no 10/22 safety

[demon6soul]

i was cleaning my ruger 10/22 and had a very hard time removing the safety. i finally got it out then couldnt get the sucker back in, ended up twisting up the spring on accident. well now ive removed the safety all together and did a sort of function test. i pull the hammer back, it locks, pull the trigger, the hammer disengages. everything appears to work fine except now i have no safety. i wont be going to the range soon to see if the gun still works now but it should right?

heres a pic

 

[demon6soul]

 

[demon6soul]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/861/3043533444224orig.jpg/

 

[Hunterdad]

Your pics aren't working for me but, whenever I see something about "safety", the first thing to pop into my mind is "gunsmith".

 

[steveno]

why did you decide to remove the safety in the first place?

 

[TxBobS]

i learned about this tool on the Appleseed site. http://www.gunsmithertools.com/gunsmither-1022-safety-tool/

 

[Jeff F]

Give Ruger a call and they will send you the parts, I launched the little indent plunger across the room never to be found again and Ruger sent the spring and plunger at no charge with in the week when I called them.

 

[Elkins45]

Yes the gun will work, perhaps even when you don't want it to. That hopefully won't be a problem at the range but remember if you chose to load it outside a safe shooting range you WILL be held legally responsible if you put a round into someone or something. In fact you might get doubly screwed because an anti-gun prosecutor could say you "intentionally disabled the safety and wantonly continued using the weapon". Sorry-obligatory safety lecture over.

Now for the friendly advice-never remove the safety again. I don't know why you removed it, but once you get it fixed let me suggest you don't do it again unless you drop the rifle in a mud pit overnight. I've owned my 10/22 since 1987 and I've never removed the safety, even when I reworked the trigger.

 

[rcmodel]

I have owned mine since 1967 and have never taken the safety out.

There is simply no good reason to, unless the spring breaks and you need to fix it.
A drop of light oil occasionally is all the maintenance it should ever need.

rc

 

[MistWolf]

"You're a bad boy for even thinking of disassembling your safety, blah blah blah" Never mind the fact that you might have learned something about your rifle in the process.

First, the removal of the 10/22 safety will have no affect on the proper functioning of the trigger or action. It will be safe to shoot until you get the replacement parts installed.

Before anyone gets up on their high horse, a safety is not really a safety. It's nothing more than a back-up in case the shooter does something stupid. As a mechanical device, it can fail and should not be relied upon. Otherwise, the excuse "Hey, the safety is on" would be acceptable. As long as the rifle is handled safely, it can be shot without ever needing to engage the safety. Anyone who thinks otherwise should take a step back and review how they handle firearms. Before wasting time posting hypothetical scenarios to prove this wrong, think how a shooter should handle that situation if they knew the safety did not work. You will see there is always a way to safely handle the firearm without the safety being engaged.

Demon, get the replacement parts as needed and either install them yourself or get a good gunsmith to do it for you. I've completely torn down 10/22s before although I don't recall if I ever removed the safety. It's not a big deal. First time my father saw me do it when I was a kid, it near gave him a heart attack!

 

[ants]

Yes, demon6soul, but it pays to be extra safe with a gun.

Guns are dangerous, they shoot projectiles. We gotta be extra careful and safe.

I encourage you to get the parts and have it fixed by a knowledgeable man.
The fact that you had trouble with reassembly, then bent the parts,
then posted a thread on the Internet asking if that's OK,
tells me that you are one guy who needs a little extra help to be careful.
As a friend, I encourage you to get the gun fixed before you take it out to the range.
Not just because the safety is a good part to have on the gun,
but because something else may be broken and you don't even know it.


Reading MistWolf's good comments,
it is very true that many benchrest competition guns don't even have a safety.
Even most double action semiauto pistols have no safety.
But the 10/22 doesn't have the heavy trigger that makes those guns safer.
Some people shouldn't even handle a 10/22 with a broken (or missing) safety,
even if they practice safe gun handling at the same time.
Not everyone is so good at it. Many folks need 'belts and suspenders'.
That's why we always follow the rules of safe gun handling, even if the gun has a safety.

 

[Elkins45]

"You're a bad boy for even thinking of disassembling your safety, blah blah blah" Never mind the fact that you might have learned something about your rifle in the process.

Seems to me that what he's learned is that he needs to buy some replacement parts. I'm not sure that's a lesson that's worth much.

Before anyone gets up on their high horse, a safety is not really a safety. It's nothing more than a back-up in case the shooter does something stupid. As a mechanical device, it can fail and should not be relied upon. Otherwise, the excuse "Hey, the safety is on" would be acceptable. As long as the rifle is handled safely, it can be shot without ever needing to engage the safety.

Every single word of this is true...and none of it would matter a damn to a jury in either a civil or criminal trial. Once they knew he was operating a firearm with the safety device removed their minds would be closed and he would be guilty. You're talking about the rules of the physical world here. What I'm saying is that those rules are largely immaterial in the legal world. Perception is what convicts shooters, not reality.

 

[MistWolf]

...Every single word of this is true...and none of it would matter a damn to a jury in either a civil or criminal trial. Once they knew he was operating a firearm with the safety device removed their minds would be closed and he would be guilty. You're talking about the rules of the physical world here. What I'm saying is that those rules are largely immaterial in the legal world. Perception is what convicts shooters, not reality.

There you go- waste of bandwidth. How does somebody end up in court for "accidentally" shooting somebody? By mishandling a firearm. Don't mishandle a firearm.

Be aware the safety is disabled. Act accordingly (including getting it repaired, which I'll throw in to keep all the internet lawyers satisfied)

 

[Elkins45]

^^^ and a safe driver will never need seat belts either.

Do what you want, but my recommendation to the OP remains: don't load it outside a shooting range until you fix the safety.

 

[MistWolf]

Seatbelts are a completely different issue. Apples & kumquats

 

[czarjl]

Put the safety back in… it was put there for a reason.

I removed and reinstalled the safety on my 10/22 when I converted my $175 well worn rifle to a $175 rifle with a refinished trigger guard and receiver (polished and clear coated). But for general cleaning there is no need what so ever to remove the safety.

Ok, back to the OP.

When you put the safety back in, if you do it yourself, I would get a large clear plastic bag to work in… if / when you send the spring and plunger flying it should be contained.