I am surprised there is little interest in bolted safeties on current production rifles. I have seen quite a few old English doubles with that feature. I am nervous carrying a double with only the slide safety. In the past I had a few old doubles with bolted safeties and really preferred them. I am curious if Searcy offered it how many would order it on their new gun?

Bolted safeties were for when the gun was carried by a gunbearer, not the hunter. I've never cared for them. Just an unneeded complication on something that should be kept simple.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

Don’t worry, I’m sure before all is said and done some time soon, a greedy lawyer will bring them back just for you …

I have no problem with a bolted safety. That and intercepting sears and the rifle is safer than the Kreighoff. And when you are close to game you can always leave it off.

JPK

I don't think the "BOLTED SAFETY" is a must for myself! However, I have some rifles with bolted safeties, and they are no bother at all. Where I think they might be of some use is when someone else is holding or carrying your rifle, it can be loaded, without worry about the safety being, inadvertenly, pushed off safe by unfarmilar hands! I seldom let anyone else hold/carry my rifle, but it does happen tempararily, on occasion! I wouldn't pay extra simply to have it installed on a double I was haveing built! Intersepting sears, is another matter, however, especially on very large bore rifles!

OK what the hell is a bolted safety? I think I can guess from the posts above, but how do they work? Same with intercepting sears?
Peter.

Here's a pictorial image
http://www.hallowellco.com/bolted_safety.htm

Peter,

A bolted safety has a small lever in front of the tang safety. When in use the lever prevents the safety slide from moving forward. To unbolt the safety you would move the lever to the side so that the safety slide can be moved to "fire". On some bolted safeties the lever only moves right, some both ways. I have not seen one that only moves left. There are detents at the bolted and unbolted positions to prevent the lever from moving too freely. I will try to post a photo.

Intercepting sears are a second set of sears, one for each barrel, that are not normally in their notch or bent on the hammers. If say the right barrel's primary sear were to be knocked out of it notch by a jar or by recoil then the intercepting sear for that barrel will catch, ie intercept, the hammer, preventing it form striking the firing pin and so preventing an accidental discharge.

If the trigger is pulled the intercepting sear pivots out of the way of the hammer allowing the hammer to fall and strike the firing pin.

Intercepting sears only work when the rifle has malfunctioned or in the event of a serious drop or fall since the primary sear should not let go in normal use. If it does let go on recoil or in anywhere near normal gun handling then there is not enough sear/hammer engagement and the rifle needs repair.

www.hollowell.com has a photo of a bar action sidelock with intercepting sears in the definitions section.

Well I couldn't remember my photobucket username or password or somehow mistyped it so the won't let me in right now. I'll try to post a photo later.

JPK

Having a bad night. That should be www.hallowell.com

JPK

Gentlemen! Thank you!
Peter.

I think you meant www.hallowellco.com

Thanks for the correction, like I said, bad night!

JPK