Ruger 77/50 - Manual (Page 6)

6
OPERATION OF SAFETY
The RUGER ® MODEL 77/50 rifle has a three position safety. The safety
selector is located at the right of the bolt sleeve.
The safety selector can be moved from the “Fire” position to its two other
positions (“Load-Unload” and “Safe”) only when the striker is cocked. Fully
raising the bolt handle cocks the striker.
The bolt handle can be raised and lowered only when the safety selector is in
either the full forward “Fire” or the middle “Load-Unload” position. When the
safety selector is in the full rearward “Safe” position, the bolt handle is locked in
the closed (fully down) position in order to prevent inadvertent lifting of the bolt
handle and to ensure that the rifle will be ready to fire when the safety is taken
“off”.
Practice (with an unloaded rifle) moving the safety selector to the three positions
until you know the position of the safety selector for the three modes– “Fire,”
“Load-Unload,” and “Safe.”
WARNING: When manipulating the safety selector,
DO NOT HAVE ANY FINGER INSIDE THE TRIGGER GUARD! When the safety
selector is in the “Fire” position and the trigger is pulled, the rifle will fire.
The safety selector should always be in the “Safe” position except when the gun
user is actually firing or unloading the rifle. The safety selector should
unfailingly be moved to the “Safe” position whenever the gun user ceases firing.
Figure 2. Safety selector in
“FIRE” (full forward) position.
The safety selector should be
moved to this position only when
the gun user is actually firing
the rifle.
When the safety is in
the fire position, it is referred to
as being “off.” (When the safety
is in the “SAFE” position, shown
in Figure 4, it is referred to as
being “on.”)
Figure 3. Safety selector in
“LOAD-UNLOAD” (middle)
position. The safety selector should
be in this position when the bolt is
being cycled, to place a percussion
cap on the nipple, to remove a
percussion cap from the nipple, or
when unloading the rifle.
As soon
as the bolt is closed, the safety
selector should be moved fully
rearward to the “SAFE” position
shown in Figure 4, unless the rifle
is to be fired immediately.
Figure 4. Safety selector in
“SAFE” (full rearward) position.
The safety selector is fully nested
in the groove in the cocking piece.
When the safety selector is in this
position, the bolt handle cannot
be raised. The curved arrow on the
bolt sleeve indicates the direction
and motion of the safety selector
to bring it to the “SAFE” position.
Keep the safety in this position
except when actually loading,
capping, unloading, or firing.
SAFETY POSITIONS