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Figure 15: Various types of safeties and selectors.
selector that will allow from two to four Proper function and care of safeties/selec-
modes, depending on design: Safe, Semi tors is critical to any firearm’s function.
(-automatic), Auto (-matic) and/or Burst. Safeties/selectors that become damaged
or broken, or even extremely dirty, can
There are two basic safety/selector designs:
become very dangerous. A failure in the
button and lever. There are variations of
safety/selector can lead to an acciden-
the button design that are based on the
tal discharge that can lead to injury or
way it is manipulated. Some buttons are
worse. Take the time to clean and perform
pushed, like with crossbolt safeties found
maintenance on the safety/selector when
behind the trigger on the trigger guard of
cleaning your firearm.
some designs. Other buttons must slide
back and forth between modes. There are The bolt/charging handle is used to ma-
also variations of the lever design. Some nipulate the action, often completing
levers rotate, engaging different modes as many of the cycles of operation. The bolt/
they turn. A fairly new style of lever safety charging handle is found with both man-
is being employed with the trigger safety. ual and semi/automatic actions in both
The trigger safety is a true lever design rifles and shotguns. Typically, repeating
with one leg of the lever protruding from pistols do not use bolt/charging handles
the trigger’s face and the other leg in the (with semi-automatic pistols, the slide
path of the frame. When the operator itself is manipulated like the bolt/charg-
places their finger on the trigger, depress- ing handle). With an empty chamber,
ing the safety, the opposite leg moves out when the bolt/charging handle is pulled
of line of the frame and allows the trigger to the rear of the firearm, the action is
to move backward. Safeties/selectors are opened and often the hammer/striker
made from various materials, including is cocked. Depending on action type,
steel, aluminum, and polymer. the bolt handle may need to be pushed
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