"Safe" gun handling

Two hands one as you have been doing the other index finger thru the trigger guard .

I lift with the scope not the barrel or LDC...

I never lift by the barrel, If you ever owned a Marauder you will know why,

POI shift will drive you crazy, Use the stock or the scope.

Mike

I bend down and grab the forestock belly and back side of the grip using 2 hands with muzzle over my shoulder when removing from the safe. NEVER by the barrel or LDC which could possibly cause POI shift and other inaccuracy problems.


CA

I never lift by the barrel, If you ever owned a Marauder you will know why,

POI shift will drive you crazy

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Wow and I thought the Gauntlet was the king of POI. Now I know it has a queen and I bet there are a few princes and squires out there too.

That is one of the good things about an underlever spring gun. You can pick it up by the barrel and swing it around over your head. There will be no POI shift at all.

Even my Wolverine, whose barrel and shroud is locked in pretty tight, may still experience a POI shift if bumped hard enough. The shroud on all PCP's should be screwed into the receiver instead of on to a collar that attaches to the barrel. Even though the shroud butts against the receiver on the Gauntlet and Wolverine, it seems that isn't enough to tame POI shifting.

Never have an issue with the gauntlet, the mrod sits in the back of the safe....shoots horrid. Shame if they could have made it shoot as well as the Maximus I have that cost 1/5th as much it might get used more.

I got in the routine long ago of storing all my long guns muzzle down, mainly so any lubricants would not migrate into the action/trigger/wood. With air rifles this is not really a concern, but I still store them muzzle down. It also yields a strong gripping point at the pistol grip and, if needed, there is room for your second hand either on the butt of the stock, or forward of the trigger guard. The way some air rifle barrels, shrouds, and suppressors are attached, I try to avoid placing much pressure on them. 

One thing I've seen not mentioned is to treat every gun as if loaded and ready to fire. Any action after that ignoring said montra shouldn't be taken.

One thing I've seen not mentioned is to treat every gun as if loaded and ready to fire. Any action after that ignoring said montra shouldn't be taken.

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Well, certainly undeniably true, but not sure how it relates here. 

ok

If you did a decent job of mounting your scope using well-made rings, grasping the scope is the best place. For what it is worth, the comment about grabbing a Marauder by the barrel is well founded wisdom! 

I have always " grabbed " a rifle with my dominate ( right) hand about the stock grip just behind / under the trigger guard and with my non dominate hand I " grab " the fore arm of the stock. Lift the rifle off and out of the rack and rotate my hands around the rifle till I have full control of the rifle ready to check the action or load, point and fire it. No fingers in the trigger guard, no hand grasping the barrel, lcd, sights or scope. For me this is the most positive, safe, respectful way to hand an expertly engineered, expensive, and potentially deadly rifle be it air or powder powered tool. Handle it with respect and you will shoot it with respect. None of our new projectile launchers, air or powder powered are as tough as Crockett's old muzzle loader. Solid " fixed sights ," heavy barrel, sturdy lock, and hardwood stock treated to with stand all weather. They were cradled like a baby in the non dominate arm, dominate hand gripping the stock just aft of the trigger guard. Those guns were their survival tool. They found the best way to hold and carry them. Seems the 3 point cross body sling mimics that perfectly. GBGUNNER