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fritz · Silver Status Member

I noticed all the 17/22xx series come left handed.

If you think about it, holding the gun in your left hand then you can easily operate the bolt with your right hand. Try it. This way you never put the gun down. I am left handed, but would figure that a righty would have to reach over the pistol or switch hands.

So who thought of this flawed design?

broommaster2000 · Moderator

Actually, you're supposed to grab the gun with your left hand and then cock it with your right hand. It's a safety measure. ALL bolt action rifles have it like that.

fritz · Silver Status Member

I was taught that to properly operate a bolt action rifle (let's assume a powder burner, with a magazine).

Hold rifle properly, take shot, use trigger hand to operate bolt. Do all this whilst keeping the butt against your shoulder, so you don't lose your line of sight on the target.

Doc Sharptail · Member

Since the Crosman Pistols you mention are single shot, the point is a moot one, at least for us "righty's". I still have to switch hands any way- to load a pellet.

Interestingly enough, with the 13XX, I pump with my left hand. I do note most of the pb repeater bolt competition Pistols like the Annie (Examplar) and Savage (Striker) had the bolt on the left side- on the r/h guns...

Next time I shoot the 1377, I'll see how much I fumble, loading a pellet with my left hand...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

fritz · Silver Status Member

Maybe I should have mentioned that it may be difficult to use your off hand, unless you happen to be ambidextrous like me Smile

Doc Sharptail · Member

I'm not ambidexterous by nature- but I didn't do too badly tonight with the left hand. Key-boarding, and some less than stellar musical forays have made my south-side trainable. I didn't drop any pellets, or get any sideways jams in the 13-77, so I feel I did well. Out of the 15 or so that I loaded in this fashion, only 2 of the Hobby's required a straightening nudge on the probe. I only forgot once, and picked a pellet out of the tin with my right hand.

With the .22 Tasco ReD-DoT aboard, manipulating the bolt with my left hand was a breeze.

Next up- shooting the pistol with my left hand... I've tried before, with some what dismal results over irons. Maybe the R/D is gonna help...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

broommaster2000 · Moderator

Doc Sharptail · Member

fritz · Silver Status Member

What I mean, is that:

Go grab a 1377 or 22xx... *DO NOT LOAD IT, HELL, DON'T EVEN PUT CO2 IN IT*

Assuming you are right handed, hold the pistol in your left hand. The bolt is now on the inside of your hand, facing your right hand.

Take your right hand and try to operate the bolt with it, you don't have to put the pistol down or lose control of it. Now the hard part (for most of you) is shooting accurately with your left hand.

I tried it with my 1377 and it makes sense, I imagined if the bolt was on the left side, that it would be more advantageous to use the pistol in my right hand, as I wouldn't lose control or have to switch hands to load a pellet.

If you don't get it by this weekend, I'll try to post some pics, and I forgot about that old Daisy pistol, so I'll get some pics of that too.

broommaster2000 · Moderator

Right, I get it now. Indeed, it's a bit of a hassle to switch hands all the time, but this doesn't mean that it's wrong. When shooting a single shot pistol, you are supposed to make a certain cycle of movement. A left handed pistol, also has the bolt placed on the left side.

Anyway, I find singleshot pistols to be a pain in the a$$ anyway, and I usually convert them to a rifle. Mr. Green

Doc Sharptail · Member

The current Crosman Pistol turnbolt-handle system is still fairly new by Crosman's standards- it's only a decade old. It replaced the sliding breech cover system in 1998. I suppose it's only natural to have a lot of right-handed bolt action rifle convention thrown at it. I suspect the bolt handle was placed on the right, to keep fingers out of the trigger guard during the loading cycle- as a built in safety measure.

I had an in-law that has an old 13-22. He's a r/h, and manipulates the breech-cover, loads, and cocks with his left-hand. He handles the gun safely- finger out of guard, and muzzle in a safe direction to load. I don't have a real problem with that at all.

I manipulate (open) the loading plunger on my Mark I with my left hand, as well as the "turnbolt" on my HB-22- most natural thing in the world for me. I still use my r/h to feed pellets into both pistols and close the actions- that r/h thing is die-hard with me.

Personally, I'm happy if the gun is handled safely. It makes little difference to me which hand is being used for what, as long as that finger's outta the trigger guard....

Edit: Check out the r/h thumbrest on this:

Here's a link to more on the Exemplar:

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Campground/4693/shooting/gallery/exemplar.html

Regards,

Doc Sharptail