Location of bolt gun safety

So, when you put the safety on the same side of the action as the bolt, you are making it impossible to operate the safety with your thumb while shouldering the rifle. You have to un-shoulder the rifle, operate the safety, then re-shoulder it.

That's just not right.
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You are correct, your statement about having to un-shoulder the rifle to operate the safety is, "just not right". :D

OF course, there are a number of people who think they need to un-shoulder the rifle to operate the bolt, and I don't understand them, either. :)
 
My complaint is not the location but the direction to disengage. I wish it were reversed. I am plenty fast and very practiced with my bolt guns but after having over 225 hours of formal training with precision guns I've just decided that I would prefer the direction to be opposite, that is on my Remington and Tikka. My TRG is good to go and I feel is ideal.
 
I'm trying to remember using the safety one all of my rifle except my ARs.

When hunting I don't use the safety as I don't carry a round in the chamber. I just chamber around as I'm getting ready to shoot.

In competitions, unless I'm ready to shoot, I have an empty chamber indicator in the rifle. When I load, the bolt is always to the rear, except for Garands and Carbine where you start with the bolt closed on an empty chamber.

I do like the Model 70's safety for unloading a gun by working the bolt.

I just never had a problem with safety locations on my rifles.
 
I like the Remington 700 safety location because I almost never wrap my thumb. Keeping it on the right side makes operating the bolt faster and it just feels natural to me.

People who use Savage 99s, especially with the top tang safety, probably like to wrap their thumbs because the action cocks on closing and takes more effort than other lever guns, so thumb wrapping seems natural for that rifle.
 
I don't know about that. The reason I lost interest in Winchester 94 lever guns is because they are not nearly as smooth as 99 Savage. The first time I shot a 99 Savage and flicked the spent case out with two fingers, I was hooked. The trade off was the handy exposed hammer(Safety) on the 94. It was much faster and positioned better than the Savage lever safety. As far as a HUNTING bolt action goes, it is hard to beat the Arisaka safety once you get used to it. I have jumped a lot of deer and dropped them with a snap shot. I have two that are still my "Go to" rifles for walking around deer hunting. I have had .303 Brits for hunting, and they were accurate, but I just never felt comfortable with the safety location. I guess it is an individual thing.
 
British Lee Enfield actually has 2 safeties; the lever on the left, or the half cock on the bolt.

The safety on arisaka really needs some getting used to. You can't use your palm if a scope is mounted. It is operated by friction. It may be a problem if your hand is wet, and / or the mechanism is dirty inside.

-TL
 
My experience with younger and inexperienced shooters is that a safety mounted on the right side of the bolt and is a little stiff requires them to take their finger off the trigger.
 
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