Storing rifle bolt open?

[dakota.potts]

I keep two rifles in the gun cabinet which are ready for self defense. The AR 15 and the VZ2008. Both have one magazine of premium self-defense/hunting ammo locked in, with the bolt held open on an empty chamber. This is how I prefer to store them.

The other day I went to take the VZ2008 to look at it (as I imagine we all do from time to time) and I noticed that the first cartridge was no longer seated in the magazine. The bolt had run about 1/4 of the way forward and actually begun to pick up the cartridge. It got hung up on the feed ramp before going into the chamber, and that was the way I found it. I dropped the magazine and cleared the one round, which got stuck a little bit clearing and ended up with scratches all along the face of the bullet.

Is there a reason the bolt would try to ride forward when stored like that? I store it muzzle up resting on the stock. Is that a safe way to continue storing it in the future?

 

[Slamfire]

The other day I went to take the VZ2008 to look at it (as I imagine we all do from time to time) and I noticed that the first cartridge was no longer seated in the magazine. The bolt had run about 1/4 of the way forward and actually begun to pick up the cartridge. It got hung up on the feed ramp before going into the chamber, and that was the way I found it. I dropped the magazine and cleared the one round, which got stuck a little bit clearing and ended up with scratches all along the face of the bullet.

Had any earth quakes in the Carolina's this weekend? Might have jarred the mechanism.

 

[dakota.potts]

Nope, the rifle lives a pretty calm life when it's not at the range. I wouldn't like to think that simply setting it down by the stock would jar it enough to release the bolt.

 

[marine6680]

Some bolt releases can be sensitive.

Just bump an AR on the rear of the stock and it will close.


Either store with the bolt closed over a loaded mag, bolt closed and safety on with one in the chamber, or magazine loaded but removed and close by.

You want to minimize potential problems if you plan on using a firearm for defense. Best to not leave things in a half way state like that.

 

[Regular Joe]

And that guy tells the truth. I store all of my semi-autos the same, except for the LCP, but that one barely counts. Loaded mag and bolt closed. With the rifles, I always dry fire before loading the mag, to relieve pressure on the hammer springs until I need them to work.
I know you want your guns to be as close to ready to go as possible. Some would argue that mine are not. If the bad guy gets one of my guns before I do, he has to figure out why it doesn't work. I already know, as I go for a different gun. By keeping them all the same, I know that they all have the same "problem".
With my Glocks, I leave them all cocked. That way, if I ever find one with the trigger in the rear position, I know that I didn't have a round in the chamber for a very good reason. It hasn't happened yet, but I still don't trust 'em.

 

[drobs]

You're doing it wrong. Leaving your bolts locked open during storage is putting unneeded stress on your recoil springs, hammer springs, trigger springs, and bolt catch springs.

Store em empty chamber, bolt closed, & lowered hammer. Loaded mag in the gun is up to you.

 

[Ibmikey]

Storing in the fashion described is a sure invitation to disaster, one day the brain will not be engaged and something/one will have a hole in it.

 

[geetarman]

I must be the odd man out . I depend on handguns for home defense. My long guns are stored in safe with bolts open for the bolt guns and the ARs are stored with bolt closed. The external magazine bolt guns are stored with empty magazine in gun. The ARs are stored with no magazine. Probably should revisit that option.

Yes. . .yes I have gone to the range with stifle, plenty of ammo and no magazine.

YMMV

 

[Pond James Pond]

I must be the odd man out . I depend on handguns for home defense. My long guns are stored in safe with bolts open for the bolt guns and the ARs are stored with bolt closed. The external magazine bolt guns are stored with empty magazine in gun. The ARs are stored with no magazine.

Same here. I leave my bolt guns with an open bolt. This is mostly because it makes removing and replacing the guns so much easier.

My AR I actually store with the chamber flag in place. That way I know the chamber is empty. It would be anyway as laws require ammo be stored separately but there you go.

Were I to store a semi rifle with a loaded mag in place, I would do as others have said. Bolt closed, but chamber empty. Just rack and roll...

 

[CLC]

I store my unloaded AR with the bolts closed and safety off. IIR my friend works in a AF armory and that's how they store the rifles.

 

[Art Eatman]

Once again: Compressed springs do not weaken over time.

My own "test" was on magazine springs in eleven pistols given to me by my father. WW II bringbacks. All with loaded mags. From Lilliput .25ACP through Luger to 1911, all functioned flawlessly after some forty-five years of storage.

I admit to storing guns in a discharged condition, but it's IMO a safety feature rather than any worry about the springs.

 

[marine6680]

Compression springs are different that rotational springs.

I don't know of any long term testing on this like hammer Springs that provide torque.

Mag springs and recoil springs provide linear force through compression. The hammer spring in an AR provides rotational force by being wound tighter. Such a difference in design and function may cause issues with long term storage in its tensioned state... But I don't know of any test to say one way or another. So I err on the side of prudence.

 

[Panfisher]

Art, just a question, how do you see storing it in a discharged condition as a safety thing. as long as there is no ammo in the chamber, the action will have to be worked to put a round in firing position, which would "re-cock" the action anyway. Many rifles won't allow the safety to re-engage to safe position in a discharged condition, so if the action were operated and a live round chambered now it is loaded and in firing condition with the safety off? I admit to doing similar but never though of it as a safety feature.

 

[Art Eatman]

I dunno, really. It just seems like one little part of a package. Just like my habit of sticking my pinky into the chamber to see if my eyes had maybe gone stupid.

Somewhere in the late 1930s, my father's eyes went stupid. A .257 Roberts in a small bedroom is hard on the earbones. So, pinky check.

More on springs: The AR 15 hammer spring is of the "hairpin" type. I doubt that there's an AR ever built which had a torture test comparable to F1 car engines.

http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/september-2001/65/hairpin-valve-spring

8,000 to 12,000 rpm for three hours? The math is left as an exercise for the student, as to the number of cycles of operation.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Springs are springs- whether their motion is linear or rotational.
They don't get "tired," and they don't need to relax.

 

[Model12Win]

I'd be worried about one of those doggone water crickets that hop around my house at night. One of those b-tards gets in the chamber, and it might be bad news.

 

[marine6680]

Well if hammer springs are like mag springs, then no worries.

 

[stagpanther]

I'm no expert in SD strategies--but I view a stored weapon as a deactivated one. If it's out --it's loaded and ready to go (why else would it be out?). Bolt locked back and stored that way? bolt catch can easily be jostled in a case or against other weapons...Murphy is my constant shooting companion. My question is if your bolt was inadvertently dropped how come it only partially stripped a cartridge?

 

[leadcounsel]

Do not store a gun open bolt on a full mag!!! we just had a thread about a AR15 stored this way that fell, charged, and fired.

 

[marine6680]

Unless it slam fired... That should not happen.

Well... Unless the trigger was a light target type, or "tuned" milspec that was adjusted to have too little sear engagement. Then it could conceivably not be drop safe.

I would argue such a trigger does not belong on a main defensive arm, and should be left for the SPR types.