Last month shooting sporting clays, I was squadded with a fellow whose left arm ended above the elbow. Many years ago he lying in a duck boat and dragged a hammer gun forward to shoot. A hammer caught on something then slipped off and boom!. Yes, he did something unsafe, but a hammerless would have forgiven him.
Nope. Some years ago an acquaintance of mine was pulling his shotgun from the back of his station wagon by the barrel and it discharged killing him. It did not have exposed hammers.
The only truly effective safety on any firearm is muzzle control. The safety on most shotguns is a trigger block and impact can on rare occasion cause the sear to release from the bent. Although intercepting sears can prevent this very few of our guns, and none of mine, have intercepting sears.
When I began shooting 54 years ago at eight years of age I was simply taught "don't ever point your gun at anything you don't want to destroy". It's as true today and then.
