I have never done this in my 45 years of shooting airguns. All mine are HW's with Auto Safeties. I have never seen one Beartrap. Heard of it, but never seen it.
I also sorta struggle to envision this happening. I do now though, more often than not, hold the barrel. I think Randy has the right idea of some trigger adjustments, perhaps too light.
I DID say it’s become more of a habit didn’t I? I’m not throwing the information away, merely saying, with a stock gun and the way I manipulate it, I can’t see it happening. Not that it won’t…
Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief! The holding the barrel while loading is firmly a habit now
been doing a ton of shooting out back. I appreciate the push in the direction from the community. 
That depends an your eyes and the lighting. If you're older and need readers peep sights help a lot. I'm 58 and can't hardly use regular irons without perfect lighting. Peeps work well enough for me that I hit 1.5" spinners at 50 yards. 20 yards shouldn't be a problem with everything sorted out and working order.
Hey Doc! Welcome aboard, and good to see ya here too as well! I am having TOO much fun and you can too with some peeps! Worst come to worst you can try the Williams and if it’s not working out, I’m sure you could find a new owner for it!
think about it . you already have hold of the barrel when you cock the gun . so keep hold and load the pellet , easy
Lol
One thing I DO want to mention. My Williams goes low enough to be a dead hold at 50y. Everything closer is a hold under and can get a little fiddly at the close targets. A scope would alleviate that I’d imagine.
As has been stated, OEM open sights will work fine if your front sight is a simple blade/post. If you're purchasing a gun like HW with a front sight hood and an assortment of inserts, you may find you like the ring, or circle insert for silhouette so you can see the targets more easily without blocking them out with the front post. In that case a rear peep is better to use than the OEM "V" or notch rear sight. And the rear peep still works fine if you go back to a front post. If you go with a Williams peep and have a few spare dollars, get the one with target knobs so you can easily make field adjustments with your fingers, not a screw driver. Do a search for Bear-of-Grayling post on Williams peep sights. He modified one with a set screw to prevent slipping and the need for over tightening the tiny screws securing the base jaws.
Lead or air every rifle has some procedures that need to be taken to make it last. Like those of us that are single shot Sharps shooters; got to half cock that hammer BEFORE you drop that lever to load your ammo! Or you better have an extra box of firing pins.Lol
Everyone can rest easy and calmly now.
I maintain a firm grasp upon my barrel throughout the entire loading sequence. I have had a few I’ve shown air rifles to for the first time recently, and I hammered home holding the barrel. We’re all barrel holders now!
Lesson is firmly learned now. We’re good.
Yep, good advice.
Thanks! It really shoots great with the diopter. I found it wanted to creep backwards under recoil, so I drilled the underside and added a recoil stop pin. Easy 10 minute job and now it's rock solid.
