it would be silly beyond measure to wait for a buck to walk out before you primed your flintlock, capped your caplock, levered your levergun or loaded you single shot.
That's correct. It would be. And nobody said otherwise.
I'm suggesting that one treat the gun as if it were fully cocked. That's all.
there is no doubt that half-cock was designed as a safe carry mode that has the gun available for action in a reasonable time.
I agree. But being designed to perform a function isn't always the same as actually performing that function reliably and consistently.
In my state of Pennsylvania, an otherwise loaded flintlock with an unprimed pan is considered legally to be unloaded.
Same thing in Michigan, but what that has to do with this is not clear to me.
Modern mechanical safeties may differ in style, but they all perform that same function as the half cock notch, and they are all just as liable to failure due to abuse or stupidity.
I'd agree that modern mechanical safeties are
designed to perform the same function as the half cock notch, but I don't agree that they actually
perform the same function. Most are much better, although I admit there are worse designs out there. And of course, as you suggest, you can't fix stupid; no safety can do that.
I carry my long rifles loaded, primed (frizzen down) and with the hammer on half cock. But I don't assume it's safe in that configuration; I treat it as if the hammer was in full cock. When I teach hunter safety, I do not refer to the half cock as a safety - it's simply half cock. It's a position that's more safe than full cock, but it's not a safety position per se.
I initially asked the question because you referred to the half cock position as a safety in the video. I wondered if that was just a name or if you really treat the gun as if it was truly safe in that configuration. I infer the latter from your answers. I make no judgements or other inferences from that; the question is closed for me.
