I have a more recent sample....Mine actually has a safe!
However the gun needs to be off safe to load and unload with the action cocked! Otherwise the action lever will not rotate enough to allow the gun to open.
Also, In a lapse of judgement about two years ago; I shot two rounds of skeet with mine using the Winchester X-tra Lite trap loads....Even with these loads it's a handful to hang on to and it does recoil briskly. So briskly that the little piece of steel that retains the forend wood yanked the screw out of the aluminum receiver. Now it's heli-coiled with a larger and coarser stainless screw.....so it will stay put!
