Mauser 98 and Winchester Model 70-type Safeties

Mauser Safety - A small lever mounted to the cocking piece of a Mauser 98 action (and its copies such as the Springfield 1903), rotating on a longitudinal axis from left (Fire), up to the top (Safe, but allowing bolt movement), and over to the right (Bolt and firing pin locked Safe). While commendable for locking the firing pin instead of just the trigger, its up-and-over arc of operation requires a scope to be mounted awkwardly high. Paul Mauser is not to be blamed; when his safety was developed, telescopic sights were in such infancy as not to be worthy of mainstream consideration.

 

 

Model 70-type safety on a custom rifle. Since its inception, Winchester's concept has been widely adopted by other makers.

 

Model 70-type Safety - A small lever mounted to the cocking piece of a Winchester Model 70 rifle, rotating fore and aft on a vertical axis from front (Fire), halfway back (Safe, but allowing bolt movement), and fully back (Bolt and firing pin locked Safe). While, like the Mauser, commendable for locking the firing pin instead of just the trigger, its fore and aft movement is both easier to operate and it allows lower mounting of telescopic sights, reducing parallax between the line of sight and the line of the bore and increasing the range of distances for which the scope may be reliably sighted-in.

 

 

The Hallowell & Co. Illustrated Firearms Dictionary is for informational purposes only. We do not necessarily offer the items described above for sale. Please click on any of the links below to see what we actually do have available for purchase.


American Shotguns      English Shotguns       European Shotguns      Double Rifles      Magazine Rifles        Single Shot Rifles      Combination Guns

Winchester      Colt      Smith & Wesson        Other Handguns          Antique Guns       New Arrivals             Custom Knives          Other Neat Stuff

 

Who We Are       How to Order      We want to buy your Gun(s)       Recommended Links     Historical Gallery         

Firearms Definitions, Abbreviations & Opinions     Store Photos     Magazine Articles          Home  


Hallowell & Co., Inc. PO Box 1445. Livingston, Montana  59047   USA   Tel: 406 222-4770    Fax: 406 222-4792     Email: morris@hallowellco.com

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 - 6.   (Mountain Time)   Our inventory is constantly changing. Please bookmark this site and return often.