Do You Leave Your Shotgun Cocked When Storing It?

[Whip Assalot]

I have always been in the habit of unloading my guns, whether they are cowboy guns or modern firearms, to take the pressure off of the trigger spring. 

 

Recently, I posted a question and the answer came back that I should not dry fire my SKB shotgun. 

 

Do most of you unload it and then pull the triggers to take pressure off of the springs, or do you just store it in the cocked position? 

 

The only other thing I can think of is to load them with dummy rounds and then pull the triggers to relieve pressure off the springs. But then I guess I'm storing them with dummy rounds inside which I guess isn't a problem. 

 

Mostly just a curiosity question for you all....

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

Nope, not stored cocked

Edited September 19 by Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L

[Rye Miles #13621]

Nope I dry fire it before I put it away.

[Chancy Shot, SASS #67163]

stored cocked.  I never really thought about it.

 

Chancy

[Jimmy Reb, SASS #54804]

Always let the hammers down on my 87, and my hammered coach gun. 😀

[Arth Ritis]

I tend to store on snap caps Hammers Down.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Nope, never ever!....

[Sedalia Dave]

What wears springs out is cycling them. Leaving a spring compressed will not damage it as long as you don’t compress it beyond its design limits.

 

So leaving your SG cocked is not a problem. 

[Sedalia Dave]

47 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

What wears springs out is cycling them. Leaving a spring compressed will not damage it as long as you don’t compress it beyond its design limits.

 

So leaving your SG cocked is not a problem. 

Same applies to Magazine Springs. 

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

What wears springs out is cycling them. Leaving a spring compressed will not damage it as long as you don’t compress it beyond its design limits.

 

So leaving your SG cocked is not a problem. 

D,

You don't think it can ultimately weaken the springs?

[Black Angus McPherson]

I almost never dryfire a firearm before storing it.  Unless it has an exposed hammer that will allow me to safely lower the hammer on an empty chamber it stays cocked.  IF it has an exposed hammer then I will almost always lower the hammer on an empty chamber before storing.

 

Rifle, pistol, shotgun - same.

 

I'm quite surprised that I seem to be in the minority on this.

 

Angus

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

32 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Same applies to Magazine Springs. 

Magazine springs are designed for constant compression. 

Hammer springs, not so much.

I do carry my 1911 in Condition 1, never had a FTF.

[Frontier Lone Rider]

I hold the triggers back/in, then close the barrels.  The shotgun is now uncocked and ready to be stored.

[El Chapo]

I would say 50/50, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  I have zero concerns about wearing out the hammer springs; I have 1911s that have 5x the rounds any shotgun of mine would ever have in its life and I have not replaced the mainspring after installing my preferred spring.  I suppose if I ever have a light strike, i will worry about it.

 

FWIW I also don't put my truck's frame on jackstands when I park it, I leave the weight of the truck and all its contents on the springs at all times unless I'm doing some kind of work that requires hanging it from its frame.

[Eyesa Horg]

On hammered guns, I lower the hammer on an empty chamber.

My Stoeger, for many, many years, I just dried fired it. Now I use snap caps. My bolt guns, I hold the trigger back while closing the bolt.

[Jackalope]

Back when I used an internal hammered shotgun (Baikal), I would dry fire it before I put it away.  Worked well until the firing pin broke off the hammer.  Since then, I wouldn't dry fire unless there was a snap cap under the firing pin.

 

36 minutes ago, Frontier Lone Rider said:

hold the triggers back/in, then close the barrels.  The shotgun is now uncocked

 

Not the case for a single-trigger shotgun.

[doc roy l. pain]

I have guns that the springs have been compressed and stored on and off for 60+ years. I guarantee they will go bang the next time I use them

[Rye Miles #13621]

I’ve doing the dry fire thing before I put them away for years! Never a problem.

[Whip Assalot]

2 hours ago, Black Angus McPherson said:

I almost never dryfire a firearm before storing it.  Unless it has an exposed hammer that will allow me to safely lower the hammer on an empty chamber it stays cocked.  IF it has an exposed hammer then I will almost always lower the hammer on an empty chamber before storing.

 

Rifle, pistol, shotgun - same.

 

I'm quite surprised that I seem to be in the minority on this.

 

Angus

No, I am the same way.

Pistols, rifle, exposed hammer shotgun, I will lower them. 👍

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

6 hours ago, Whip Assalot said:

The only other thing I can think of is to load them with dummy rounds and then pull the triggers to relieve pressure off the springs. But then I guess I'm storing them with dummy rounds inside which I guess isn't a problem. 

This is what I do with my SKB's and all other SxS's

 

Randy

[Sedalia Dave]

5 hours ago, Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator said:

D,

You don't think it can ultimately weaken the springs?

 

Everything I have read that was published by actual spring manufacturers says that a spring is not weakened by compression or tension as long as it is held within it's design limits. 

