At the pistol range yesterday and was waiting for a break to put my targets up. Someone called for a cease-fire and we got ready to cross the line. I then noticed that a guy shooting a repro BP percussion pistol had loaded chambers and his pistol barrel-up in a loose stand. I called a halt and mentioned to the guy that his gun was loaded on the line with us about to go down-range. I know next to nothing about BP guns so I wasn't convinced when he told me it was OK, the hammer was at half-cock. If that pistol fell off the rickety stand I would not consider the half-cock to be much of a safety, and I explained that to him. He got a bit testy and then said there were no caps in place. That sounded a bit safer, so we proceeded.
My question..........was I overly sensitive about a "loaded" BP pistol on the line with us down-range? Is that how to make a BP pistol 'safe', or should he have removed the cylinder or fired the rounds?
My question..........was I overly sensitive about a "loaded" BP pistol on the line with us down-range? Is that how to make a BP pistol 'safe', or should he have removed the cylinder or fired the rounds?