Taking the safety off...spook a turkey?

[Marc]

I have hunted public grounds with some degree of pressure, and have hunted private grounds with less pressure...  I have yet to see a bird react to the "click" of the safety.  However, I do not have a loud safety...  And, I usually pinch off the safety to stay even more quiet (as I am just naturally in quiet mode while hunting turkeys).

I feel that talking and whispering is far more deleterious than the gun safety going off...  Sure, plenty of birds still come in with quiet whispering, but I feel there are other birds that would have shown, that do not.

I know that it is a lot easier to get a bird in range hunting by myself...  Less movement to see, and it is difficult to sit in silence all day with a partner.

I would think that the "click" of the safety would make them periscope their head for an instant? 

[WV Flopper]

I am the most unsafe hunter out there.

When I set up: leaves/sticks/ rocks out from under my setting area. Set. Sling off. Red dot on.

When "I" am confident the turkey is closing distance to me: Safety is off!

Could be 150, 100 or what ever yards. I have never had a turkey hear my safety go to fire.

I do check it, holy cow I would like to know how many times I do check it. It's continuous.

I do much prefer the thumb safety but the above post about the steady grip stock does raise my eyebrow a tad.

[RutnNStrutn]

I mainly hunt with a single shot 20 without a safety these days, so no issues there. When I do hunt with a gun that has a safety, I click it off ahead of time if I feel he is coming in. If he doesn't, I just put the safety back on.

[BrowningGuy88]

I really like the tang safety. He can be 5 yards and a well oiled tang sliding safer isn't going to spook. Even if it does, he dies.

If I'm using one of the many others with sliding safety in the trigger assembly, then I try to use 2 fingers to push it and hold back pressure on it. I don't overthink it though. If he gets in range I just put the sites on his head, click the safety and pull the trigger. Been at it 30 years and killed over 100 and never spooked one with a safety.

[ScottTaulbee]

I use mossberg's for turkey hunting and that tang safety is the way to go in my opinion. But with that being said, "A safety is a mechanical device that can sometimes fail". I don't put much stock in the safety and I handle the gun with the assumption that the safety doesn't work anyway. With that being said, my gun is always in a safe line of fire regardless of whether I'm carrying it or waiting on a gobbler. Another thing that I do is not pick the gun up until I shoot. The sitting in front of a tree with your gun on your knees never made sense to me. Since i started turkey hunting as a kid, I've always sat BEHIND a bush, tree, log, whatever, on my knees, with the gun lying diagonal in front of me, stock by my right leg, barrel in front of my left leg, when the gobbler gets in range, I raise the gun up, put the bead on the head, slip the safety off and boom. I've never had one spook from me raising the gun or taking the safety off.


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[Swamp_870]

Most of the time when you see that shot built into the video it's being used as a cutaway to either speed up the hunt or allow the editor to cut out some janky footage. Camera guys that film hunts for tv are constantly having to level their tripods, focus lenses, change batteries, and make sure they are hidden when filming hunts.

The other reason you'll see it is if the gun manufacturer or optic manufacturer is a sponsor of the show. If you see a big logo on shots like this they are probably showing their sponsors some love. IMO those kinds of shots take away from the hunt and there are better ways to promote a sponsor. 

I can't tell you why anyone would want to wait to click their safety off once the turkey's in range though. Seems like you are asking to get busted by doing that.

[Kyle_Ott]

I cannot imagine waiting until the last second to take the safety off.

As soon as a turkey gives me an indication he's closing distance or I suspect he may be sneaking in silent I take my safety off and rest my trigger finger on the side of the receiver.

It's a situational decision for me that may result in the safety being off for 1 minute, 5 minutes or 45 minutes.  As long as the gun is pointed in a safe direction, you're in a static position and your finger is isolated away from the trigger, there isn't a safety issue. 

To each their own, though.

[Yoder409]

My gun doesn't have a safety, so........

No issues.

[ruination]

My safety is loud as .  It has definitely stopped/spooked a turkey.  I pop it when I can tell they are coming or I can hear the rattle.

[Tclipse01]

I cannot imagine waiting until the last second to take the safety off.

As soon as a turkey gives me an indication he's closing distance or I suspect he may be sneaking in silent I take my safety off and rest my trigger finger on the side of the receiver.

It's a situational decision for me that may result in the safety being off for 1 minute, 5 minutes or 45 minutes.  As long as the gun is pointed in a safe direction, you're in a static position and your finger is isolated away from the trigger, there isn't a safety issue. 

To each their own, though.

Bingo. If the bird is headed my direction, it's game on, and the safety is off.

If the gobbles start moving farther away, safety back on.

[lalongbeard75]

I have no problem pushing the saftey off on my 870 without making a sound. I'm wondering why y'all making the loud clicking sound with your safety's lol.

[HookedonHooks]

If they're in tight a safety click or red dot glare will both absolutely scare a gobbler, seen it happen a few times. Don't think any of those birds got away though.

[Zobo]

I have no problem pushing the saftey off on my 870 without making a sound. I'm wondering why y'all making the loud clicking sound with your safety's lol.

Agree. Guess it depends on your gun but my old 870's trigger safety is inaudible. I learned from wing shooting as a kid that you never take a safety off until the moment right before you shoot, so that's how I've always done it. It's like second nature, I don't even think about it.

[KYTurkey07]

I cannot imagine waiting until the last second to take the safety off.

As soon as a turkey gives me an indication he's closing distance or I suspect he may be sneaking in silent I take my safety off and rest my trigger finger on the side of the receiver.

It's a situational decision for me that may result in the safety being off for 1 minute, 5 minutes or 45 minutes.  As long as the gun is pointed in a safe direction, you're in a static position and your finger is isolated away from the trigger, there isn't a safety issue. 

To each their own, though.

This is pretty much how I approach taking my safety off. I've never liked the idea of having a perfect shot, squeezing the trigger and have nothing happen because it was still on. But I don't take the safety off until I see him or he's on his way and the finger stays outside the guard.

[Marc]

I believe modern guns are inherently safe and will not go off unless the trigger is pulled.

I have twice seen guns go off without the trigger being pulled or touched.  Once a gun fell in a duck blind, and the other time, someone dropped their gun while on a truck.  The truck incident was scary, the blind incident terrifying.  Now, it is possible that the trigger caught something that caused those guns to go off...  Especially in the blind...  The truck, I watched it happen (I was not part of the group), and I did not see anything that was near the trigger when it went off.

I have also twice seen guns discharge while being taken off a quad, and I am now always nervous when the barrel of a gun on a quad comes past me...  (Obviously the trigger was engaged with careless removal).

If the firing pin gets banged and hits the primer, the gun will go off...

When I am wing-shooting the safety comes off as I am shouldering the gun.  When I am turkey hunting, it comes off when I feel a shot is imminent, and the gun is shouldered and in position.  If my gun is not shouldered and ready, the safety NEVER comes off.  I have low-gun shouldered to shoot several turkeys, and that safety comes off as I am shouldering, and NOT before.

There is an aspect of anticipation with taking the safety off...  I think we are to a certain degree trying to convince ourselves that the bird is coming in, and that taking the safety off somehow makes it feel more likely to happen...  We take the safety off cause part of our brains say "well now that the safety is off, he HAS to come in!"

Generally, if I am on the bird with the gun shouldered, and he is under 80 yards, I will pinch that safety and quietly take it off when he moves behind an obstruction...  As I stated above, I am in stealth mode when turkey hunting...  I have shot 870's, Benelli's, Berretta's, and if you pinch that safety while taking it off, I cannot believe a bird will hear it...  You do not need to "pop" that safety off...  I think some people like hearing the "click" though...