Gunslip

Probably the most important piece of equipment you'll need in the shooting field that will make the rest of your fellow sportsmen feel safe is a gunslip. Anyone who looks at a slip will be fairly confident that inside it your gun is unloaded and unable to discharge accidentally. I reckon most people buy a gunslip as protection for their gun which of couse is a major benefit when you have no gun rack to lay it in, as well as an easy way to carry the gun from place to place. I have bought and used many gun slips over the years, from the cheap £5 stuff on a show stall to my present main gunslip which was a bit more expensive. At the time of purchase there wasn't much on the market which I thought would fulfill all my reqirements, i.e. it should have a full length zip, end block, buckled flap, protective fleece, strap and carrying handle which would allow me something in every situation. There are times when I needed a handle to climb uphill, a flap when it's pouring with rain etc. I finally found Fur, Feather and Fin, who designed and built my ideal gunslip at a sensible price.
Get into the habit of taking your gun to a shoot in a gunslip and leave it in the slip, only taking it out when it's your turn to shoot; you'll be surprised how quickly it becomes second nature. Once everyone uses a slip or case there won't be people constantly looking at guns wondering if they are loaded, whose they are and whether their own will be scratched or stood on.
The only proviso to all this is that the owner of the gun is still the only person who is responsible for that gun. When the gun is put in the slip it must be empty; eject your last pair on the stand, leave it open on the way back to your gear, check it's empty, close the gun and immediately put it away. Things can still go wrong, as you will see...
On one occasion when I first started shooting in squads, I was called out as first gun on the stand. I shot my 10 and turned back out of the stand to walk away as the next gun was called, that person unzipped the case and took out his unbroken gun which was pointing towards the referee. Still in that direction, the gun was broken and there were 2 cartridges in it. Make sure it's empty every time you handle your gun outside the cage.

Gunslip2

Part of the art of shooting is to be able to carrry out our sport without making those around us feel in the least bit unsafe. The first impression I get from others in my squad is gained from my watching them take the gun out of it's slip or case - I either feel completely at home with them because they have obviously thought about what they do or I am always a little bit wary. "Why's that?", I hear you exclaim, "They've only just taken the gun out of it's slip - it isn't even loaded yet!". Yes - that is exactly the point, how do you know it's not loaded? The gun may have been laying quietly on the ground and it's obviously safe 'cos it's not gone off - perhaps the safety sears have worked and the hammer has already fallen and been caught before hitting the primers, that could well have been the case as above. What next then? How can anyone be safer? How can anyone tell if it is safe to stand in front of you while the gun is taken out of the slip? It is only courteous to others as well as good practice for you to handle your gun in a safe manner, that should go without saying, so how do we take the gun from the slip safely?
If your sleeve has only a buckled end flap, open the flap with the barrels on the ground and pull the gun backwards by the end of the stock until you have access to the top lever; break the gun to show empty chambers then use the grip to pull the gun out from the slip, always with barrels down.
If your slip has a full length zip hold the case upright with the barrels on the ground, (that's what the block is for in some gun sleeves), stock uppermost. Put one hand one the stock end of the slip and undo the zip downwards until you have access to the top lever, you don't need to go any further. Push the lever over to break the gun and with the barrels downward and still covered, use the grip to pull the gun out of the case.
There will always be shooters who take their guns out of a slip without breaking them first and it isn't easy to explain to them that they may know the gun is empty but you don't - all the while it's pointing straight at your squad's legs. Unsafe practices shouldn't be tolerated - lead by example and people are like sheep - they soon follow.

Please come back soon to find some articles or ask me about safety.

Copyright of this page belongs to Andy, How to Break Clays.com - the website for the amateur clay shooter, July 2007.