Which easy to cock pistol?

[Garry]

My old mum & dad are after a pistol for use in the garden. Neither of them can close up my Gamo Compact, which is quite low powered, so are there any pistols around which are dead easy for pensioners to cock?

I did suggest a co2 pistol, but they didn't fancy that. I think they would have trouble with closing the cylinder for piercing anyway.

Budget is flexible, and the pistol doesn't have to be anything special or powerful, just easy to cock.

Any suggestions?

Cheers
Garry

[Rickenbacker]

Springers seem easier to cock than that 'final push' of charging an SSP pistol... and you don't tend to get your jumper trapped in them.

How about a Webley Premier or Tempest.

Maybe an HW70, or an ASI Center (underlever) if you can find one.

[peteswright]

If pulling the triggers not a problem, what about the Browning Buckmark. Its very easy to cock and load. Trigger has a bit of a hard wall to pull against but has a nice clean break, and is very accurate too once used to it. ATB. Pete.

[Aimstraight]

Springers seem easier to cock than that 'final push' of charging an SSP pistol... and you don't tend to get your jumper trapped in them.

How about a Webley Premier or Tempest.

Maybe an HW70, or an ASI Center (underlever) if you can find one.

Trapped jumper...done that!

A Premier or Tempest that has been well used (tired spring) will be very smooth to cock. Forget the new Turkisk Tempest (powerful spring). An alloy Mk 2 Premier would be reasonable cost with a durable finish for use in the garden.

[hwtyger]

Tempests arent hard to cock but are awkward to cock.
I'd still favour CO2. Bulbs arent hard to pierce.

[Benelli B76]

One of the easiest spring pistols to cock is Gun Toys of Milan R0-71 or the RO-72. These pistols put out low power and are quiet but are accurate at short range. Also very cheap second hand £40-50. Also why not consider a Gat type pistol with push in barrel cocking. Just push in barrel against a hard surface to cock pistol.

Baz

[eyebull]

Buckmark gets my vote. Easy to cock and respectably accurate, good opens. Or one of the Rekord pistols, mod 1, 2, or 3, that it is based on.
Don't know about a gat gun, they may not be easy to cock for arthritic hands, and you would have trouble hitting a lake with one if you were standing on the bottom.

[Benelli B76]

Test of potential accuracy is: Would you stand at 5 metres and let someone take shots at you with a Gat? You are probably smaller than a lake.Truthful answer please.

Baz

[oling]

Another vote for the browning buck mark. I disagree on the account of the tempest, it is in my experience one of the hardest and most awkward pistols to cock but still a gem once you get around that. I would still consider going down the co2 route. For me, it's something equivalent to the transition towards pcps and away from springers when one's arms can't handle the stress and strain of cocking it all day. All of the energy is contained within the bulb and loading the pistol takes little to no effort at all. Apart from the buckmark, most SSPs/ MSPs/ Spring Pistons take a fair bit of effort to cock. Have you considered (if the budget allows) some kind of pcp pistol like the Brocock atomic to be filled via a diving cylinder?

[Adam77K]

Break barrels are probably the easiest muscle power pistols to cock as you have plenty of leverage holding the grip in one hand and the barrel in the other. I would agree that the Tempest is awkward and there is a knack to it, even though it's not that hard in terms of force required. I've never fired an HW70 but they are fairly low powered so may be worth a try, though the shorter barrel may militate against ease of cocking.

Daft as it sounds it's also worth trying a Webley Alecto. It is a big handful but not as heavy as it looks, and the first pump is much easier than the cocking stroke of the overlever SSPs like the Compact and HW40. One pump gives between 2.5 and 3 ft.lbs.
However pellet loading might be fiddly for elderly fingers. For this reason it may be worth trying one in .22

Another to consider is the Crosman 1377. Very easy to pump the first few strokes. 3 pumps is enough for close range target work, though it might need de-restricting to achieve a more efficient output, and it would benefit from replacing the pump handle with one from a Backpacker to avoid risk of finger-trapping. It is also very budget friendly.

[eyebull]

Test of potential accuracy is: Would you stand at 5 metres and let someone take shots at you with a Gat? You are probably smaller than a lake.Truthful answer please.

Baz

Please allow me a colourful exaggeration in the interests of getting the point across
The point being, of course, that gat guns are shite OK if you have a nostalgic yearning for the childhood gun of yesteryear, but for target shooting or reliably hitting what you are aiming at? No.

[Garry]

Thanks for the answers. I'll look at the Browning Buckmark as that one has come up the most. Looking at the Buckmark reminded me about the Gamo P900 which has decent leverage, and a large sight hood which makes it easier on the hands

I have a pop out pistol, but it takes a decent effort to cock it. Good fun with those little darts though

Cheers
Garry

[Arthur John Smithsplease]

A Weihrauch HW70 is a good quality break barrel that is easy to cock and not too powerful.

They aren't the cheapest bet though - about £150.

An alternative would be the Baikal IZH 53m, a solid gun built to last without frills for about £60.

[Benelli B76]

Was looking through my pistol collection, and if they went for a CO2 the Smith & Wesson 78 and 79G are very easy to load the CO2, very little effort involved due to the puncture system. Just push button on a hard surface like table top. Also loading the pellet is very easy. Cost about £170.(The easiest cocking spring pistol I have is the Diana tinplate, but not easy to find!)

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...psdcb75a56.jpg

[eyebull]

A Weihrauch HW70 is a good quality break barrel that is easy to cock and not too powerful.

They aren't the cheapest bet though - about £150.

An alternative would be the Baikal IZH 53m, a solid gun built to last without frills for about £60.

53m is a good bet - built like the proverbial outhouse, the ratchet makes it fairly easy to cock - better trigger than the HW70 too!
Quite a large pistol though.

It's a shame there's no real modern equivalent to the Webley Junior in terms of size and quality of build.