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It's great that there is so much attention paid to safety issues in the forum - makes me think it over and review my own practice. Thanks to all for their posts.

A broken gun with the safety on (I don't trust it, but do use it) is 2 steps away from firing. A broken gun with no safety is 1 step away, as is a loaded gun with the safety on. But the safety is a smaller step (in my opinion). Whether you hunt with the gun broken or with a safety, it does take some practice to automatically ready the gun to fire as you mount it. In the sport of fencing, current wisdom is that you need to practice a move 3,000 (+/-) times to get from having to think about it to having it just be there and happen (as a kind of conditioned reflex) so that when you need it, you do it without thinking. If you are trying to change a habit, it might take longer to unlearn the old way and then establish a new behavior pattern. With this perspective, it is easier to have the patience and persistence needed to go from carrying a gun with just the safety on, to carrying it open, or open with the safety on. This might work for some:

Once each day for a year, close the gun and mount it while simultaneously sliding off the safety. 10 times a day, should just about do it. By the end of the year it will seem the most natural thing in the world. And you will be smooth as silk and easily quick enough to get most birds that can be gotten. As to the one that got away, well, "Good on ya' birdie!" That's fair chase.

Then the other half of the equation will be situation awareness while you are in the field. Always - Know where your partners are, where the dogs are. Have your gun pointed in a safe direction at all times and a safe backdrop for every shot. These are all essential. Europe, being generally more crowded than the US and having its own perspective on how to match freedoms with responsibility, has far more stringent requirements for obtaining a hunting license than we do in the US. I got copies of the books you need for the training course for a hunting license in Germany - it was quite an eye opener.

I'm not advocating we adopt their year-long training program before you can hunt, but it is my belief that there is no such thing as knowing too much, or being too skilled or too safe when you are flying a helicopter, riding a motorcycle or shooting a gun. Perfect practice makes perfect. That's about all we can do to manage the risk down to acceptable levels and be sure of having a great time.
 
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