177 pellets and older fingers

For loading a magazine, tweezers.

I'm a little OCD about the potential of damaging the skirts so I extended the tips with little pieces of music wire covered with heatshrink tubing.

I'm truly understand your dilemma/frustration as I have gotten "older" my fingers are less dexterous and dryer, making it tougher to grab smallish things....

Yeah... My dexterity is still pretty much fine, but my semi-fat fingers have a difficult time with .177 pellets. Doesn't matter whether its a single shot pistol or a magazine for a rifle, it's a pain in the butt.

Mike

I'm 80 and have arthritis, yet I have no problems loading 177. Think it’s just a dexterity thing. Or maybe magazine design?

Something I do with the .177 pellets, if shooting off the bench, to make loading magazines a bit easier is to spread the pellets out on a piece of terry-cloth. It is then possible for me to grab only one pellet at a time and from the direction that works best for my on any given day. YMMV

nervoustrig said:

For loading a magazine, tweezers.

I'm a little OCD about the potential of damaging the skirts so I extended the tips with little pieces of music wire covered with heatshrink tubing.

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They make plastic tweezers for pulling automotive fuses. They will have less potential to damage the skirts. I also have a pair of metal ones with very sharp points that work really well.

I dont think it will help with the Umarex, but the STUD mag loader system might be worth looking into. Kinda pricey but will save you lots of time, frustration, and lost pellets dropped in the gravel. Might be a great solution for your other brand pcps?

Chukar60 said:

So I bought my first 177 about two weeks ago. Never thought I would own a 177 or a clone CO2 pistol either. But I am teaching a friend who has never shot the basics of PB handguns and the Umarex PPQ M2 seemed a good starting point. No recoil and no loud report.
Any ways, I have learned to hate 177 projectiles in less than 2 weeks. My old fumbling fingers struggle with the Liliputian sized projectiles every time I go to stick those 21 micro pellets in the magazine.
All the above is somewhat tongue in cheek but I am wondering if there is a secret to handling these minuscule wonders more efficiently.
Also, didn’t think I would enjoy shooting this thing but am having a ball shooting it in the garage with a minimalist back stop.

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I’ve sold several Airguns because I had trouble inserting the.177 directly into a barrel, flip out loaders for me!

old damaged fingers is the reason I passed my TX200 to a nephew. I shoot all year in New Hampshire and just can’t manipulate.177’s in the cold any more. So I bought my first break barrel.

I am no fan of 177 either. Fat fingers & old eyes are a poor combo for handling them little buggers! Its not bad enough that I have sold off my 177s but I do reach for the 22s first.

I'm 84 and 10 of my 17 air rifles are .177 caliber. I shoot them a lot especially now that winter is coming. Yes, loading is becoming a little more challenging and I keep a broom handy to sweep up all the pellets I drop on the floor.

Think of it as an exercise in dexterity just slow and study . I will be 80 soon i just counted my air guns only 2 are .22 17 are .177 (where did they all come from ?)
Stan in KY.

I find that moisture on your fingers from a frosty beer helps a lot.

I’m 76 with fat arthritic fingers. Most of my stable consists of .177 ul springers and I shoot every day. The key to loading those tiny pellets is gripping them right every time. I have my thumb at the bottom of the skirt, my index finger on the side of the skirt and gently pinch the pellet and push it into the chamber. Yeah I drop one once in a while but not often enough to get discouraged. Takes some practice but it works. Uj

Getting into .177 after having shot .22 a while back, the AMMO did feel mighty small, but i have gotten used to it just fine.
Mind you shooting the little 10 grain slugs,,,,,, those i am sure i shoot one of backwards now and then, judging by the sudden inaccuracy.
13 grain slugs feel much better.

pellets are a breeze i feel, but of course my 9.75 digits not yet seen 60 years of use.

I like .22 better,yes, easy to load, but I also have just as many .177.,harder for my large fingers is texting ,ugh.

My only adult experience with .177 is with Crosman pellets. They are hard to handle because they're smaller. Some just fall in the chamber and some you can barely push the heads in there.

I can load the .22 and never even look at what I'm doing. I have to open the .177, turn it into the light and really pay attention to loading. It breaks my flow from shot to shot and takes my mind off the target.

I'm sure it's because I'm used to handling .22 pellets. I dropped a pantload of those learning to load the gun. My brain is .22 at this point.

When you do something about 1000 times it builds pathways in your brain. Sit at the table and pick up a tin of pellets, oriented them and then put them down. Then do it again. Then integrate that with loading the gun.

Have you looked at pellet pens? You still have to load the pen but it IS easier than loading a magazine. My fat fingers have a hard time with .22.
.177 I wouldn't even attempt.

Air Venturi Pellet Pen, Available in .177 (Blue) and .22 (Green) https://a.co/d/ff9ZKiN

I find it easier if I shake a few out of the tin onto the table top or a shop towel and then pick them up from there. If I go to pick them up from the tin it's a pain and you know what