N/A Let’s talk Safety

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Years ago my Son accidentally bumped the trigger on my BAM-26 while it was cocked on my bench. That trigger must have been set too light :p.
During the sudden jolting movement the stock broke in two pieces and the barrel muzzle put a line on my chest....... Whew ............
While the gun was empty, I still dodged a bullet on that oneo_O.

The stock was an easy fix relative to what could've happened ........ be extra careful with kids around!

B-26 Airgun.jpg
 
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Years ago I had an unwanted test run on this subject. My Cometa 400 had developed a serious trigger issue due to my then-newbie efforts inside the gun. I had the gun cocked, with the barrel still down and my hand on it, gun butt against my hip, and I had just chambered a pellet, when out of the blue the barrel let go. I could restrain it, although the barrel really wanted to escape my grip.

This was a Cometa with the FAC spring in it, producing 18 fpe at the muzzle. While scared, I was also happy to learn that a firm hand on the barrel is enough to ward of injury, or at the very least damage to the gun.
 
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MDriskill said:
TOTALLY agree. So many folks seem to think the object of an adjustable trigger is to make it as light as possible...not! As KWK noted, a good rule of thumb is that the blade should return to the starting point if you let go of it at the end of the first stage.

It's possible to adjust the Rekord, while the module is out of the gun. But be VERY cautious with this - there's some "slack" in the components, and there will be LESS sear engagement when the trigger is restraining the mainspring in a cocked action. (Ask me how I know...:rolleyes: .)
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The Quattro and Rekord can both be removed from the receiver and adjusted. There is a small sight adjustment window in the side plates on both units. You can actually see the engagement move up and down. (heavier and lighter) As Mike mentioned, this adjustment is NOT true to the same engagement when reinstalled and put under a load. It WILL decrease. Add more meat to the engagement to be on the safe side.
Also when polishing the the flats on a simple two piece trigger (trigger and sear), be mindful to not change the angles. Be extra careful on an old gun that has both surfaces well mated to each other. These types of triggers are not precise and can easily be over polished. I’ve done it many times. While pointing down range, cock and load the gun. Close the barrel. Take off the safety if it has one. Wait. Wait. Bam. It goes off. The sear is slowly pushing the trigger away. Do not try to get this type of trigger to light. It has its limits. And never use a slick lubricant on the contact points.
 
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scotton said:
I have had an accidental discharge (or whatever you want to call it) with a HW97 while holding the cocking lever. The pressure on the cocking lever was enough to keep the chamber from taking my thumb off. What I wasn't expecting was the butt stock coming up and popping me in the chin.

So I can confirm that holding the barrel or cocking lever while loading gives you a much better chance of not losing body parts. And those of you with 48/52/54s, I recommend tucking the cocking arm under your loading arm. This way, if the cocking arm comes flying forwards it should knock your hand out of the breach.
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Hence my post above about making sure the butt of gun is firmly secured as well.
 
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scotton said:
I have had an accidental discharge (or whatever you want to call it) with a HW97 while holding the cocking lever. The pressure on the cocking lever was enough to keep the chamber from taking my thumb off. What I wasn't expecting was the butt stock coming up and popping me in the chin.

So I can confirm that holding the barrel or cocking lever while loading gives you a much better chance of not losing body parts. And those of you with 48/52/54s, I recommend tucking the cocking arm under your loading arm. This way, if the cocking arm comes flying forwards it should knock your hand out of the breach.
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Had you backed the spring tension on the tongue off in search of a light trigger?
 
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I witnessed another type of weird cocking mishap/injury when someone was cocking a Hatsan 65: He was sitting on a bench and put the butt of the verticle rifle on the bench between his legs (at his crotch). His right hand was cocking the barrel by forcing it down at the muzzle, while his left hand gripped the rifle around the compression chamber and stock at a couple inches below the breech. At mid-process, the butt slipped off of the bench seat, and the main protion of the rifle flew down towards the ground. His left hand slid upwards and right into the rapidly closing breech angle...biting the web of his hand between thumb and index finger. Injury was bad enough that we debated over whether it needed stitches :-/

Moral of the story is to have the butt of the rifle secure while cocking a break barrel.
 
