Hi VictorLouis,

Re my original post on anti bear-traps, I should have said that you should retain a firm grip on the barrel or lever when loading a spring or gas ram rifle while keeping the butt firmly braced into your hip.

The slight exception to this rule lies with rifles that require a separate loading operation after cocking i.e. tap loaders, rotary breech (BSA Superstar), flip up breech (Webley Eclipse), pop up breeches (HW57 etc) and magazine loaders such as the Theoben SLR88/98 and BSA Goldstar, as with these rifles the lever is used to cock the action then immediately returned to the "parked position".

As far as decocking rifles goes I personally like the ability to render the rifle safe in the field without the need to fire it, also I find this ability useful when working on rifles.