 

Magazines loaded to maximum capacity where the last round barely fits may experience a deformation of the feed lips. However the spring can handle the compression just fine.

For this reason I only load 28 rounds into my 30 round P-Mags.

[Arth Ritis]

I'm not arguing that my way is the best way just reporting what I do. Based largely upon superstition black magic witch craft old wives tales rumors anecdotes and maybe a bit of evidence.

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

Nope. I have good quality snap caps for all 3 of my Stoeger SxS, and store them uncocked.

[Griff]

If it has an external hammer, it gets uncocked.  That way I know it's empty.  And I can ease the hammer down, internally hammered guns are stored without being dry-fired.   I've only ever broken one firing pin, and it came at a most inopportune moment.  On the eve of opening day for dove season, on my one and only shotgun.  My EDC remains in condition one for months at a time, it's magazines full.  It gets cycled, (via a "range-day"), on an irregular basis with new ammo, a different set of magazines...  and has never failed.

[Matthew Duncan]

20 hours ago, El Chapo said:

FWIW I also don't put my truck's frame on jackstands when I park it, I leave the weight of the truck and all its contents on the springs at all times unless I'm doing some kind of work that requires hanging it from its frame.

FWIW I wonder how the folks that EDC cocked with one the chamber handle the OPs question.  Only time my EDC is decocked is when I clean it.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

You all are missing something.  With Side by Side shotguns, drop the hammers on snap caps, then simply dismount the barrels, dump the snaps and reassemble.  Pretty simple.  With my exposed Hammer Doubles, be even easier (snicker snicker).  Springs have ben known to "take a set" and for that reason I do not leave my guns cocked. 

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

I have a sidelock AYA 20 ga double barrel that I have shot for 65 years (and I bought it used) and I have never dry fired it to relieve the springs and it still goes BANG ever time I shoot it. 

[Eyesa Horg]

1 minute ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

You all are missing something.  With Side by Side shotguns, drop the hammers on snap caps, then simply dismount the barrels, dump the snaps and reassemble.  Pretty simple.  With my exposed Hammer Doubles, be even easier (snicker snicker).  Springs have ben known to "take a set" and for that reason I do not leave my guns cocked. 

On my Stoeger you can't get the forestock back on if it's not cocked. At least as hard as I've tried!! And the only way to recock them is to push the cockers against a hard surface and now it's cocked again and a PIA. I just hold both triggers back and close the barrel and it will close and decock. Speaking only of my Stoeger!!! YMMV

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

38 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

On my Stoeger you can't get the forestock back on if it's not cocked. At least as hard as I've tried!! And the only way to recock them is to push the cockers against a hard surface and now it's cocked again and a PIA. I just hold both triggers back and close the barrel and it will close and decock. Speaking only of my Stoeger!!! YMMV

Pretty much for all hammerless SxS SG.

[Jackalope]

20 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Pretty much for all hammerless SxS SG.

 

Not the case with single-trigger shotgun.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

11 minutes ago, Jackalope said:

 

Not the case with single-trigger shotgun.

You are correct!

I'm in a 2 trigger state of mind.... 😂😂🤣

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Interesting question.
 

I don't leave my SxS's or single barrel shotguns cocked.   But, I don't always have to dry fire them.

With my Single Barrel Trap Parker, if you pull the trigger, and keep it pulled while closing it, it decocks.

The same can be said for my 12 Gauge Parker Trojan, but not the 20 Gauge Trojan.   The Parker PH Grade does not do it either.  Nor does it work with the Fox Sterlingworth.  It does work with the 16 Gauge Ithaca Flues, but not the 16 Gauge Darne.  But that's pretty much impossible to hold the triggers while closing anyway.   I am not sure, but I have vague feeling that the ones it works on may have something to do with the manual safety not working properly.   The 12 Gauge Parker you can take the safety off before closing, but I don't think you're supposed to be able to.   The Flues does not seem have a working safety.  The SBT does not have a safety.

With the LC Smith you don't have to decock, nor the Hopkins and Allen, Webley or Stevens single barrels, but they all have external hammers. 

 

[watab kid]

no , i dry fire , useed to keep snap caps in the barrels but didnt like trapping stuff in the chamber between dissimilar materials 

[Whip Assalot]

39 minutes ago, watab kid said:

no , i dry fire , useed to keep snap caps in the barrels but didnt like trapping stuff in the chamber between dissimilar materials 

I can relate...

I have a .38 dummy round that has the side ground off so it doesn't extract so I can continue levering and dry firing at various targets.

But when ensuring live rounds will load and extract, I have forgotten to unload the dummy and ended up with a double feed a couple of times.

So I guess it pays to unload your dummy rounds at times 🤷‍♂️

[Jack Spade]

If I am storing the gun for more than a couple of weeks between uses I use snap caps and take the pressure off the springs.  Have done this for years with sxs and o/u shotguns.