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Jonnyroy said:
I witnessed another type of weird cocking mishap/injury when someone was cocking a Hatsan 65: He was sitting on a bench and put the butt of the verticle rifle on the bench between his legs (at his crotch). His right hand was cocking the barrel by forcing it down at the muzzle, while his left hand gripped the rifle around the compression chamber and stock at a couple inches below the breech. At mid-process, the butt slipped off of the bench seat, and the main protion of the rifle flew down towards the ground. His left hand slid upwards and right into the rapidly closing breech angle...biting the web of his hand between thumb and index finger. Injury was bad enough that we debated over whether it needed stitches :-/

Moral of the story is to have the butt of the rifle secure while cocking a break barrel.
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Really good point. A good, safe cocking method needs to be developed for standing and one for sitting. Then stick with the routine. It’s the “never cock the gun the same way twice” or just “what ever“, that causes injuries.
 
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Veering off-topic a little, but IMHO the safest springer air rifles ever made were the old-time tap-loading underlevers. The tap is simply a rotating plug, with a hole drilled across it, that sits between the barrel and chamber. When in the open (loading) position, the air passage is blocked - it's physically impossible to discharge a pellet or slam the action.

The typical firing procedure is: 1) close the tap; 2) cock the action; 3) immediately return the lever to battery; 4) open the tap; 5) drop a pellet in the tap; 6) close the tap; 7; fire.

The gun can't bite you after step 4. Pause after step 5, and your cocked and loaded gun is perfectly safe until ready to shoot (just don't accidentally drop the pellet out, lol). As an added bonus, the tap lever is a visual "flag" of the gun's safety status.



 
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Bear-of-Grayling said:
Really good point. A good, safe cocking method needs to be developed for standing and one for sitting. Then stick with the routine. It’s the “never cock the gun the same way twice” or just “what ever“, that causes injuries.
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That's what I do. I have a very regimented consistent technique that I make a constant conscious effort to stick with every single time. Once you develop a proper and safe technique you stick with it. No half measures or shortcuts. It's easy to forget just how much stored energy there is even in a lower powered springer like the HW30.
 
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My "springer moment" came many years ago courtesy of a P1 (HW 45) pistol. I was following Beeman's instructions - which were to cock it before loading! - so, was holding the open action with three fingers of my left hand wrapped over the edge of the receiver, when the sear let loose. Result: plenty of blood, three black fingernails, and a cracked bone in the tip of my ring finger (lucky it was three fingertips actually; had it only been one, it might be gone).

My disgusted (and VERY pregnant!) wife drove me to the emergency room...8 hours later, with my bandaged "dumb-a$$ badge" of a hand, I drove HER to another hospital and helped my son be born!

Still own the pistol, and have never had any other problem with it, but needless to say I now load it BEFORE cocking, sheesh.
 
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MDriskill said:
Veering off-topic a little, but IMHO the safest springer air rifles ever made were the old-time tap-loading underlevers. The tap is simply a rotating plug, with a hole drilled across it, that sits between the barrel and chamber. When in the open (loading) position, the air passage is blocked - it's physically impossible to discharge a pellet or slam the action.

The typical firing procedure is: 1) close the tap; 2) cock the action; 3) immediately return the lever to battery; 4) open the tap; 5) drop a pellet in the tap; 6) close the tap; 7; fire.

The gun can't bite you after step 4. Pause after step 5, your cocked and loaded gun is perfectly safe until ready to shoot (just don't accidentally drop the pellet out, lol). As an added bonus, the tap lever is a visual "flag" of the gun's safety status.



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A cool bit of trivia to add here is the 1948-58 BSA MK1 and 1959-65 Mk 2 Airsporters open the tap automatically when cocked. Borrowed foe toe from Vintage Airguns Gallery. I don't have pictures of mine handy
2a62a63ce6dab84212bf177466f1717c.jpg
 
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MDriskill said:
My "springer moment" came many years ago courtesy of a P1 (HW 45) pistol. I was following Beeman's instructions - which were to cock it before loading! - so, was holding the open action with three fingers of my left hand wrapped over the edge of the receiver, when the sear let loose. Result: plenty of blood, three black fingernails, and a cracked bone in the tip of my ring finger (lucky it was three fingertips actually; had it only been one, it might be gone).

My disgusted (and VERY pregnant!) wife drove me to the emergency room...8 hours later, with my bandaged "dumb-a$$ badge" of a hand, I drove HER to another hospital and helped my son be born!

Still own the pistol, and have never had any other problem with it, but needless to say I now load it BEFORE cocking, sheesh.
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You're lucky she didn't bite your other hand
 
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