time. That may not truly ever happen but I am not going to find out the hard way. I undock mine when I finish shooting, hunting or cleaning and I never dry fire anything if I can keep from it. If dry firing didn't hurt, I don't think they would make snap caps. Just my opinion.

 

[fr3db3ar]

I don't know that it makes a large difference but I also store all of mine de-cocked.

 

[markm87]

Life is too short to worry about such things. Auto loaders I put away military style just out of habit, but Bolt gun I don't care one way or the other.

 

[BoydAllen]

If you disassemble the striker assembly of a bolt action, you will see that the additional compression of the spring done by cocking is a relatively small percentage of the total compression of the spring, most of which happens when it is assembled as a part of the striker assembly. I store rifles uncocked. If they are rimfire, I chamber a fired case, to protect the edge of the chamber from being deformed by the firing pin. For center fire, I just check the chamber to make sure that the rifle is unloaded, and dry fire. Doing so, is not harmful.