doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Greener Side Safety - Hunting With One

The opening lever on an R model Darne will politely sit about 1/2 of an inch in the raised position, with mild spring tension against one's thumb, either hand. Raised in such a fashion, the gun is out of battery, and won't/can't fire, and it is simple to simply close the lever with the same movement one would use to slide a tang safety forward, right at the flush. When one is taking a break, or if you move your thumb, spring tension raises the lever a bit further up. Some very high mileage R patent guns will actually slide open if the muzzle is in the up position, but, one typically has to physically open an R patent gun. It is further very simple to relocate the safety lever on an R model Darne, one can pull it out and relocate it to the other side of the breech, and if you are ambitious, file a flat on the axle to indicate the new safe position. The very few R model Darnes with a push button safety can't be so modified.
A V or P patent gun typically has much more tension on closing, and this method for safe carry simply isn't useful for this design.
I told Geno about this method, and he posted that it was impossible for him to do-at which point I ( jokingly, I thought ) posted this simply proved beyond any doubt that he was always picked last for any team sports as a kid. The seething outburst that came after indicated I might have hit the nail a little too hard on the head...


Best,
Ted

This is an early version of the Greener side safety on a Greener 10 BLNE circa 1879. Much more ergonomic , W.W. should have stuck with this one.... IMHO

For ergonomics with a variety of people, it is hard to beat the safety position on a Mossberg 500...


Best,
Ted

Greg,

I can not hit a bird with a Greener that is fitted with a side safety. I slide the tang safety of a gun forward as I mount the gun, so that the gun is armed when it reaches my shoulder pocket and the gun is already on lead.

The Greener side safety disrupts that movement enough that the lead is never established in the small time lapse it takes the for gun to reach my shoulder.

It is worth noting that both Greener guns with a side safety that I have shot, were pristine guns and the safety of both was stiff.

Ted was the importer for my last Darne, an R11 16 gauge. An incredible upland double!
All my other Darnes have been sold and this one stays.
I think he may want to trade me, my R11 for a Mossberg?-Dick

Your R11, beautiful as it is, doesn't fit me Dick. And a Darne that doesn't fit is about useless. With that thought in mind, and the fact I already have a Darne that fits me quite nicely, I suggest you keep it.

Best,
Ted

Didn't fit worth a Darne, Couldn't resist, sorry.....

Terry that is an incredible gun!

I own guns with a variety of safety mechanisms. Between the side and top styles I find the top ergonomically superior from the shooting perspective as the side safety requires a subtle wrist motion that I find more disruptive than the top styles. Of course I am a poor enough shot that it probably makes no difference to my results.
Perhaps I should use the side style more often as it would provide another convenient excuse for poor outcomes
Jeremy

It's been several years since I posted on the 1st page of this thread that I couldn't get used to the Greener side safety for upland work. I have a Greener bird gun now and find the side safety just as easy to work on a covey rise as the tang safety...Geo